Landscape Architecture, Specifically Themed Entertainment

[Vi Pen]

The question I have is in regards to a small expertise area in Landscape Architecture. Supposedly, Landscape Architects are a large part of the team that design theme parks, zoos, large scale parks, etc. I am interested in doing this. I realize that there are no guarantees in life, as in what really matters when I find a program is the networking, the specific electives I take, etc., but I was wondering whether anyone could offer me some more substantial information and/or advice. 

I am a The Social Sciences girl and have honestly never been interested in The natural Sciences. The reason I want to be a Landscape Architect has to do specifically with the design aspects. 

I am not interested in plants, gardening, etc. I realize this cannot be avoided; whatever program I choose, I am sure I will have to study plants, typology, etc. My first question is: Are there any programs that are more well known for being plant/science oriented/Are there programs more design oriented? Yes, I have extensively researched the programs I am interested in, including the curriculum  but I am not sure whether this is true in application. For example, Cornell University seems especially tailor-made and caters to the students’ specific areas of interest, is really how it turns out. The Ohio State University is under The School Of Engineering .. So am I correct to guess that this will be more science than design oriented, like other programs that fall under The Design School? 

My second question: Does anyone have any insight into The Savannah College Of Art & Design Themed Entertainment Degree?

http://www.scad.edu/themed-entertainment-design/ 

It looks like that is EXACTLY what I am interested in doing, but it doesn’t seem very,  well, useful? It’s not a Landscape Architecture Program, so obviously it is not accredited by The ASLA, yet, at  the same time, essentially matches the description for a Landscape Architect? 

The general idea, going back to the basics, is that my dream is to design themed areas, whether that be theme parks, zoos, resorts, hotels, museums,  waterfront harbors, etc. I would prefer not to design parks, I honestly am not “passionate” about sustainability, plants, etc. What is the best way to go about this? My research has led me to believe that the best avenue is a Masters In Landscape Architecture. Should I be wrong, could someone please kindly show me the way? I compared Urban Design, Architecture, Urban Planning, etc. Those all seem wrong. Am I correct? 

 

 

[Rob Halpern]

Vi

In addition to the issues and questions you raise, I encourage you to consider one more: Are there jobs doing what you want to do? How well do they pay?  And do they focus exclusively on the areas that interest you or only a small percentage?

My feeling is that you are aiming at a very exclusive practice and few among those people gets paid well. (I should point out that I work with many of them.)

Why not have an informational interview with someone from CLRDesign in Philadelphia as a start?

And yes, L.A. is the route into this although not the only one

[Chris Whitted]

Yes, there are some programs that are more science/practice oriented and some more design/process oriented – Purdue vs Ball State for example.  It’s actually a fairly common division among programs and may or may not be indicated by which school/college the program is in, though that’s a starting point.  You may also want to consider environmental design programs which take less time/study than full architect (of either kind) degrees and may focus more on the things you’re actually wanting to learn.  And if you’re going for a MA as opposed to a BA, then yes, graduate programs are much more likely to be ‘tailorable’ to your specific interest, assuming you can find a program with faculty to support that one in particular.

In order to really research the programs you’re interested in you need to talk to some of the faculty/staff and if possible some of the graduates – not just read program and course descriptions.  In fact, you may want to do some research into the specific field as well – find companies that do or specialize in the kinds of projects you’re interested in and talk with them to find out what they look for in a hire, specifically schooling and experience background.  And not just landscape or architecture firms either, I’m talking about places like Walt Disney Imagineering (for the elephant example).

[Rob Halpern]

Ues, two places to begin:

http://www.teaconnect.org/publications

http://www.iaapa.org/

If zoos, specifically, then http://www.aza.org

[toby]

Biased response – I am an Ohio State University grad (’91), and I work with a few (my boss is one) of Cal Poly LAs…what a difference in education.  The curriculum at OSU was heavy on design (not science) with the usual plant id courses while CalPoly seemed to be more in the ‘sustainibility’ area and less of the engineering side of design. 

Do consider that employers who have gone the traditional education route might be hesitant when hiring a new employee with an unknown [to them] education.  SCAD may teach you the skills to produce a themed concept for a client, but if you don’t know or understand the ‘behind the scenes’ engineering, you will probably get sidelined rather quickly for unworkable solutions.

At the few interviews I managed to get after returning to SoCal, there was palpable reluctance on their part when I mentioned where I graduated from.  It seemed that Ohio was something they had heard of, but never had they come in contact with anybody from there.

—

A different career, but along the same line…

A fellow employee’s son wants to be a pastry chef.  He looked at the schools: costly and no guarantee of doing what was learned.  Then he talked to the owner of Porto’s Bakery (http://www.portosbakery.com).  Her response was that he didn’t need school, but would start by washing the dishes,and then slowly move up the ladder.  She thought it better if a chef knew everything that required to operate a kitchen efficently by actually learning every aspect of what it takes to suceed.

—

Maybe first you should go interview those who are in the desired field (find out what kind of money they make, too), to find an appropriate education path, so you can take that with to each school to see if they are a good match.

And I’ll second what both Rob and Chris said.

 

 

[Vi Pen]

The thing is, I have researched many of the programs, etc. as well as companies, but there does not seem to be enough information… Probably, because, as Rob has said, the field is quite exclusive. Thank you everyone for your advice. I will indeed need to personally speak to individual companies as well as programs. 

As confirmation, however, may I in quire as to whether, based on what I have said I am interested in doing, I can safely eliminate The Themed Entertainment degree from Savannah College Of Art & Design from my choices? Can I confirm that The Landscape Architecture Degree, in general, would be the best route? 

[Rob Halpern]

Vi,

I can’t speak to any particular program, but I can say that — depending on which part of the industry you are aiming at — perhaps 75% of the professionals are Landscape Architects. Most of the rest are architects and then there are set designers, industrial designers, and misc people who have been doing it since before it became an industry as such

Your list of

Supposedly, Landscape Architects are a large part of the team that design theme parks, zoos, large scale parks, etc. I am interested in doing this.

is undoubtedly landscape architecture

Read this (from one of the best known and innovative zoo designers):

http://www.joncoedesign.com/pub/PDFs/CareerOpportunities2006.pdf

[Chris Whitted]

Rob obviously has more direct contact with/knowledge of those in the field than the rest of us, or at least those who are LAs in that field.  As he says, “depending on which part of the industry you’re aiming at” because to my mind there are a lot of other ways into what it seems like you want to do (the architects and set designers and etc.).

I’m not sure why you don’t think the SCAD program would be ‘useful’. As you pointed out it seems to be exactly what you want to do, and from skimming over the program site it appears to be connected to and taught by veterans of the industry.  The only way I see it not being useful is that it’s so specialized.  Economy not withstanding (and it is right now, so keep that in mind), an LA degree can get work doing a lot of different things.  It does perhaps seem like a BA of LA and then getting the SCAD MA would be an ‘ideal’ way to go – the general first and then the specialization.  Personally I don’t see the SCAD program “essentially matching” a Landscape Architect.

Here are another couple of links my five minute Google turned up that might be of interest:

http://www.themedattraction.com/design.htm

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2011/03/interview-answering-how-do-i-become-an-imagineer-with-disney-artist-don-carson/

http://imagineeringorg.wordpress.com/how-to-become-an-imagineer/

 

[Rob Halpern]

Rob obviously has more direct contact with/knowledge of those in the field than the rest of us, or at least those who are LAs in that field.

All of my work is on these sorts of projects and the people Vi wants to join are the people I work with every day

And I strongly support your caution

The only way I see it not being useful is that it’s so specialized.  Economy not withstanding (and it is right now, so keep that in mind), an LA degree can get work doing a lot of different things. 

Although to read through this Forum you’d think that L.A.s are all out of work and have been for five years.

[Jason T. Radice]

I used to do this type of work back in the day. Its a “rollercoaster” industry with cyclical periods of feast or famine, much more so than the rest of the design world. Needless to say, there is high turnover. I was an LA who did the master planning and thematic design, graphic artists to do the renderings, architects did the structure, and various MEP engineers had to handle the utilities. Many of the parks (especially the big boys) have their own design departments that do much of their own work, but more and more contract out the work to keep overhead low. More common are the manufacturers (for whom I worked) who supplied design services fo their product, and sometimes for the overall facility. Many facilites have only a small managerial staff who handle the project management and hire everything else out, sometimes hiring one of the big boys, sometimes going through one of the manufacturer’s departments, or hiring the local-yokal to do some simple architecture work.

You have to be a specialist among specialists. For zoos, you use these dudes. Amusement park? You call these guys. Need a water feature? Well, here are a few firms. Museum or exhibit? Here is who you call. It is VERY specialized, and experience in one does not translate to another very well. I just sort of fell into it after college with an LA degree and learned the industry from the inside. You need to know VERY good design theory, particularly environmental psychology and universal design (accessibility), but the rest of it you pick up, as each firms sets their own standards and keeps their research very secret, as it is proprietary. If you want to do zoos, obviously, some understanding of animals is a must.

I would keep an eye on organization called IAAPA, which is for the amusement business. Sometimes the big parks have internships available, but don’t plan on making a career there, as they ramp up for a big project and then resize for leaner times. Some parks only hire from within, meaning you work your way up for many years until you get into management. There are many firms who do this type of work, but few do it exclusively. You may also want to research ride manufacturers or suppliers, as many offer design services as well.

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