Andrew Garulay, RLA

 “I’m a landscape architect and I won’t design your garden.”

The fine print under that is “would you like fries with that, sir?”

Wyatt,

A different Andrew here, but I have worked a dozen years in a couple of different civil offices doing civil plans (despite the fact that I’m an LA). I’ve worked on civil plans on many landscape architect’s projects – some that won ASLA National Awards. Different offices handle things differently. Some like to xref, some do not. Some avoid…[Read more]

That is a great post Nick. …. and exactly the root of me not understanding how the motivation of working for a state transportation department is enough passion to get through it all.
 
Passion, Patience, and Persistance is the only way to get to Perseverance in the Profession.  I think I just spit all over my monitors sounding like Sylvester the cat.

I’m not saying there is no opportunity or no necessity. I’m just scratching my head to think of it as the motivating factor to going into landscape architecture.
 
Not a bad position to land in, but a very strange place to target to build your goals around. It is hard enough to move forward in this profession despite the diversity of opprtunity…[Read more]

Who goes into landscape architecture with the goal of working in a government transportation department?

They wear those shirts and still are likely to take issue with the current thread where someone suggests that landscape architecture is devoid of garden designers. Then they hang it in the closet next to the “celebrate diversity” tee shirt.
 
 
 
 

The world seems to be all about packaging and naming. The field of landscape design is rediculously diverse on countless facets. Landscape architects are a subset of landscape designers who jumped through all of the hoops to get licensed. They are as diverse from one another as any other landscape desiigner is from any other.
 
Garden designers…[Read more]

The assumption is that one has to be highly skilled in hand and/or computer assisted graphics as an individual in order to be a successful landscape architect. Is that truly the case?
 
Should students be taught to work in a landscape architect’s office or to be licensed landscape architects?
 
This profession almost universally requires i…[Read more]

I see your point about the cost. It is a big deal, though. It puts you ahead of people who don’t have it and it can fast track your reciprocity in other states depending on the requirements as they are written for reciprocity. Many are not focussed in on the internship as they are with first time applicants. Most of us assume that they are, but it…[Read more]

You are in Idaho and have a degree in landscape architecture Roland – do they now require internship there?
 

You are absolutely right that it makes no sense to put things in that are either unaffordable or unsustainable by the property owners. I certainly don’t put in a fountain on a whim whether it is mine or theirs.  Those bigger issues are vetted out early on.
 
When I say “I’m never the bad guy”, it is that I don’t adjust what are already set as t…[Read more]

 “Do your clients know what landscaping costs”
 
My answer to that is that if they don’t know what design costs while they are prospective clients they will find out upon receiving a proposal. If they don’t know what the implementation costs, they’ll find that out when they receive proposals to do the construction.
 
What things specifically co…[Read more]

I do residential and “residential sized” commercial landscape plans, sit it is a but simpler than some other markets. I spend an hour and a half to two hours discussing a project (usually on site, but sometimes in an office prior to ground breaking on new construction). Then it is half an hour to an hour customizing my proposal for design work to…[Read more]

The question seems to be whether there are job opportunities for Garden Designers in Landscape Architecture firms. I certainly would not say that an LA firm should not or would not hire a Garden Designer. However, I think there are three reasons why it might be more difficult than it appears on the surface.It is still a diverse profession. Some…[Read more]

Agreed. Discussion is good in a free society.

PS. Are the polls doing OK with the storm issues and more importantly, did you and yours make it through OK?

“I’m not expecting different results. I’m pretty sure that the economy and life in general were a lot better during all administrations in my life time before this one”
 
I know the timeline. It did tank in 2008, but it did not bottom out until later. It is Trace who said it bottomed out in 2008.
 
The previous seven years, the previous 8 before t…[Read more]

I’m not expecting different results. I’m pretty sure that the economy and life in general were a lot better during all administrations in my life time before this one.

“”The economy bottomed out on Sept. 18,2008”  Trace
 
Are you telling me that the recovery started under the Bush administration?
 

We all see what we ant to see, hear what we want to hear, and believe what we want to believe.
 
I just an’t understand why anyone can go through the worst economic situation of our life times with the only change being that it bottomed out three yreas ago, and somehow believe that the economy of the past was worse than that of the present or t…[Read more]

What is not in question is what will happen if “this tag tem” is not elected.
 
If “this tag team” is elected, maybe some of you will be able to move back to the United States to work and a lot more of you won’t be asking about working in China or Dubai.
 
How blind can you be?