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Thank you! I’ll be in the Inner Harbor and your suggestions will work great.

It seems to me that to the extent anyone is expecting this whole economic mess to eventually go away and for things to be back the way they were for L.A.s 3 or more years ago…it seems unlikely for a very long time. That building boom and the landscape work it generated will not be repeated anytime soon, IMO. Just like the Dot.com boom will not…[Read more]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Also, I am considering maybe finishing the program and at the same time teach myself Web Design and do it as a part time and it could eventually become a career. If I were to pursue a career in Web Design too, and capable of fully designing website through proof of a portfolio, employers might be interested in that…[Read more]

The biggest issue I have with the animations in sketchup is the little bug where if you move the camera into a shadow, it tends to (or at least it did in Sketchup 6) invert the lit and shadowed areas, making it look like there was some sort of crazy lighting storm.

In terms of frame rate, exporting individual frames will give you the same…[Read more]

I’m not really sure what you mean by “projects” and I don’t know where you are in the city but I can suggest some outdoor spaces near the inner harbor if that’s where you’re at. For one, I second visiting the outside space next to the aquarium. You should also check out:

-the space between the WTC building and the aquarium. It has an old, huge…[Read more]

“…just another body in the morgue.” LOL!

I needed a good laugh, thx.

It’s hard to create a fair perspective on this question given the circumstances of today’s economy. It would be all too easy to say ‘GO! RUN! GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN! THERE ARE NO JOBS!’ But that’s not taking a big-picture view of the situation. Eventually, the economy will recover and there will be jobs again and there will be lots of opportunity.…[Read more]

Sounds good.

I agree, Andrew. It’s a much different animal if the contract work is one’s main source of income. I’ve just been creating spreadsheets projecting billable hours needed over the course of a year, 2yrs, 3yrs… and it gets pretty tricky… something like 20 billable hrs @ $85/hr (or $1700/wk before taxes and expenses – and saving for annual…[Read more]

Please continue to state your employment status, outlook and general opinion about the state of the economy in your region of the country and the nation overall.

Thanks for sharing, Jonathan. I’ve had people call rates of $45-50 “outrageous” up here in Spokane, but I know several people charging over double that here.

David,

“We don’t know but we should keep trying to figure it out” seems to be the answer to all hypothetical design questions. I guess it’s why process is emphasized so much in some of the more theoretical M.L.A. programs.

Why do you think the conference ignored people? Maybe the social aspects of urbanism were not mentioned because they are…[Read more]

The much publicized hardscape of the aquarium at the Inner Harbor. Great design and good quality install.

for what it’s worth…
I went to the 3-day GSD conference that explored this question (a couple years ago). It featured many notable folks…R.T. Foreman, Rem K, Herb Dreseitl, Walter Hood, Walheim, Mitchell Joachim (sp?), Andrea Branzi, and numerous others who tried to figure out what exactly ecological urbanism is. After hours and hours of…[Read more]

John, have you read Inquiry by Design by John Zeisel? It’s a really excellent discussion of how the iterative process (our design process at its best) can be an effective research tool. I read it while I was preparing to do my Master’s Project, which incorporated design and research, and it was a great book. And readable. We talked about Praxis in…[Read more]

This thought reminds me of an article I read recently that transcribe a discussion from last year’s ASLA Annual Meeting centered upon the role of research in practice (Making Research Matter, LAM January 2010). The panel cited a lack of research that can be practically applied to practice. Academics look for quantifiable data, where as practice…[Read more]

I have to vote for the written word – I read the NYT every day, and there is no WAY one gets as much out of any on-line version – you just don’t get the scope, of turning every page of the paper..sometimes the photo-essays are pretty good, but I cannot do Kindles, I just don’t read like that..I’m a skimmmer..

As for ecological urbanism, it seems…[Read more]

Frank,

As an initial impression, I think your portfolio effectively displays your proficiency in a broad range of skills. You provide a nice mixture of projects for the viewer to consider. It sounds like you might still be working on additions to this and I do hope there are more for a couple of reasons. Overall, the format of the pages is good.…[Read more]

Yeah, I threw 2 baits in the pond. The reading aspect was eaten first. I agree, it is much more interesting to investigate new terms and find out if they are hollow.
Karen Weintraub wrote in the Boston Globe April 19 this year that landscape architects reinvent roles and link diciplines at Harvard. I think this is another proof that issues only…[Read more]