As A Landscape Design Build Company Is It Abnormal To Team With A Landscape Architect If You Yourself As The Owner Is Approached To Do A Project With An Architect?

[Daniel Edwards]

Hello All.  Well I have a situation where my “sustainably slanted” landscape design/build business has been asked to team up with an Architect on a project of theirs.  The tricky part about wanting to take this job is that

A) I do not yet have an LA license and therefore no stamp and would have to hire a sub-contractor to work on the project with me and eventually stamp the drawings.

 

Does anyone have experience doing this?  Good or Bad.  Any advice would be great!

 

B) My professional liability insurance is geared for residential work and this project is a commercial project and I would need to up my liability insurance. 

 

Does anyone have a professional liability plan that would accomodate working on projects of this nature only occasionally, but more for residential applications in the long run.  I’m looking for value in my professional liability plan as I know it can run quite costly.

 

Anyway, any advice or comments would be much appreciated!

 

[mark foster]

Daniel,

I am in D/B, am registered and have worked with non licensed LA’s in this way, but I have no idea how others feel about it. 

To your second point–talk with your insurance company and they can adjust your insurance accordingly.  You shouldn’t find this to be a big deal for them.   On the build side of things, I find my insurance company is much more interested in what trades I work in, rather than whether I work in res vs. commercial.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

No one should be stamping other people’s work, but being hired as a consultant to work together is pretty normal. You should write up a contract that protects your liability and also reserves some rights for you to use your participation and photographs of the project for advertisement or other uses.

[Theodore Tegen]

MN allows architects and engineers to perform landscape architectural work, so the arch/engineer would sign/stamp the drawings, taking on the professional liability.

Check your state licensing requirements, it might be the same, in which case just have the architect sign the drawings.

[Daniel Edwards]

Thanks Theodore, Andrew, and Mark,

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to make comments.  Currently I am creating a relationship with an LA that will work with me on the initial vision of the project and then review both the conceptual plans, construction documents, including creative decisions in detailing, and a final review of all plans.

 

As for the insurance, I am working that out as well.  Thanks much for your input as it helped alot! 

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