David J. Chirico

You can’t claim to be out of a recession when the unemployment rate is still close to 10%. We were at 5% last year. When we see the rate going down, then Bernanke can celebrate.

What to do in the meantime? Get LEED certified and become a LEED consultant. Thats not going away any time soon. I had an idea on the back burner to approach home…[Read more]

Gee I thought I could contribute to this conversation. However, I did a quick search on Peak Oil and how many things are actually made from oil, and then I came across an article from a farmer in New York with a blog page. What seems like common sense on growing food locally takes a turn in his rumination. I will admit that I am more reactionary…[Read more]

no, I don’t know him, just thought I would bust his chops…

We have had very few in the 5 years I have worked here, maybe 3 or 4. I think it is a very underutilized way of finding a job. And every one of the people that have walked through the door that we called to come back for an interview we could not hire, because they had already been scooped up by another company.

Use whatever resources you have at…[Read more]

I did not read thru every reply, so if I am repeating something said previously I apologize.

We get resumes in the mail and in email we put them on file. The ones that impress us the most are the ones that research our firm, find out who is the person to talk to, and walks in the door to shake hands and express interest. Even tho firms are not…[Read more]

The Library of American Landscape History (LALH) has just republished some books from the mid 1800’s and the early 20th century from some hall of famer landscape architects. Check them out here:

http://www.lalh.org/books.html

I don’t know about the LA equivalents, but I did see a documentary worth a discussion on the Land Lounge. It was called The Unforeseen, by Laura Dunn.

I would be interested to hear feedback on that movie. If anyone has seen it or sees it in the near future, let me know what you thought.

Are you restricted to just boards? Is PowerPoint not an option?

I used to use a program called LandCADD that looks awefully similar. The ability to generate quantity takeoffs is a huge timesaver for probable costs. If you get a demo, let me know your opinion of it!

Wow, that would be a great achievement. I haven’t heard of anything like that. Please keep us informed if you find any software that allows you to do that.

I am sure you want this project to be the pinnacle of your work, and are shooting for a pie in the sky layout so take this information as a loose guide and not a boundary or restriction.

One of the first things we do in our office is look at the codes and ordinances for that area to see where we can access a property, road widths, parking…[Read more]

Dave Thomas was rewarded for his work and contributions with adoption agencies. He was an adopted child and was so successful, he made it a point to give back. I would never discredit that because he sells fatty burgers.

I’m with you Andrew, it does undermine the value of ASLA status when non licensed people are awarded the title outside of an…[Read more]

I don’t think you are comparing apples to apples. They aren’t promising you a product, they were holding a seat for you. A lot of times if you buy seats to a concert or a plane ticket and don’t use it, its non refundable. I think you stepped into the same area there. You may be correct in that they never said up front that the money was non…[Read more]

Did you see the movie yet? I am anxious to discuss this film with people…

Whenever times are tough, I fall back on my CAD skills. That widens the target a bit because it involves so many disciplines. I worked a second shift CAD job for an engineering firm that retooled steel mills. It actually helped with my accuracy in drafting.

Best of luck to you all!

Nick is using my previous posts as an example of what not to do…I’m offended!

Seriously though, I saw an independant film last week that talks about this very topic. Overdevelopment at the risk of destroying something that could never be replaced. It’s called The Unforeseen came out in 2007 I think. I recommend it, its an eye opener.

Our whole office is really active, especially our principle. Half the staff is going to Richmond today to represent all Virginia LA’s in changing the law in Virgina from title act to a practice act. We already got it through the senate, today it goes before the house. Wish them luck!

We have an LA in our office, who whenever in the DC area, will visit the ASLA office and remind them that NPR is one block over. I would like to see more marketing for landscape architecture.

There are a handful of credits that are directly related, but that doesn’t stop other disciplines from attempting to take credit 😉

The last conference I attended I thought SSI was being incorporated into LEED. I don’t think each one will be a stand alone method of certification. Maybe that’s changed since Philadelphia?

Any planner, developer, or contractor worth his or her salt should already be doing most of the things outlined by LEED. Someone put it in perspective for me that LEED is useful as a method of quantifying the things we already do. I can’t really argue with that logic.