Activity

Yes, I know that I should deflect the question, and this should be obvious, because I just asked what is the best way to do that.  Online all you get is a bunch of fake sounding canned car-salesman answers.

Well said Andrew.  There is a huge divide between a hobby/learning experience and a profession. 
There is also the fact that of all the design professions, LA is probably the least adaptive to remote design.  Unlike interior designers and architects who work with climate controlled spaces on flat planes, we work with natural elements on slopes–…[Read more]

A co-op could compete against larger firms because their overhead is lower resulting in more actual work hours for the same budget or justifying a lower overall bid even if the hourly rate is the same. Small offices even now group together in multidisciplinary teams or discipline-specific teams depending on the size of the project and what…[Read more]

Bingo.

I think there is a strong likelihood that design quality will suffer in this model.
 
I work from home, but my colleagues and I know each other well enough to communicate effectively. I also have a very specific role in the operation at this time, so it works out.
 
You should ask yourself what kind of incentive you offer the potential client w…[Read more]

Playing Devil’s advocate here:
 
The idea is to have a group of talented LAs to be in the position to take on projects that require a group of LAs. My first reaction is that because it is a group it would not be marketable for smaller jobs where landscape design budget and client’s needs would not match. The group would have to target a high…[Read more]

Jonathon–If money is not a consideration, you should have no trouble finding work!    My pro bono work comes from local groups (Youth Build, E-Corp, local neighborhood councils, etc), but if you want to work in a broader context, NGO’s (non government organizations) may be the way to go.  Lots of folks need our expertise who can’t afford it.  It’…[Read more]

I think it sounds like a good idea for anyone who doesn’t have a job in the profession and wants to stay current and fresh and engaged. Like Thomas said, if I already have a fulltime paid job in a landscape architecture office, i think i’d rather put in the extra time (and hopefully get extra pay!) at my existing job. But yes, for a bunch of…[Read more]

A co-op has a new, young, fresh sound. It gives the impression of working together for a common good. So from that stand point, marketing.
If it is an interdisplinary co-op it may bring in projects normaly only given to large engineering or LA firms. Yet the client does not want such a big firm working on it.
 
The people joining may not be…[Read more]

I think it would be more of a specialization set up. I also agree with Jonathan in that it would problably need to be a interdisciplinary co-op.
I may not have explained well that in the arcticle the partners of the Co-op are not working in the architecture feild. They have ‘Day jobs’, in essence they are just a group of ‘friends’ getting together…[Read more]

It sounds like you don’t even want the job. If that is the case, then ask for 50k and see what happens. At tleast you will know.

Personally, if I’m going to put in extra hours, I’d rather do it at one place / for one project (with pay reflecting extra time).
I’ve thought about the Co-Op thing before and I always return to the same question; How does the money work? If I can find jobs and see them through, why would I want to share the profits? It seems like the main benefit…[Read more]

I think it could work.  Right now I’m putting together a proposal with a firm a few hundred miles away.  Never met them face to face.  But I know their work from their website, know them from e-mail and phone conversations.  This idea could even work with interdisciplinary projects as well.

Typo warning: Page six: ‘desing for the aging’… might want to fix that.  
Looks good otherwise.  I’m a MLA student working on creating portfolios to apply to internships, so it’s good to see other good examples. 

haha, great story!
 
I do think our regions are different though.  I think in general the whole country is not as saturated as the U.S. is with landscape architects, it’s a much smaller community (only one or two BLA programs) and our economy is doing much better.

From everything that I see in the job market in my region and everything that I read here and elsewhere …. a bird in the hand is pretty hard to come by. Opportunities are pretty rare in this field these days. Having a job is a pretty good position of strength to work from.
 
There is an old story about a very religious man in a flood. When the…[Read more]

Thank you Nick!  Yes – a person can be humble and respectful and also know their worth!

yes, I emailed her last week and now regret it – I wish I had given myself more time to try to line up another offer, because she is “eager to have me back” and I am supposed to call her “at my earliest convenience”.
 
I feel like this is going to be almost a game of chicken.  Who’s going to dive first?
 
I just have no idea what to expect du…[Read more]

and for the 5th time now there is no interview.