Tosh K

I second this, although the newest format has this a bit skewed for site work (Masterformat separates by trade, or at least is intended to – which may be an issue for some manufacturers as they do items across sections, say lighting and site furnishings or green walls and planters).  Most suppliers will list their pertinent sections on their…[Read more]

Plants: Dirr’s book on woody plants; Armitage’s on perennials.
‘Sustainability’ (or more accurately on ecology and design): The Green Braid (Tanzer&Longoria), Ecology and Design (Hill), Landscape Urbanism Reader (this will show you what one direct development of “Design with Nature” is, “Granite Garden” and others by Spirn will show
Theory: Theory…[Read more]

seems to differ by school.  some don’t bother teaching soil science, others neglect horticulture and only teach about ID and aesthetics of plants, others are still behind on ecology…

Macs?  I’m assuming no AutoDesk tie-ins then?  Robert’s suggestion on Vectorworks is good; I also think every office should have a version of SketchUp as seemingly everyone seems to have it (including product vendors and consultants). 
Rhino is well suited for more complex geometries and landforms; it’s a surface modeling software at its co…[Read more]

I remember clients sending us blank checks to move their projects to the front burner (not often, but it happened).  Every firm was rolling in work and clients were spending quite liberally and allowing firms to charge a decent rate for fees (10~15% for institutional/commercial vs 3~7% that is more common now).  Jobs were easy to come by, and p…[Read more]

High Line (and Brookyln Bridge Park for that matter) seems to have an excessive cost attached to maintenance in comparison to others in the city.  vertical landscapes still haven’t seem to have gotten to a point where there’s a good return on investment.  I suppose schools often encourage pushing the boundaries and hence the discussion of some o…[Read more]

seconded – i’d say it’s a lot easier than a lot of them out there.

Depending on the program, some degrees will offer more options post graduation (I recall a professor from ASU chiding one of my students who mentioned an ID degree to do an architecture degree because it gives you a broader sense of design (and is typically more rigorous) and you can still do ID.  As others mentioned LA will still allow you to d…[Read more]

Ready, Set, Practice.  Also Hinze’s Construction Contracts (chapter 9 or 10, no need to go over the whole book), you can buy an older edition as the new ones are rather pricey.  They’re about the only things I looked at.

Parading? not really , just make sure there’s enough grade for it to drain (you don’t want a muddy ground).  2% is really noticeable when running extended periods of time, but while walking/marching.  you will see the grade though, so you don’t want kinks in the pitch.

They had a native plants exhibit a few years back with studies on plant diversity and distribution – it was well presented, though in a limited format.  I’m assuming someone at one of the academic institutions in the area is still pursuing the research and public outreach (through installation art -ala West8’s inflatable cows- and more run of the…[Read more]

I would think Central Park, Hudson River Park, the High Line, etc is getting at the intent of this project (site appropriateness may be an issue…)
If biodiversity is a hot topic, her efforts may be best channeled to assist in the outreach of some of the efforts that scientists at BBG, etc are working on?

You may want to go work in one of the environmental consultants before committing to an MLA – in most cases it’s an expensive proposition (both in time and $).  If you can work your way into one of the higher end ones you will have the most exposure to the type of work you seemed to be interested in.  Also, judging from your comments, it would b…[Read more]

your budget seems awfully low for a full workstation laptop.  I paid over $2500 ten years ago for my MacBook pro (used mainly Adobe CS on it) but it still works fine (with the software package I got for it)- can’t say the same for the pcs my peers all bought.  The nice thing about the macs is they had been more longer lasting, so over 6+ yrs it p…[Read more]

… The PE is a PE and NOT in any specific field.  Professional ethics (and your liability insurance, marketability) assumes you will practice in an area of your expertise.  I find it a bit over-confident to believe one individual can be a great PLA and PE; even with your SE/Arch analogy, most greatly engineered projects are a result of teams (…[Read more]

I don’t get it – my friends live within a 20min train ride to midtown and their rent is under $1k (shared) ~ $2k (1 bedroom apt), which is close to what it is in major cities up and down the eastern sea board. <30% of your income toward housing is reasonable.
maintaining a lifestyle in major cities that you would in smaller areas, is nearly…[Read more]

No Rhino?!  It seems to have become a favored modeling software in academia, and while it replaces none, it is a nice supplement to the Autodesk/Adobe packages. 

Note that NYC P&R has killer benefits… for those that were able to stay in relevant positions through the last few years, the benefits have been great.  Most of my peers who did stay have been able to double their compensation in the last few years, being the few with 3~5yrs experience doing everything from design to construction and often…[Read more]

As the license primarily benefits you, most smaller firms will not cover the entire cost (the reasoning being that a lot of people switch jobs upon licensure to get the big raise).  Most firms I worked for offered 50% of costs and time off (as part of continuing education); the firms that covered costs expected you to be able to take on d…[Read more]

Every school I know of has a ‘career center’ that offers workshops on networking/interviewing – go to those, it’s amazing how many little things matter.
I would add to landscapeplanners additions:
Work samples (3~4 pages of work highlights)
You’re most likely to land a job through a connection (faculty, alumni, friends, family) – milk your…[Read more]