[Doug Davies]

How many people need to go where, when? In its most basic form, public space needs to move people, efficiently, and simply. No high design can save a space that doesn’t perform the function for the people that need to inhabit it. I would start with learning about how people move, why, and what stops them.

William Whtye – The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

Lisa Taylor – Urban Open Spaces

Literally anything by Jan Gehl

[Doug Davies]

Your arch friends also pay less for 7 exams than we do for 4 which are harder, which makes you think they would be harder to grade, but they get results in 7 days. 

[Doug Davies]

Hmm, not sure about it “being a good thing” to wait so long for results, I finished all mine a couple years ago in the new format and what was most frustrating for me is how little ASLA does with the exams and how CLARB rules over it, not working with states (Dept. Labor and Licencing) to make the process easier. In MD there are numerous duplicate forms and nobody anywhere seems to know how to get through the process without agony. (This is both a state and CLARB problem)

CLARB also charges an insane amount of money for the exams(we are not rocket scientists or engineers, yet our exams are across the board the most expensive)  and a ridiculous $150 a year reciprocal licence fee just to take them (god forbid you stop paying for this “service” and you have to pay back dues). ARE exams are less expensive per exam and they get results within a week. PE exams are typically turned around in 3 weeks, and lets face it their exams are much more complicated than ours, we don’t have nearly as many mathematical calculations. 

We also lack adequate study materials – probably because we are a small profession but really the outdated PDFs many of the LA’s I know study from were made back in the 80s. CLARB removed their study materials because they felt it was counter to their mission of administering the exam….. Ok… NCARB, NCEES and many others provide plenty of resources for candidates. Don’t get it. Their book list they provide is as old as the PDFs as well – again probably because we are a small profession, but these books are really unsuitable for the new exam and the types of questions asked, good information just not applicable to the exams.

So in short I don’t have any problem with the actual exam itself, I was able to pass them fine but the organization in charge of the exams is next to useless. They collect huge fees, charge a ton for the exams, and provide little to the young LA other than taking $150 from them a year so in 10 years when they actually get to work outside their state they can apply for reciprocal licensing. Thanks a lot ASLA for sticking up for licenced professionals.

[Doug Davies]

I wholeheartedly agree – there seems to be a disconnect at Autodesk around where Landscape Architects discipline lies. I am in the process of trying to integrate Revit into our practice as well as Civil3D. These two softwares lie at the proverbial ends of the spectrum when talking about rapid prototyping site design. Revit can do basic site work, limited by accuracy and compatibility with Civil 3D – and Civil3D is cumbersome and burdened by traffic engineering parameters (K distances, etc.) and specifications. Ideally a piece of software that could aid in rapid prototyping walkways, roads, parking lots, etc. that can integrate with both Civil3D so the traffic engineers can update to spec, and Revit so the architects can see whats happening outside their doors would be fantastic.

We need to be able to produce enough information so that a Civil can take our work and easily integrate SW practices, etc. and easy enough that the Architects can have updated site grading in their Revit models. Currently Revit has almost zero compatibility with Civil3D that an engineer would be comfortable working off of, and Civil3D creates a cumbersome Revit model.

[Doug Davies]

Photoshop Lightroom is a fantastic tool, but you can also use Adobe Bridge, it takes a bit of getting used to and a few tutorials from AdobeTV.com but it also has built in connections with all the other Adobe products which can be helpful! Good luck!

[Doug Davies]

I am not a student any longer and have been in professional practice for over 4 years now in environmental planning and design, my fault for not updating my profile. However, I am still little bit offended by the tone of your message, the thanks at the beginning and end don’t make up for the tone of the rest of the article. The notion that I am defending this project is incorrect as well, there are ADA issues here, however your reporting on the story offered no context to the project, even including what you responded to me with would have been helpful in your discussion. 

THe ICPI Design, Specifications, Construction, and Maintenance guide discusses this issue:

“An unacceptable opening is one that can receive insertion of a 1/2 in. (13 mm) steel sphere, PICP openings filled with small aggregate (typically to the bottom of the paver chamfers) comply with this design guideline.”

These are the things I do pay attention to and I don’t see how you could make the correlation that I don’t by anything that I wrote. The real issue here is should that be an accepted ADA practice to allow for the gravel to count towards compliance. There is no question that these pavers do not have enough gravel to be compliant, but the real criticism should be of ADA and not recognizing this as a potential for improperly or under maintained pavers. I too agree with your assertions about the inability to rely on maintenance, those points are quite valid. 

Thanks.

Alan Ray, you are right, they don’t look very good at all. I would go for a Hydro-flow brick, no gaps at all!

[Doug Davies]

Point well taken, I am unfamiliar with Kaid Benfield’s work. I do not argue with you that LA’s can fall into the same trap, realizing idealized renderings over people scaled – people oriented spaces.

I also find it frustrating how little the ASLA is engaging the public like the AIA has. Programs such as the Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) Program or the Center for Communities by Design do wonders for communities all across the country, what is the ASLA’s parallel program? 

[Doug Davies]

I think it is important to note that this was an experimental paver system that the University was testing out with the manufacturer. There is a deeper story to these pavers than what is at face value. That said, they do need to fix the gravel as it is a compliance issue. Just an FYI about commenting on a project that you don’t get to the bottom of. Here is a link send to me by University staff to illustrate that the paver was in fact not installed upsideown. http://www.beldenbrick.com/pdf/brick-permeable-pavers-brochure.pdf

[Doug Davies]

1. Way too much text…

2. Some of you sheet layouts look fantastic (specifically the second spread in the lake ruataniwha project. Continue that style throughout. 

3. Get some better tree cut outs if you are doing to make a section like you did on page 15, I understand the look you are going for with the buidlings but it just doesnt work with the trees. It looks a bit sloppy. Check out my blog here http://atdigital.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/links-2/ I have some links to some cut outs for people, trees, vehicles, etc.

4. The 3d rendering at the end, add some Photoshop. Running Vray by itself does not show any higher level of 3d skill than just hitting export in SketchUp.  The sketches are great because they are supposed to be loose and can be unrefined, but the 3d renderings with Vray are supposed to be polished finished graphics, nobody does process diagramming using SketchUp and Vray and it distracts from your great sketches. Check out alexhogrefe.com to get some ideas on how to dress these up. (One last note, the street planters you have in the last sketch do not work, those curb cuts would never get water to them.)

4. Play up your site plans, they look fantastic, your process sketches as well. 

Great portfolio and good luck!

[Doug Davies]

A little unorthodox but looking into an internship with PWD (Philly Water Department) is a great place. They are doing some truly amazing work with their green infrastructure in the city. Probably the best model in the country right now. http://www.phillywatersheds.org/ 

[Doug Davies]

Is it an underdrain? They are typically used for bioretention cells, bioswales, etc. It is not a negative. They are used to dewater the soil in the event that the other dewatering techniques (infiltration, evaporation, evapotranspiration) won’t dewater the swale or rain garden (bioretention cell) in the 48 hr period (thats the dewater time here in MD, based on HSG) 

See:

http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/raingarden_design/whatisaraingarden.htm

http://buildgreen.ufl.edu/Fact_sheet_Bioswales_Vegetated_Swales.pdf

[Doug Davies]

Daria,

Thanks so much! I have to update my “links” page but if you have any links to good resources they are great as well! (that goes for all of you!)

[Doug Davies]

Op-Ed about the article: http://matthewgallaway.tumblr.com/post/29968362938/a-few-notes-on-overgentrification

[Doug Davies]

http://www.dougadavies.com

I have a full list under entourage.

[Doug Davies]

dougadavies.com/links

[Author]

Posts