ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author conducts an experiment with planners from the metropolitan region of Hamburg and proposes rules for those wanting to start experimenting with walking and landscape design. The links between walking and the processes of designing and reflecting were a crucial part of an experimental research process. The author shows elements and results of such a research process and clarifies links between design practice and design research and thus can give guidance to PhD candidates working on and with design research. Walking can be seen as a cultural technique, and disciplines such as geomorphology, art and psychology have found ample ways of describing the benefits derived from the simple act of walking. The author proposes a model of a walking process for designing large-scale landscapes that includes three modes: the ‘discovery mode’, the ‘flow mode’ and the ‘reflective mode’. Designers try to perceive, analyse and map spatial characteristics in order to acquire relevant knowledge and to generate ideas.
