Andrew Garulay, RLA

I think that the paper salesman analogy is right on. We sold a lot of paper in the last decade. We got more paper salesmen because they were needed. The consumption of paper stopped and now those whom we supply have full shelves and product is not moving (the country over-built). Someday the inventory will move again and the shelves will have to…[Read more]

That sounds like it would pay less than being laid off. Can you supplement with a part time basic job to get by until you find something or it heats back up? That’s hard for a family just starting up. I’d be worried about being the new guy at a different firm.

There are many idle hands in the production end of landscape architecture right now. I think some of those hands are anything but idle in other areas including working on integrating hand drawing and rendering techniques with technology. I expect big advancements being available when the profession heats up again (doubt that there is big market…[Read more]

The project is going to get built with or without you. If you are part of it you can improve it. If you are not ……..

Stay valued by those who have projects and you will have a job while having the ability to affect projects. It is not a cop-out. It is improvement through participation. The improvement might not be perfection, but it is…[Read more]

Curves can also be a response to what is planted. I’m a big believer in planting for purpose. Often the planting composition that is put together to affect a structure or a space. I like to make planting beds fit a planting rather than use plantings to fill pre-formed beds unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise (such as to purposely…[Read more]

I don’t think there is this big bad statusquo. Things are always changing and I have seen nothing but improvement in how we handle the environment and development over the course of my lifetime. Negativity and paranoia run rampant despite the fact that we are constantly improving every day (landscape architects AND everyone else).

Each project is…[Read more]

I agree. I also believe that more know that cutting corners and/or not making for a good experience to the end user affects the bottom line just like over spending on things that won’t make a difference in the end user’s experience.

Why is it that it always is implied that if someone suggests that we need development to work, they are immediately for all of the worst rape and pillage of the land and the worst examples are brought out to make us look like evil people?

Do you work on anything other than converting toxic spaces back into habitat? I don’t get it.

I work on…[Read more]

Some of the appeal of curves is from what we see in nature on a big scale – meandering rivers, undulating hills, shoreline, …

Also, rectilinear lines may be the shortest route between two points, but they create abrupt intersections that are extremely inefficient. rectilinear spaces create corners in those spaces which may not be as…[Read more]

Why are you afraid to use the word development? … are we programed to feel dirty if we work in “development”?

It is not completely symbiotic. We are part of the free market whether we like it or not. No one in the free market should be oblivious to responsibility or not apply their own values whenever possible. Most people in any endeavor do not behave badly, but a few do – that goes for LAs as well.

I think the statistics will show, and I don’t even…[Read more]

The profession as a whole is dependent on development. That includes re-development. Restoration projects are usually mitigation added onto a development or re-development project, or at least funded by them. I’m not saying that each and every project or activity done by each and every landscape architect is directly a result of development, but…[Read more]

The state of the profession is where it always is – roughly equal to that of development.

I got reciprocity from Idaho to Massachusetts. I know that reinstatement for Idaho was a different rate than renewal.

I would recommend finding a state with low registration fees and no education credits and maintain a license in that state (Massachusetts, believe it or not, is currently a good option for that – no ed credits and under a hundred…[Read more]

I think you are exactly right James. This is the only point of fact. The rest of the opinions, although many are not necessarily wrong, are based on perception or generalization rather than quantitative fact.

Look up any state’s reciprocity requirements that you might be going to. Most accept direct reciprocity with any other state that has similar requirements for licensure, although New York does not play well with others with reciprocity, from what I was told.

One thing that you have to be careful of is that you have full contact with the slope surface or water gets under it and erodes material down hill which then gets deposited where contact between the mat and the surface slow the water. It can be a mess.

Jute netting also works well, but with bigger openings depending what you are using for…[Read more]

That sums it up perfectly.

That I agree with 100%.

It is also important not to be afraid of losing some work that you might get for less money as long as you are not starving. I do know that some are just not going to get as much money as others and would starve if they did not charge less.

The important thing that I’m cettain you’d agree with, is to not settle to keep…[Read more]