Bob Luther

I used AutoCAD for about 5 years before I got LandFX… AutoCad is great if you have a good symbol library but LandFX is absolutely incredible for irrigation! The best thing to do if you don’t have a symbol library is to start simple make blocks with a ceter symbol and on a second non-plot layer draw the radus and then repeat process for about 60…[Read more]

Very cool examples, I have seen more use of underpasses for parking and storage of road maintenance vehicles and supplies, but with enough light and knowledge of its existence, and usable space could definitely be developed.

I think one are that the US would have to look at is mass transit becuase we have intentionally zoned our jobs away from our homes. Nobody wants to live next to an industrial plant, and not in my backyard politics have forced most of us to be long range commuters (long range in terms, I work 17 miles from my home and go through 5 cities to get to…[Read more]

a new rendering system that was based on kerkythea, Twilight is getting great reviews on the sketcucation website, the learning curve is quicker than Kerkythea and it works within sketchup so there is no export needed. I tried the free download and it works very well, the full version cost $99 so it is very nicely priced. The support group forums…[Read more]

Carbon footprint? really Trace? just think how much extra energy the people are expelling… ahhh extra carbon dioxide from rapid exhales due to elevated heartrates…. the glaciers are definately shrinking due to the “fun steps”. Another argument between go figure! How much energy can you save if you can shut down the escalator?

yeah but as soon as someone starts jumping between six steps to “play” “Chopsticks” or “Twinkle, Twinkle…” and misses the step tumbling down the step and sues everyone and their mother for the insurance money then it all comes to an end. I hate the buzzkills of the world that will end the fun, I think Nick started a post about the world…[Read more]

Basic Tips… there are so many I will either post a blog or start a discussion on this if anyone wants it. My first poit would be to understand layers in Photoshop, and the multiply layer styles they will help out the most if you are adding alot of color to a work. If you have a black line drawing only, no textures or colors, export the image as…[Read more]

Large Wacom Bamboo or mid sized Wacom Intuos III

A tabelet is not going to replace your mouse… it is nearly impossible to use a tablet with Sketchup and Autocad because you dont hava middle button for panning, scrolling, rotation, and menu selection, you could program the side buttons on some of the newer models, but this still would be awkward. If you are going to get one for Photshop or…[Read more]

I would have to say the best thing to do is to visit with the program you are thinking about attending and if they are in session see if you can sit in on a presentation of projects from the current students. This will give you an idea of what you are getting into. I was in the same boat as Nick, because i was not willing to “drink the kool-aid”…[Read more]

In a lot of ways there are different ways to educate differnet people. The general public it is about the little things, compact florescent lights, hybrid cars, high effecency windows and doors. For our clients it is a little more elaborate, orientation of buildings, recycled materials, energy exchanges, solar panels, reclaimed water, LEED…[Read more]

if you can show people how to save money while they save the fluffy bunnies they will be much more attentive to doing something. The best “green” movements attack two things, the pocketbook and the health and safety of children or future generations.

My favorite Landscape Architectural term is ha-ha. I have always wanted to put one in a design but as of yet have never had the opportunity.

I agree with the above mentioned methods, the factors that I have seen that require stabilizer are in areas of freeze/thaw (it may help), in areas of high rain (minimizes some repair work), in areas where there is high traffic (especially bikes or golf carts), and if it is a handicap access (check local regulations). otherwise plain DG is normally…[Read more]

As for sprawl the best thing that I know of is Portland Oregon, one of the few larger cities in the US that placed a expansion boundary on a city that was not geographically bounded on three of its sides (it has agricultural and environmental open space on the three sides, and a river to its north) as for in fill are you looking for good or bad…[Read more]

you can always look to Vegas… themed gardens and themed architecture give you a chance to see what others interperate as the vision of a place.

Andrew is exactly right, this is more of a legal/permit question rather than a design question, every city has its own set of laws and regulations which dictate sizes and dimensions of parking spaces and turnarounds, I would check with the planning department and see if you can find someone in the planning department to walk you through the city…[Read more]