For a long time, when discussing my work and career with people outside of the design professions I always referred to myself as a landscape architect. In the deep south this almost always immediately followed with a request to look at their backyard. For a long time I bristled at this but time has given me a much better perspective. In Baton Rouge there is a small but growing market for design services. Most people on the street cannot distinguish between a landscape architect and a landscape contractor. The problem isn’t with me – it’s with perception.
Now, as a designer with a design-oriented firm I simply refer to myself as an architect in conversation. For first impressions it usually manages to communicate the general nature of my work and it feels faithful to the spirit of the job. If the conversation goes deeper into the type of practice or whatnot, I identify that I practice landscape architecture.
Many of the points made here regarding the scope and breadth of the profession are spot on. We are a very diverse crowd! James Urban, for example, stopped practicing and now solely consults in what could be considered a horticultural capacity. James Corner, on the opposite end of the spectrum, practices big-concept design and (as I understand it) has a limited understanding of actual construction practices. One firm I worked at treated planting design like a tertiary facet to the profession.
There is a distinct trend for landscape architects to distance themselves from the dirt-under-the-nails aspects of our practice. We are often marginalized by architects, written off by engineers, undervalued by clients but in my opinion it is unfortunate that so much work is done to distance ourselves from what I feel is at the heart of the profession.
