Tosh K

Robert has in the past made his views clear on ‘sustainability’ and as I understand practice in the more conservative parts of TX.  I’m not sure, but I suspect some of it may be a reaction to ‘market fads’ (correct me if I’m wrong here Robert).
I do agree wholeheartedly with you (and you’ve made great points below).  Each part of the country has d…[Read more]

He’s in TX – might explain some of it.  
I, too have always worked in places that required innovative stormwater solutions, native plants, minimizing impact, etc (even in ‘red’ counties in the south).

While doing structural work, I remember seeing a series of software used to design steel structures (you input the location of columns/beams/cross-bracing and the loads, the software gave you the sizes of each member – another software then spit out the connections needed).  The SEs still needed to be able to make sure it looked right because…[Read more]

The NY ASLA prep sessions were very good (1 weekend in NYC) and helpful covering test taking for the LARE and going over the materials (what help, what was not so good) and is lead by people who have taken it in the last few years.  It’s also not too bad as cost goes.  I highly recommend it.
I used: Hinze (Construction Contracts chapter 1 and 9 -…[Read more]

I do agree about the programmatic – the concept of “free play” in the imagination playground is rather sad when the designer/provider is controlling the pieces to be played with (and time and context).  My guess us that in the dense neighborhoods this is somewhat fitting (for better or for worse) and the passive natural area is provided by…[Read more]

‘Being qualified’ is implied, but no matter how good you’re on paper, I think it’s safe to say that having a relationship with those that are hiring helps them determine if you’re a good fit for their ‘culture’.  Most studios work as a team, teams need team players that fit the culture.  They may not be the best, but of the finalists being the b…[Read more]

“Urban Diaries” and “Blues & Jazz Landscape Improvisations” are two of his monographs you should look into.  I recall one of his projects involving homeless – providing spaces for them as part of the public in a public park.  One of the take-aways I learned was that not everyone needs to do everything in a public space, it’s ok that some spaces a…[Read more]

Read Walter Hood and check out some of his projects.

yeah, I get requests to save down to ’04.

File format changes only every 3~4 yrs (00, 04, 07, 10, 13), those are the big jumps so unless you’re on subscription it’s not worth the jump.  2013 was the big change year, my guess is 2014 is not significant.

1 cr hr/semester?  so 1 hr/wk give or take?  It would make a broad overview course, but not much in terms of actually using the software (well, CS/Rhino/CAD/GIS maybe, but Civil 3D and Revit def not).  Coding is better suited for a 3~4cr course as well, the intensity and repetition helps.  
I get the impression overall that the ‘integrated met…[Read more]

Keep things consistent – there are many ways to do things.  Rule of thumb I’ve stuck with through many offices is if it exists in the real world, it stays in model space, if it doesn’t (mostly the text) it’s in paper space.  On detail sheets normally everything is in model space.
The more organized an office is overall, the more likely the o…[Read more]

What matters more is the studio culture – are they inter-disciplinary and collaborative vs top-down, etc.  I’ve had good experiences in both, but sometimes the LA studio in a larger office is there to ‘shrub it up’ to save on the cost of a consultant.  Some architects and engineers understand landscape issues as well as any LA, so those are the b…[Read more]

I suppose the quick response is due it as soon as you feel ready: it’s a test, and test-taking gets harder the longer you’re away from it.  A lot of people fail b/c they over think the questions (some answers would be ‘right’ in practice, but the exam question has 1 correct answer), especially with experience some questions have absurd ‘correct’ answers.

During my review session I was told they didn’t have a pipe sizing question in 3yrs (’08~’10), so I think that’s buried – I certainly did’t see one on mine.  Ditto on the surveying (elevations using stations) questions.  I believe both are in the PPI review books (and useful to know).  Retaining walls under 4′ are still there (basics of where re…[Read more]

As much as I do love the academic studies that get done, it always irks me when I see an ’empty space’ photo or a ‘packed space’ photo that is program based and not spatial planning based.  Some spaces just cannot be used for an active urban life, on the other hand some spaces are temporal. Some of the ones that particularly are skewed for me…[Read more]

Our program’s attitude was to learn what we needed – their job was to teach us how software works in general (so that we could adapt to newer software as they came out).  There were a few workshops at the beginning of the year and if you needed help older students / younger faculty were around to help you learn the ones you had trouble with.…[Read more]

How does having your name on a project w/o a license affect liability insurance?  I can’t imagine tying my license for liability on another person’s drawings, too many things could go wrong.  Is this less of a concern on residential projects? 

Sorry you feel that I’m misinformed.
I took the exam 2 years ago (ABCDE format, though 1=A and 2=B), passed w/o any problems in the process or exams – maybe CT has gotten it smoothed out.  Having seen the changes coming I did my research (spoke with CLARB and atate ASLA board members and co-workers for advice on whether to wait or plow through;…[Read more]

It helps to either have a lot of cash and land or have friends that do.  Having capital is a key component of developing.