Andrew Garulay, RLA

I’m not sure why Bob said he agreed with me about not switching to CE. I thought that I made a really good case as to why I think it is a good idea. I think it is a good idea even if you want to practice as an LA later on.

If someone can not get hired as an LA for whatever reason, why wouldn’t that person entertain a different field?

If…[Read more]

There is a big overlap between the two professions. Civil is a more technical discipline, but depending on what types of projects the CE office does you can be pretty well prepared to be an asset right away in a CE office. Also, depending on what types of projects an LA firm does or an individual wants to do, you can have a competitive advantage…[Read more]

Are you taking a job in a CE office or going back to school? You should be able to get in without going back to school unless you want to be on the license track. I believe that my second CE employer not only hired me for my experience, but that he also knew I was not training a future competitor.

I did 12 years full time in two different small…[Read more]

I’m not sure that I understand what you mean by entitlement, but I assume it means vetting out the possibility of a project moving forward.

I think the difficulty is that unless the LA is continuously involved in every regulation applicable to the project in question, it is easy to “not know what you don’t know”.

A lot of people reach out to me…[Read more]

We have a lot of regulation on home construction here on Cape Cod. Most of the projects that I work on are as part of a team consisting of an architect, builder or developer, civil engineer, landscape architect (me), and often an attorney. These projects are usually waterfront homes that are being torn down and replaced with a new custom home for…[Read more]

That is up to you. I am a Registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts. I prefer to draw plans and not manage projects. There are several reasons that I do it that way.

First is that my personality and skill set is as a designer rather than a manager.

The second is that I realized that the nicer higher end residential custom builders that…[Read more]

Leslie always has good practical advice. I’d second the notion that you should not let yourself get down on what you have not done and work with what you have done because that is 100% more than the person who has yet to do anything. Keep plugging away and don’t be afraid to look at getting experience in slightly different ways as you wait for the…[Read more]

I think it is good to hear from other professionals on their experiences with Landscape Architects. It is not a slam on our profession. Nick did not say that all old school landscape architect’s suck. Nick does actually support Bob’s initial point that some landscape architects are not great.

It is a diverse profession as I say all the time. None…[Read more]

Can anyone offer a different opinion without getting slammed? No wonder no one participates on these forums anymore.

Barbara,

I think you are referring to Landmark by Vectorworks. I don’t use it. but I thought I might point you in the direction you want to go. Use the search feature on Land8 and you’ll get more information.

Bob,

It is nice to know that I can hire you when I need to have a nicely rendered project. I’ll call you if that happens.

I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do when I started my degree in 1983. … after dropping out because I was told by people with he exact same “vision” of the profession that Bob has because my graphic abilities were “not going to get you hired”.

I went back 12 years later because technology allowed me to draw just fine without using my h…[Read more]

Some see it as a diverse profession and others do not.

“We don’t all present the same strong suits but if you kid yourself too much, and blame the market without any willingness to improve skills for a wider array of clients, then you may not have the volume of work you aspire to. But there is the option of preferring a sub-realm anyway.”

I think that you are exactly right. Especially the part of d…[Read more]

As someone whom you have described in a similar fashion in the past, I could tell you why.

I could also tell you why landscape architects are losing ground to other professions in the business of design on the land while at the same time there is more design on the land going on.

I could tell you why not all that you perceive are bad or weak…[Read more]

“…any design idea is ‘automatically’ good and not questioned regarding practicality.”

My best professor used to say “so what” when someone presented a stunning visual plan with the intent on getting one to explain “why”. He was the last “old school” professor at the university that I went to. I got the most out of him because he “beat into me”…[Read more]

I wish they had more emphasis on:

1. the diversity of opportunities there are to apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities one acquires with the education.

2. that strengths in some areas can overcome weakness in others.

3. that less is sometimes more. (rather than giving the impression that more deliverables, more management, higher end…[Read more]

High cost of living states are typically states that have a large wealthy population (in numbers, not percent of population)and “big business”. Those are places where more money is spent on things that landscape architects do. That in turn means more opportunity. That is why you see job advertisement in those areas.

Also, high tax states are…[Read more]

The internship and license process, in my opinion, is a mechanism to gain experience and knowledge in areas that may otherwise not present themselves or avoided because of lack of confidence or competence. That is a good thing for anyone trying to be competitive in a free market world where you need to be offering something that someone else wants…[Read more]

Neil,

Have you looked at any GIS software to run a query on slope analysis to visually show you slope percentages. It has been 20years since I used GIS, but it was very easy and fast to isolate slopes between certain percentages at that time. I’m sure it is as least as easy today. I would not be surprised if there is a CAD/GIS program that could…[Read more]