[Charles A. Warsinske]

I realize that this will be thought by some to be heresy, but I believe we all need to rethink the whole concept of LEED and its many branches and forms.  The USGBC has set itself up as a quasi-governmenatal organization establishing hoops to jump through with a reward of gold and silver stars.  The organization requires lengthy and costly certification of individuals in various design disciplines with the reward of letters behind your name.  The USGBC as convinced local, state and federal agencies that without their guidance, a building can’t be designed and built, a site can’t be designed in a sustainable and responsible manner.  I’m working on a building for a public client where the LEED Silver is costing over $125,000 just for the documentation and certification process.  We as architects, designers, landscape architects and engineers are charged with designing facilities that are effective both in capital and life-cycle costs , sustainable and functional.  Do we really need a silver star to do this?  I believe that LEED will go by the way of Value Engineering which has outlived its usefulness.

[Charles A. Warsinske]

Assuming that LEED is relevant at all to landscape architecture, ND is the one to choose. LEED is going the way of Value Engineering. A lot of money spent by individuals and owners to achieve a “paper” savings.

[Charles A. Warsinske]

Yes, the new addition is worth the money, if you study it.

Chuck

[Charles A. Warsinske]

You really can’t tell much about scores as I understand, passing scores changes with each exam and based on how many took the exam and how well/poorly they did. Charlie

[Charles A. Warsinske]

My son (also a landscape architect) and I have talked quite a bit about this subject over the years. He has some interesting insights on the whole industry. Check him out. http://www.benjaminwarsinske.com/articles/

Chuck

[Charles A. Warsinske]

Here in Washington, we just passed legislation to upgrade our license from a Title Act to a Practice Act. We have been working with the legislature for 5 or 6 years to get this done. The senators and respresentatives had a hard enough time understanding the relationship between landscape architects and health, safety and welfare. To throw history into the mix, or aesthetics or plant materials would really confuse them. One thing I learned is that only about 30% of the Washington Legislature members have college degrees. Many don’t seem to value higher education. We had a heck of a time convincing some of the committee members that a 4 year degree in landscape architecture from an accredited university program was important.

[Charles A. Warsinske]

One of the problems I observed about CLARB when I was on a state registration board was their over arching concern for security of the exam. It has been four years now since my involvement with CLARB (except for helping people study for the exams) but at that time they were concerned about someone taking the exam in the morning on the east coast and communicating with someone in on the west coast or Hawaii as to the questions being asked. Also, electronic devises that could patch in answers to those taking the exam was driving them nuts. They would be better off writing good questions and providing good, timely feedback then trying to keep a lid on every bit of information they generate.

Chuck

[Charles A. Warsinske]

I’m in Seattle and have had a small office here for 15 years. Prior to that I worked 22 years for larger, multidisciplinary firms. In that 37 years, I have never seen the economy this bad for all design disciplines. In 1972 when I received by BS in Landscape Architecture, they were turning the lights out in Seattle due to a big Boeing layoff. I scrambled around and got a series of temporary jobs over the next several years. There have been ups and downs but this takes the cake.

We have moved our office into a smaller, cheaper space, reduced overhead, and as a principal taken pay cuts to keep staff. We have a few things that will continue along for a while but things are getting slow. Every advertised RFP/RFQ has 20 to 25 submittals where in the past they may receive 5 or 6.

Seems in past resessions, I have seen new firms spring up but I don’t see that happening, at least in Seattle. We are chasing everything we can and then some. My son works for an architecture/planning firm in LA that does (did) a lot of work in the middle east. In 2007 they had 90 people now they have less than 25. He has survived 5 layoffs but the writing seems to be on the wall. He is networking like crazy and has some opportunities. Thank God I paid off the house last year!

Chuck

[Charles A. Warsinske]

I recently completed a parking lot for a ferry terminal on Lummi Island near Bellingham, Washington. The island residents are really into sustainable development so we designed the parking lot for storm water to sheet flow into rain gardens and bioswales prior to release into the coastal waters. They also encouraged us to use plants such as blueberry, strawberry, rhubarb and other food producing plants as well as natives to the Pacific Northwest. With this success, I am working on a rain garden and other landscapes for the campus of Seattle University. I suggested using eatable plant materials and discussed our success at Lummi Island. They were very interested and we are now selecting several verities of blueberrys for their urban campus.

Charles Warsinske, Seattle, Washington

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