John Pacyga

I still have not found an intuitive terrain modelling platform for us landscape architects.
Rhino can produce nice surfaces, which can be pulled and pushed to get the aethetics right, but its contours are inaccurate and, unlike Civil 3D, very static. Civil 3D on the other hand is very dynamic and great in live sections and contours, but falls…[Read more]

Thanks RFox. I’m going to download a trial copy of Rhino and play around with it. I did that a few months ago with AutoCAD Civil and found the new interface pretty intuitive. I still need something that’ll be a simple interface with a landscape design focus. Right now, I don’t need super high-quality rendering capabilities, but I would like to…[Read more]

Personally, I would recommend Rhino 4.0. It is an extremely easy to learn platform and combines 2D and 3D design quite well. Plus there are really good render engine plugins like Vray.

Rhino is also very good at importing and exporting a wide variety of different file types from Autocad to Digital Projects to Maya. I don’t know the exact pricing…[Read more]

Thanks guys. I’ve seen many of the previous discussions on this topic. Reviewing my last post, I realized I had mentioned I had been running LandCAD. That part was true. However, I have not been using LandCAD. In fact, I haven’t used it for a single project. I couldn’t get out of the tutorial phase. The LandCAD folks have offered me extremely…[Read more]

John – this question keeps popping up and is a testament of the range of aspirations, skill sets and experiences out there in the industry.
I have seen them all and to date, I have not seen THE tool for landscape architects. We have to use various platforms to deliver the wide range of services we provide.

There are quite a few parameters to this…[Read more]

I personally would go with Autocad over Vectorworks for a couple reasons. To start, Autocad is the industry standard as far as drafting goes so alot more people know the program. Also, as more schools push digital rendering, more and more students are using software like 3ds Max and Revit which don’t play well with Vectorworks linework. On the…[Read more]

I’ve just started a one-person design firm specializing in residential. I’m trying to decide between the various cad programs and think Vectorworks would be the best fit for me. I have owned EaglePoint LandCADD (2000) but was running with its stand-alone cad engine (not AutoCAD). Now, years later, I’m really thinking it’s time to try again with…[Read more]

I am looking for some of your best exemples of rain garden project, rain managment etc. I am in a preparation of a seminar and will enjoy to see what is really happening outside my own practice. Please feel free to share informations and projects….

I’ve been aware of SSI but hadn’t seen their latest report. Go to: http://www.sustainablesites.org
You’ll find a link to the report on the first page. I must say, the “documentation” requirements suggested in this report read like an undergraduate studio assignment for a year-long class. My recent work on a small LEED project looks like a total of…[Read more]

Does anyone know of a good source for construction details for ‘green’ design? I’d like to review these…

iT IS MOSTLY CULLET DISPOSAL AND HEAVY METALS (LEAD), MOST OTHER CONTAMINENTS WHERE FULLY REMOVED. I WAS ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN BIO – PHYRO REMEDIATIONS BUT HAD NOT FOUND A GREAT DEAL OF INFO ON THEM.

Hello Chris,
In regards to your question about marketing at a home or trade show, I have some experience in this realm.
20 years ago I designed and installed a small intimate garden exhibit at the San Francisco Garden Show. I had just recently moved to the Bay area and wanted to open my own design practice.
The show was a success for me.
After 5…[Read more]

Ya i defentenly plan on trying to use Bioretention techniques, but this is not a exectly a mitigation techniques it is a stormwater solution, i need some way to extract or mitigate the heavy metals that are with in the soil and water on site, bioretention will help in preventing them to go to the stream but then they are still on site in the soil.

Bioretention is a technique that can be used in nearly any environment, including brownfields, as a water quality control. This may be getting too technical for your project, but depending on the amount of on-site contamination, I would recommend that you wrap all of your stormwater BMPs with an impermeable membrane to help control the spread of…[Read more]

i am a landscape architecture student working on my senior project, which is a brownfield site ( old glass manufacture), and curious to see if any one had unique design, mitigation techniques and or a case study i should look in to.

Larry these look to be very helpful examples of how other municipalities are implementing these strategies. Good case studies. Thanks for sharing.

you might want to check out this useful doc put out by the epa. its a lot of portland stuff but much more.. Larry Shaeffer
and add to greenstreets links list

link to Municipal Handbook Green Infrastructure
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/munichandbook.cfm

Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook

The Municipal Handbook is a series…[Read more]

Well I’ll be honest, I’m very jealous of what you are able to get approved out on the west coast. As of now we seem to be a bit behind the curve but we’re trying to at least catch up with you.

The majority of our office work is around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (including northern VA and Maryland) and each municipality seems to be at…[Read more]

Well in Australia they use a broader term Water Sensitive Urban Design, as opposed to LID, which refers to 3 areas of water management (Potable Water, Waste Water and Stormwater) and how my effecting one of these you have the potential to effect the others. For instance, by reusing stormwater to irrigate landscape or flush toilets, we also reduce…[Read more]

Philip – that sounds really awesome! I’m looking forward to hearing what was shared, not only from a green streets perspective but would love to hear all about what you are doing in Australia with regards to water design.