Reflections on Developing Landscape Performance Case Studies

1 ABSTRACT Increasingly landscape architects are being asked to design and evaluate high-performing, multifunctional landscapes. To grow the profession’s knowledge about landscape performance, in 2010 the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) launched the Landscape Performance Series (LPS). The centerpiece of the LPS are case studies, which aim to illustrate the sustainable features and subsequent benefits of high-performing built works. Though LAF has established guidelines for the content and format of its LPS case studies, a formalized procedure for identifying and quantifying a project’s landscape performance benefits has yet to be developed. As foundation for a forthcoming set of performance benefit guidelines, we reflect on our experiences in identifying and quantifying landscape performance benefits as part of LAF’s Case Study Investigation program (CSI). We provide an overview of the CSI program and LPS case study briefs, examples of quantified performance benefits, and conclude by identifying opportunities for strengthening and furthering ongoing work.