Thomas J. Johnson

OK, your question brought out the geek in me. Plus, being unemployed I need to keep my skills sharp… Here’s what I came up with…

150′ x 1′ x 3″ = 37.5 cubic feet of water to fill the runnel 3 inches deep.

1 cubic foot = 7.4805 gallons

37.5 x 7.4805 = 280.5 gallons to fill the runnel 3 inches deep.

This is where it gets a little funky……[Read more]

NO. Since May 25th. I hate not working. I need to work, not just for money but structure and general well-being too. Going door to door, talking to firms is depressing. Offices are empty and you can hear a pin drop. Everybody has the same response, “We’d love to hire you but we’re barely hanging on…” I think I’ll try for a position as a Walmart…[Read more]

hhhhmmm… interesting… That surprises me. Perkins + Will obviously do exceptional work and are leaders in their field. I tend to enjoy their aesthetic and appreciate the refined complexity of their designs, however the private residence in India appears disjointed to me. While P+W are masters of geometry, balance and materials, often achieving…[Read more]

Yeah, good points… Urban in-fill is an increasingly popular market / model of living that would have real benefits (reduced petroleum usage and increased health via more walking/less driving). However to have a real impact on petroleum usage would require that A LOT of people move into the cities and that the suburbs contract and grow…[Read more]

That’s awesome!

“…soaring 27 floors into the sky. The parking garage fills six levels. Three helipads are on the roof. There are terraces upon terraces, airborne swimming pools and hanging gardens in a Blade Runner-meets-Babylon edifice overlooking India’s most dynamic city….There are nine elevators, a spa, a 50-seat theater and a grand b…[Read more]

I found Vizterra to be more of a pain than it was worth. I create my base plans in AutoCAD and in order to make it 3D in Vizterra, you either have to make sure every line is closed in AutoCAD (ie each step, patio, grade change, anything you want to extrude) or you have to redraw it in Vizterra.

It comes down to cost / benefit. If it’s worth it to…[Read more]

Another one of the issues with infill projects that a lot of developers haven’t figured out yet is what I’ll call “Optimum Density Opportunity” (since we’ve been making up names on the Landscape Urbanism forum). What we’re seeing a lot of right now are “Mixed-use” projects sitting vacant. They are infill projects executed at the wrong time in the…[Read more]

Interesting read. I only had time to scan the whole thing and read about 2/3 of it, but I got the gist.

While I agree with the author that there is more of a demand for homes in walkable neighborhoods with easy access to urban centers, the proposed means of developing these areas concerns me. Currently, the government owns the two largest…[Read more]

<—- Raises hand. “I did, I did…”

Then again, you’re one to talk Ms. San Diego… 😉

Adam, you have your degree in Landscape Architecture, with 1-4 years experience and are currently employed!? The world is not fair, indeed…

You need to choose shrubs that require the same conditions as agave and use an appropriate mulch / ground cover. Hint: It’s not 3-4″ of cedar chips…

I think I’ll just go get my HVAC license now….

Here’s another idea Tanya… I don’t know if your project is commercial or residential. If it’s commercial, instead of pushing the limits of how close / deep you can get a tree to the lateral lines, why not emphasis their existence? You could plant small trees / large shrubs in the setback area and then plant a line of low shrubs/ground cover…[Read more]

d.g. 3/8″ – 1/2″

Or tumbled recycled glass…

What about used ball bearings? Can we find a source for used industrial ball bearings…? I’m not even kidding…

“Awww, come on guys, it’s so simple. Maybe you need a refresher course.
Hey! It’s all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads.…[Read more]

“…if I have a pond and have the option of placing either 99 white geese or 1 black goose in the pond, which would be the direction to go?”

Neither. Place 99 white geese in the pond with 1 black goose. See how that instantly makes both of them more relevant? “Feel” that?

Taking it another step, or going for another effect, what would it be like…[Read more]

It sounds like you need to narrow your focus. It’s good to throw a bunch of ideas out there, just to get them out and get a feel for them but you need to refine it.

One global trend I’ve observed is the “Southern Californification” of China. China has specifically sought out US designers to plan and design towns and neighborhoods to look like the…[Read more]

I would give the wells plenty of room… tree roots will work their way into sewer lines and wreak havoc, I don’t know why geothermal wells would be any different. Do they require maintenance? Are there access issues? I’d ask the Geothermal contractor / consultant on the project.

One word: Beauty. Beauty is synonymous with Quality.

If your process is beautiful, your design will be beautiful. If your design is beautiful and the execution of your design is beautiful, the built environment will be beautiful.

I constantly ask myself, or rather I’m constantly aware of, beauty. If you feel disharmony, listen to yourself and…[Read more]

T1 – You guys have some of the best highway medians / plantings in Southern California! I’ve never seen the two color aggregate, separated into flowing designs, used anywhere else. They are beautiful and sparsly planted… Maybe the few I’ve seen (on the 5 or15? can’t remember) are the only ones around and it’s more difficult to do that kind of…[Read more]

Nicely said Vanessa!

Along those same lines, from one of my favorite books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

“The result is rather typical of modern technology, an overall dullness of appearance so depressing that it must be overlaid with a veneer of “style” to make it acceptable. And that, to anyone who is sensitive to romantic…[Read more]

Are you saying that The GSD is a fad or that the terminology coming out of the program is a fad? I’m fine with the term landscape urbanism. It’s all of the “soft”, wordy, dribble that loosely defines the term that I take issue with. It’s as good as saying nothing at all, which actually, might be better.

It seems that many of these buzz words are…[Read more]