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Sounds like an angry old GIANTS fan to me!

Here is my two cents. As my studio counts down the weeks till we are thrown into the real world, we are all asking each other what style do we want to learn to represent our ideas. One student is a master of trace and color pencils – the professor told her she is old fashion. Another student is experimenting with V-ray and Sketch up – and another…[Read more]

AR,

I like that kind of strategy. What have been the most valuable sources of data in your research?

Yes, we do and used it every day. Sketching and hand drawing will never be completely out , the new technologies only enhance the way we communicate our ideas to a media hungry generation. Drawing is essential in the design process from the master planning and concept development to the minutest detail.

The jobs are coming back, and the…[Read more]

Also, here in NM you can sit for the LARE as soon as you graduate but, you can’t get your license until you have fulfilled the 2 years experience under a licensed LA or the 6+ years in the field doing similar work not under an LA. Also, here, if you pass any part of the LARE and submit a form you can call yourself a “Landscape Architect in…[Read more]

This is good stuff, i like to rant myself, so here I go.

Preface: I just graduated with my MLA in May, I have established relationships with the principals of every LA firm in town, I am the Treasurer of the NMASLA, I network through my connections at the school and local governments, I volunteer and I still can’t get a job in the LA field,…[Read more]

Jeff, have you been reading any of the posts on this site? I would seriously reconsider this profession if I were you. Even by the time you graduate, this profession will still be licking its wounds in recovery. Also, the interests you have are typically addressed by environmental engineers not LA’s.

My study group and I took a, b, and d at the same time and did just fine. It was a little stressful, but we all passed them on the first shot. I then took the graphic exams one at a time and that was helpful since they are very different tests while the multiple choice have a lot of overlap. I did take E twice, but that is a really difficult test.…[Read more]

I’m coming fresh into this topic so there is much I could respond to. To preface, I myself am in “landscape designer” status with 1 year of 2 needed to be able to sit for the LARE in Pennsylvania. Were I currently working in an LA firm, I’d be well passed that point. I am the only person at my job that holds a BLA so unless I switch jobs (which is…[Read more]

I drew right on the vellum with a lightweight pencil that was easy to erase or draw over with a darker pencil. It ended up not looking like something that I would present to a client, but it was just fine for the graders to look at.
I had a stack of precut trace that I tried sketching basic concepts on for the more difficult problems, but mainly…[Read more]

Hi Jonathan,

Great website! I went to CSU also and really miss it… those were the days. It looks like your D/B company does really nice work also, naturalized but very designerly.

I don’t think you’re going to be prohibited from working for a design firm, if that’s what you decide you want to do. If anything, they will value your field…[Read more]

Well, Im studying landscape architecture at UK. My class had the opportunity to visit a landscape architect firm in NYC. We visited the office of Thomas Balsley. I can tell you that he could not stress the importance of being able to communicate design ideas effectively using hand drawn media. Being able to show design intent to others in a firm…[Read more]

Where is the “Like” button on this website? Great response Andrew.

However I will join in with most people and say that the fees for some of these things are pretty outrageous. I understand that the graders/reviewers need to be compensated for their time/travel, but can’t the organizations that rely on CLARB/LARE for testing/grading subsidize…[Read more]

We use all the tools in my design studio. Making CAD just a production tool means you are missing the ability to do Information modeling. Using the right program is important. Vectorworks. Vray for Sketchup and Maya are amazing tools

Madis

Penn State

I have first hand experience with this.
Currently I hold a position with a Design/Build company that also does a good deal of maintenance.
I was more than willing to go into a LA firm and ‘pay my dues’ but there were none that were hiring entry level BLA graduates and I was snubbed so many times my enthusiasm for LA has dwindled.

So I am at a…[Read more]

Here’s what I know only from personal experience from dept heads / profs. They carry a lot of their interests with them and suddenly their program is the best in the country for whatever a particular prof is interested in.

Michigan, if its Ann Arbor, sounds like its best suited to what you want to do – Joan Nassauer is there still I think and has…[Read more]

The score verification process takes another 10-12 weeks too. So if you want to get licensed sooner rather than later you’ll have to sit for another exam while waiting for the verification process. You’ll be reimbursed for taking another test if you argued successfully to overturn your score, but you won’t be reimbursed for the redline review and…[Read more]

I would like to believe it is all about insuring competency, but I do think some of these state requirements smack of protectionism .

Last I checked, my state won’t allow employment (under a landscape architect) in a design/build firm to count as professional experience toward licensure. I suspect this rule was enacted in part because the D/B…[Read more]

What is the alternative?

CLARB does not have a self imposed right to be the people that decide the qualifications for licensure. That is up to each state. CLARB offers a standardized test that has undergone and continually undegoes a lot of scrutiny legally, by the profession, and by the states that use it. It is used by just about every state…[Read more]

Aren’t there limitations on square footage of projects and/or budgets that you can undertake as a “designer” as apposed to a licensed LA? Also, can you obtain insurance as a “designer”?

Here’s WA definition of “Landscape Architect” and “Landscape Architecture”…

(9) “Landscape architect” means an individual who engages in the practice of…[Read more]