We are currently participating in design competitions; not engaging in public practice at this time.

Landscape architects work on all types of external space - large or small, urban or rural, and with 'hard'/'soft' materials, hydrology and ecological issues.

They work on:

• The form, scale and siting of new developments
• Private estates and public infrastructure and building design
• The site design for schools, universities, hospitals and hotels
• Public parks, golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities
• Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments
• Highways transportation structures, bridges and corridors
• Town and city squares and pedestrian schemes
• Large or small urban regeneration schemes
• Forest, tourist or historic landscapes and landscape appraisal or conservation studies
• Reservoirs, dams, power stations, extractive industry applications or major industrial projects
• Environmental assessment, planning advice and land management proposals.
• Coastal and offshore developments

The most valuable contribution is often made at the earliest stage of a project in generating ideas and bringing flair and creativity to the use of space. The landscape architect can:

• contribute to the overall concept
• prepare an initial master plan, from which detailed designs can subsequently be prepared
• let and supervise contracts for construction work
• prepare design impact assessments
• conduct environmental assessments or audits
• act as an expert witness at enquiries on land use
• support or prepare applications for capital or revenue funding grants

Entrance into the profession requires advanced education, training, and licensure in most countries.

See ASLA,IDAD http://www.idad.org, CSLA http://www.csla.ca/, ECLAS http://www.eclas.org/, EFLA http://www.efla.org/, ELASA http://www.elasa.org, IFLA http://www.iflaonline.org/, http://www.l-i.org.uk Landscape Institute, Le Notre thematic network http://www.le-notre.org, for a more thorough examination of the topic and for current contacts and links.

Persons who may work for or with Landscape Architects:

Landscape designers are involved in garden, landscape design and creation of all types of outdoor green spaces. Many work in public offices in central and local government. Others work in private practice and act as consultants to public authorities, industry and commerce, and to private individuals.

Landscape managers use their knowledge of plants and the natural environment to advise on the long-term care and development of the landscape. They work in horticulture, estate management, forestry, nature conservation and agriculture.

Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from site surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of particular species in a given area.

Landscape planners are concerned with the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban, rural and coastal land use. Their work is embodied in written statements of policy and strategy, and their remit includes masterplanning for new developments, landscape evaluations and assessments, and preparing countryside management or policy plans. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning.

Landscape engineers/surveyors as engineers or surveyors must identify and understand the relevant conditions in order to produce a successful result. Other issues include available resources, physical or technical limitations, and factors such as cost, and serviceability. By understanding these constraints, engineers provide recomendations for which a landscape or system may be developed.

Landscape artists (Land artists) use the landscape itself, or elements thereof, to explore relationships between nature and culture. Landscape artworks can be monumental and permanent or temporary and are usually site specific. Landscape artists historically reflect social perceptions of the environment, and thereby explore, interpret, and re-envision the anthropologic role in the natural world. Issues such as sustainability, adaptability, biodiversity, and renewable resources are major themes of contemporary land art.

The landscape is the surface of the earth, including land uses, earth forms, structures, vegetation, roadways & bridges, and walkways. An "architect" is someone who builds. A landscape architect is someone who builds the surface of the earth. In order to achieve a harmonious relationship between needs of people and the environment, a landscape architect must be knowledgeable in the areas of ecology and human behavior. In addition, he or she must be knowledgeable in the engineering and technical aspects of land development, and must be able to demonstrate this knowledge in a creative way in the design of exciting environments for people.

http://www.design.upenn.edu/new/larp/history.htm “

There is but one profession whose main objective has been to co-ordinate the works of man with preexistent nature and that is landscape architecture. The complexity of the problems which the landscape architect is called upon to solve, involving a knowledge of engineering, architecture, soils, plant materials, ecology, etc., combined with aesthetic appreciation can hardly be expected of a person who is not highly trained and who does not possess a degree of culture."

ROADWAY DESIGN

From The U.S. Department 0f Transportation
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/marapr00/landarch.htm

The development of the nation's highways and parkways is the largest public works effort ever undertaken in this country, and it has resulted in the greatest change to the nation's landscape. Landscape architects played a definitive role in ensuring that transportation corridors (parkways, freeways, and city streets) respected the land and the communities through which they passed.

As the profession of landscape architecture evolved in scope and content, early parkways also rapidly evolved from wide, straight lanes established by a pre-existing urban grid to roadways that wound sinuously through the landscape in response to natural features. Parkways became a means for structuring urban growth rather than simply a means for responding to it.

Landscape architects are constantly developing new tools and techniques to make roadways more compatible with the landscape and communities. Recent developments include widely used computer-based visualization techniques; visual quality and visual preference assessment methodologies; and the development and enforcement of legislation, policy, and guidance. Currently, numerous multidisciplinary teams, interagency collaborations, and public-private partnerships are being guided by landscape architects nationwide, including those implementing highway projects designed to respect their context or place.

Perhaps because the design of the roadway created a landscape, rather than a simple object, landscape architects clearly had a primary role in the process. This is further indicated by the fact that landscape architects played a key role in publicizing the advantages of the new roadway types to their colleagues and to the public. For example, while noted parkway engineer Jay Downer published only one or two articles on parkway projects during his lengthy career, his collaborating landscape architect, Gilmore Clarke, published more than a dozen. In general, landscape architects were published more often than their engineering counterparts.

BRIDGE DESIGN

From The American Society of Landscape Architects
http://www.asla.org/lamag/lam03/february/technology.html

Each year the U.S. spends somewhere between $6 billion and $8 billion for highway bridge design, construction, replacement, and rehabilitation. And although aesthetics and impacts on natural resources may not have been considered important in the past, that has changed, in large part because greater concern and awareness by both the public and decision makers has resulted in new policies, procedures, and legislation addressing bridge design, construction, and maintenance. Landscape architects are playing a major role in designing bridges that not only fit visually with their surroundings, but are also respectful of those surroundings.

STORM WATER DESIGN

From The Journal of Surface Water Professionals
http://www.forester.net/sw_0101_innovative.html#what

"Progressive landscape architects see stormwater as a resource, not a problem. Their multidisciplinary approach to site design can save money and better emulate predevelopment hydrology." This statement is even more succinct than the description used by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which highlights how landscape architects use a comprehensive working knowledge of architecture, civil engineering, and urban planning to "design aesthetic and practical relationships with the land." This integrative function of landscape architecture makes the profession seem a natural spawning ground for the innovation needed to successfully meet the considerable challenges posed by stormwater-related pollution and erosion.

INFRASTRUCTURE

From The University of Washington and ASLA
http://www.asla.org/discussions/pdf/Water.pdf
http://courses.washington.edu/larescue/la.htm

Landscape architects may design numerous innovative approaches to provide for the efficient use of water and the protection of water quality. This includes the design, planning and management of coastal zones, waterways, enhancement and revitalization of wetlands, wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and irrigation.

Landscape architects can engage in building ‘infrastructure’ to provide and store critical drinking water and ensure environmental and public health. The recovery effort provides an opportunity to consider issues of sustainability in local water supply and management and treatment of waste water.

URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING

From the Urban Design Group
http://www.udg.org.uk/?document_id=468

Landscape Architects are also Urban designers; Urban design is the process of shaping the physical setting for life in cities, towns and villages. It is the art of making places. It involves the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and establishing the processes that make successful development possible.

EMERGENCY BUILDING PRACTICE

From The University of Washington
http://courses.washington.edu/larescue/la.htm

Landscape architects can work with local communities to restore farmlands and coastal zones and forests damaged by the natural events such as tsunami, including fields that are damaged by saltwater and debris.

Landscape architects can work with builders and local communities to experiment with locally available alternative materials and techniques for building and site construction. The use of low-cost and renewable resources is important for both short-term recovery and long-term sustainable building practice.

Landscape architects can engage in site-scale design for layout of individual dwelling units, communal facilities, etc., for both short-term transition and long-term purposes. The design would address issues of disaster mitigation through low-impact design and sustainable practice through selection of materials, integration of building and site design, understanding of socio-cultural patterns, and community building process.

Landscape architects can engage in larger-scale site-planning that considers landscape strategies for disaster mitigation, emergency evacuation, rebuilding of urban areas and rural settlements. In addition, they can participate in analyzing physical and environmental variables that contribute to the severity of disaster impacts. The study would inform future site planning strategies.

Landscape architects can engage in the restoration of damaged shoreline and develop strategies and design to restore habitats and ecological functions, provide disaster mitigation, and address needs for local economic development.

Landscape architects can participate in the creation and operation of community rebuilding programs to ensure that economic, social and environmental aspects of recovery and reconstruction are effectively integrated in the above efforts. For example, restoration and reconstruction can be tied with job creation and local economic development, rather than simply subsidies. Furthermore, community process would ensure participation and contribute to capacity-building within the local communities.

INDUSTRIAL / BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT

http://www.landscapearchitects.org/news0602.html

Landscape architects will be the leaders of discovery to challenge the 21st Century whether renewing damaged landscapes, redeveloping brownfield sites, or building community consensus for change, landscape architects must be the leaders in discovering new techniques, new applications of technology or new approaches to problem solving.

LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENTS

"Low Impact Development" (LID) refers to methods that minimize the impact of stormwater runoff downstream and encourage on-site stormwater retention, most notably through bioretention and infiltration methods that allow stormwater to be distributed evenly around a site. Reducing stormwater runoff rates, cleaning pollutants from stormwater and recharging stormwater into the ground are key tenets of LID. The Department of Environmental Resources, Prince George's County, Maryland, developed a manual—Low Impact Development Design Strategies: An Integrated Design Approach—
that covers everything from hydrological calculations and site planning strategies to design guidelines for infiltration trenches, filter strips and planting of bioretention areas. As LID gains national recognition, landscape architects appear to be increasingly eager to incorporate more LID-based solutions in their daily planning and design practices. To implement these hydrologically sensitive methods, however, landscape architects must still advocate LID to their clients, public reviewers and fellow design team members, after first carefully interpreting local codes to find appropriate opportunities for introducing LID. Compromise and adjustment are important in getting LID on the table. After regulation and incentives more fully support it and more built works are added to the LID portfolio, landscape architects are likely to see LID more frequently and willingly integrated into projects. Landscape Architecture, May 05, p 70, by Brian P. Kane.

OPEN AIR DESIGN

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/ content/article/2005/06/25/AR2005062500138_pf.html

Surveys generally consider open air design (outdoor rooms) as a defined specialty of landscape architecture with: living, lounging and dining areas, professional kitchen, refrigerator, counters, grilling equipment, fire pit, hot tub &/or whirlpool, in-ground pool, outdoor lighting, heating & air cooling, koi pond; and amenities such as rugs, artwork, and outdoor entertainment systems, all of which must be impervious to wind, rain, sun and snow.

SHELTER AND BUILDING DESIGN

Landscape architects may design non-habitable buildings such as spectator spaces, pedestrian assembly, and outdoor group assembly buildings (e.g. sports facilities, stadiums, special shelters) and site structure classifications (e.g, shade, storm, transportation/parking structures), provided such buildings are not fully-enclosed, except for design of fully-enclosed facilities when built off-site (e.g. prefabricated habitable spaces and restrooms, offices, shops, storage). The design of interior landscapes and systems (e.g. sun/green space design, circulation, potable water distribution and
irrigation) are all enclosed built-environment matters which landscape architects typically address.

Practitioners of landscape architecture may also collaborate in the design of all fullyenclosed buildings with respect to functional and aesthetic requirements. The practice of landscape architecture does not include the practice of building architecture, or viceversa; except, a licensed landscape architect may do such architectural work with buildings as is incidental to the landscape architect's work.

Of course, the design of residences is not generally restricted to any profession, but includes landscape architects, architects, interior designers, and home builders and designers.

GOLFCOURSE ARCHITECTURE, EQUESTRIAN DESIGN AND AGRISCAPES

Golf course architecture, regional design, historic landscape preservation, equestrian land planning and design of equestrian facilities, (e.g, planning and design of racetracks, grand prix fields, polo fields, dressage arenas, indoor arenas), ranch production landscapes, farm forestry, rural landscape ecology, alternative agriculture, land reclamation, farm park and environmental zone design, environmental sustainability and wetland/water resources, production facilities and agricultural building design and planning.

SECURITY DESIGN

www.kling.us/2_articles/2005/06_plan_article_selger.pdf
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:SQEUMjMdtY8J:www.kling.us/2_articles/2005/06_
plan_article_selger.pdf+Security+Design:+The+Role+of+Landscape+Architecture+and
+Site+Design&hl=en

Security design and planning is not a new subject for landscape architects, but the tragic events of the past decade have brought a new set of design challenges, to be addressed and solved. Landscape architects are playing a key role in this arena through the use of comprehensive site planning techniques and placement of site and landscape elements to provide added protection. More important, landscape architects are striving to integrate security needs into the overall design concept without detracting from the aesthetics of the project. The need for security should not run counter to the need for aesthetic quality.

ECCLESIASTICAL DESIGN

http://www.christianitytoday.com/yc/2001/001/3.24.html
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:lL0l6ECZ5BkJ:www.christianitytoday.com/yc/
2001/001/3.24.html+Transform+Your+Parking+Lot+&hl=en

Parking takes up a huge percentage of church property, the parking and grounds of a church should be noticeably different from the commercial parking lot and grounds of a mall or office building. The American Disabilities Act for all parking lots, requires that one of every 25 spots be set aside for people with handicaps. Landscape architects promote good standards of design and repair of ecclesiastical architecture, be they structures, outdoor chapels, parking and grounds, environmental or similar issues, across all denominations.