Claudia Chalfa

I actually looked at my local tech school website awhile back, and they did have a CAD class but it was offered during the day unfortunately.  I will look again though.

I really think what I need most is a series of simple exercises. Get me started, help me create a few simple shapes and deal with the basic drawing tools and layout, and then I can build on that with other tutorials. None of the tutorials I have seen so far does that, really. Can anyone think of a site that does?

Thank you everyone!  At the moment I am working as a planner so I don’t get to use CAD at work, and if I want to become a licensed LA I know I will need to learn it.  As several have pointed out, it’s really hard to just sit down and learn it without someone else there to answer questions every 5 minutes.  But I shall persevere!

Thanks!  I’ve used sketchup before, it’s very intuitive and easy to grasp.  (Unlike Autocad!)  I’ll have a look at your site too.

I saw that Lynda site, and it did look pretty good, but I was afraid to register and pay a bunch of money just in case it wasn’t as great as it appeared.  Maybe I will try it for a month or so and see how it goes.
 
There are some good free tutorial sites out there, and youtube, but they all seem to be more advanced, rather than what I need, w…[Read more]

Maybe in your area stormwater and floodplain conditions aren’t as much of a consideration.  For me, it is really frustrating to try to explain over and over to engineers how to design a rain garden or bioswale.  I had this conversation today with a couple of engineers, in fact.  They don’t want to try new ideas, and still want to pipe ev…[Read more]

I agree.

The key phrase here is “if they are competent at landscape design”…the problem I have encountered is that, unfortunately, they aren’t.

Alan, does your municipality require a plan to be stamped by a landscape architect for commercial projects?

Brett, that is exactly my point.  You and I know that what we bring to the table for site analysis is really valuable.  Unfortunately most of the other players in the construction realm don’t know that…at least where I live.  I am wondering how widespread this is, and how we can fix it.

This thread has sort of died, so maybe I wasn’t clear in what I was asking for here.  I understand that most states have some form of a practice or title act in place.  That is not what I was asking about.  I am wondering if, on the local level, municipalities (or counties) require a licensed landscape architect’s stamp on commercial projects, an…[Read more]

Interesting…and you are right, equilibrium is the goal.

Oh, I totally agree!  I was actually not referring to landscape architecture, but other jobs I have had over the years, in environmental health enforcement.  I did soil testing, air monitoring for asbestos removal, that sort of work, and I had to be kind of tough in that role.  Now as a planner I have to be that way a bit, too…but I don’t th…[Read more]

I have been working in male dominated professions for my entire career,  in the deep south, and I am now about to turn 40.  Here is what I have to say about this:  Absolutely, yes there are some middle aged men (or older) out there who are part of the “good old boy network”.  How do we deal with them?  Ignore the old system.  Be nice to them.…[Read more]

Bret Ford answered the question I was really getting at – which was not whether your state has a title or practice act, but whether your municipality has a requirement for a licensed landscape architect to stamp plans. I am interested in determining whether these areas have more opportunities currently for landscape architects than those areas…[Read more]

Rob,
 
I put myself through three years of graduate school as a single Mother of two.  When I graduated, I was one of the only people in my class to get a job right away.  And you know why?  Not because they felt sorry for me, but because anyone who is able to accomplish a rigorous graduate program and still have two well-adjusted kids has to be…[Read more]

“This is the biggest dicotomy of the LA profession. We have too many LAs right now so that no one can get an internship to make themselves yet another LA. So, the notion is that because there are too many, we should drop the standard and make even more yet with less experience.
 
How will that help anything other than individual egos in the…[Read more]

Here is SC’s practice act:
 
(5) “Landscape architect” means a person licensed to practice landscape architecture in this State.
(6) “Landscape architecture” means the performance of professional services, such as consultation, investigation, research, planning, design, preparation of drawings and specifications, and responsible inspection in…[Read more]

Andrew: “What can you not do in your state that an LA can besides going after work that the developer requires a licensed LA?”
 
I can’t call myself a landscape architect.

Great thread, and some really insightful comments!  
 
Here is the problem, as I see it:  I have an art background, an environmental degree (undergraduate), a masters in landscape architecture, and many years of experience working as both landscape designer and plantsperson.  I now work in a planning office designing greenways, writing lan…[Read more]