earthworker

Can we add to that the amount of LA’s working half time or without benefits or on contract basis.  Of the 20 or so coworkers let go with me back in 2009 only 3 are working in firms and they are not even at full time.  For those of us with 10 years or more experience, is there really any hope of ever finding permanent employment within a firm? h…[Read more]

Not to sound like a hard @ss, but you need to put your big boy pants on.  This is the business.  Sink or swim.  I went through something similar with a small firm I worked for.  The only way I eliminated mistakes was by being meticulous to the point of insanity.  You MUST write everything down that your boss tells you to do.  You MUST go out of yo…[Read more]

In the real world, in a real office, drawing is becoming less critical for many reasons.  For one, illustrative graphics and perspective sketches are not required for most bread and butter landscape architecture projects.  Most projects don’t have a budget for this type of work and clients don’t want to pay for it.  They simply want enough work to…[Read more]

By that reasoning, someone who graduated from law school can automatically call themselves a lawyer or medical school, a doctor.  Architects, engineers and even beauticians have to be registered by their state in order to practice.  Allyson, I see you have experience in this industry.  I think with that experience you should know very well the di…[Read more]

So….forget everything I have said about licensure being important.  In my state, Colorado, licensure has been on the books for nearly three years after decades of lobbying.  Congrats to the local ASLA chapter for their advocacy….Right?   Wrong…After three years there are only a few municipalities in the entire state the have ‘adopted’ the…[Read more]

Don’t waste your time or money.  I have been to the conference previously (back when I had a job and actually thought ASLA was worthwhile).  The ‘conference’ is nothing more than an excuse for fatcat firm principals and owners to take a vacation and attend self-congratulatory lectures promoting their latest overseas projects.  ASLA and their co…[Read more]

Where’s the discussion about homeless landscape architects who have been destroyed by this putrid economy?  Even a ‘rising’ LA student better have a backup plan for finding a job in this industry a few years from now.

Here’s my three cents on hand vs. computer illustrations. It is my observation that there are a few reasons why we are drawn to hand sketches versus computer graphics.  For one,  a good hand drawn perspective represents the ‘field of view’  that your eye sees normally.  A computer perspective has finite fields of view.  They restrict the view…[Read more]

Agreed.  With autocad e-transmittals you can’t count on another firm having all your fancy fonts so you must stick with standard, preloaded fonts……Alex, I find it odd that with all the failings of the industry, the ineptitude of ASLA and their magazine, and the dire economic conditions affecting our profession as a whole, you choose to make…[Read more]

Thanks for that info, Jason.  I hope it is that way for every chapter.  Maybe you could fill me in on something as well……  I am disturbed by the recent trend of ASLA to hand out honor awards to non-American firms/entities in regards to landscape architecture.  It’s not that I am against foreign-designed works. It’s just a little confusing tha…[Read more]

Just a quick note after visiting my state chapter’s website again.  I looked at the most recent local ASLA awards and found something strange..maybe?  At least 80%-90% of the firms that ‘won’ awards were the same 80%-90% of the firms that ‘sponsored’ the local chapter.  How is this not a complete conflict of interest for the state ASLA chapter in…[Read more]

Um..that’s the ASLA code of conduct.  ASLA who has no affiliation whatsoever with state licensure boards or governing bodies.  That’s the same ASLA who is currently completely irrelevant to the industry and has no idea the industry is in shambles.  ……Say whatever you want.

“And it doesn’t matter if u call urself a RLA, LAIT, landscape designer, everyone thinks yo ur a landscaper anyways because no understands what we do.” 
Jason I’m not sure you understand what we do or understand what the point of this thread is.  If you did, you would realize it is about the regulations, knowledge of health safety issues, e…[Read more]

Unless you like scorched and cracked concrete, you had also better line the inside of the ring with some sort of fire brick.  A gas firepit will create sustained and intense heat that will stress concrete surrounding it.

Typically,  you need to be on a pre-approved/qualified list of licensed/insured contractors or vendors.  To be on the list, a firm has to show it’s qualifications through previous project experience, proof of liability & e/o insurance and have a certain number of years experience.  You can create a proposal for the project but usually you must me…[Read more]

I’d like to submit a blank sheet representing all the Landscape Architects being erased from the workforce.

I feel your pain, been there.  However, after working for several high profile firms, I have to say they are all alike.  It’s the golden rule.  Those with the gold make the rules.  7 of 10 la firms are lead by designers who become owners, who then find out how profits are ‘really’ made.  They are made by trimming the bottom line, taking adva…[Read more]

I used to work over 40 hours in my first year or two out.  That was because I was fixing my own errors that were caught in redlines.  In my last few years at firms, I realized that those that were working more than 40 did so for two reasons: One, they stayed late to make sure the principals saw them working late even though half of the ‘…[Read more]

Really, are you kidding me? Repositioning stones is the award winner? So a couple of things:
1. trip hazard/liability
2. how do monolithic rocks moving on their own (a phenomenon found only on dry lake beds in California) have the slightest relevance to the textured landscape of NY?
3. if these are ‘movable’ to allow for emergency vehicles, what’s…[Read more]

You are right about the consolidation of firms. We are seeing that our industry is not strong enough to stand on its own merit. We need the architects and civil engineers. Let’s face it. They give us the work. Just ask EDAW. They were the foremost leader of landscape architecture in the world. Even they realized they could not survive without…[Read more]