I Always Knew This Day Would Come…

[Thomas J. Johnson]

Landscape Architects have become irrelevant… Home and Garden Magazine has a free software feature on their website that enables anyone to design like a pro. Look what I just did in 15min…

Not only that but I got a whole years subscription to H&G for only $5.99. LAM eat your heart out. Where do we go from here…?

 

[Matthew Anders, PLA]

haha

[Anonymous]

This will be a money generator for LAs. After homeowners spend $40,000 for a landscape that looks like crap that they designed, they’ll be begging for professional help.

 

I think my phone is ringing right now.

[Ryland Fox]

If I get this and the ipad house design app I am all set.

[mark foster]

Hey, that’s my house!  I wondered where my giant ice cube was…..

[Wes Arola, RLA]

You bring up a threatening issue – there are plenty of programs like this and uneducated people capable of developing cheesy backyard designs. The ignorance of the common person about what a landscape architect is legally capable of producing is something that we as a profession will always battle. The truth is, it is hard to explain what we really do – unless you have some projects that you have worked on to impress them for example ‘ I worked on a billion dollar water park in Dubai’ rather than ‘ I designed my neighbors backyard’. Is it the word landscape? Maybe, but for some reason telling that girl you met in a bar that you are a civil engineer will get her attention a lot faster than telling her that you are a landscape architect….

[Roland Beinert]

I thought we were already irrelevant before this. Can’t architects or engineers just shrub up a site plan by themselves? No need to hire an extra consultant.

[Thomas J. Johnson]

Yes, you will be a one-man force to be reckoned with. Don’t you feel silly now for wasting all that time learning Rhino and Maya?

In all seriousness, sweet work and groovy tutorials. Thanks!

[Thomas J. Johnson]

It might just be the economic kick in the pants our profession needs.

They should have a link at the bottom of the page that says,

*Thanks for playing. Now please contact your local Landscape Architect at 1_800_Land_Ark.

[Thomas J. Johnson]

No Way! I have one in my backyard too. It’s functional sculpture. During the winter I use an ice pick to chip chunks off of it for cocktails. It gets me outside and whiskey looks cooler over shards of ice…

Unfortunately it’s 55* in Chicago today. Know any good drinks that are made with gray slush and mud?

[Thomas J. Johnson]

It’s all in the delivery. Frankly, a billion dollar water park in the desert makes me shudder. On the other hand, if you told her you designed a billion dollar water park in your neighbors back yard, you’d probably get her attention… but seriously, do you really think “civil engineer” (geek) is a better pick up line than “landscape architect”. At least we have something to talk passionately about… a civil will just bore her to tears. Do they even know how to talk?

[Thomas J. Johnson]

Sometimes we say things when we’re upset that we don’t mean…

Sure they can. Let ’em. Then they can call us to fix it at twice the cost.

[Thomas J. Johnson]

You got that right, ha, ha.

[mark foster]

Well, I am in the land of bourbon.. slush and mud works.

[mauiBob]

Thomas, you absolutely crack me up, brother! You really are down about this profession. One of these days, an employer (future) is gonna make you feel like a kid in a candy store…again! Like your college design studio days when you can do any design with no budget concerns.

 

15 minutes of time wasting! Maybe the small 600sf backyard can get away with cheapo software designs, but large scale projects or even high end residential design couldn’t get away with such things. I think we all know how valuable the landscape architects bring to the design table. Some of us are just really bitter at the moment, because the economy fell over the cliff and that is presently clouding our judgment. Which is why I tell first through third year LA students to switch careers before its too late. Anyway…long live the Greatest Designers of Outdoor Spaces: the Landscape Architect!

[Author]

Posts