Tosh K

If you want to be involved in the building of spaces, it’s good to be licensed in that it demonstrates to clients that you have at least a minimum competency in the field to maintain public health, safety and welfare.  It’s becoming increasingly difficult to do design and build without a license.
If you are a stellar designer and can find a…[Read more]

They’re all set up to gain public trust and ensure some level of consistent ‘minimal knowledge’ across the board.  This is true for all professions (law/medicine/engineering/architecture). 
The LARE process is, in my opinion, easy – in comparison to other related fields.  The tests are straight forward (esp compared to the PE) and as is record of…[Read more]

The one thing I used in school that I wish I used more often at work is using the 3D modeling software’s ability to instantly calculate cut/fill based on existing and proposed terrain models – it’s not 100% ( as often the proposed is on top of finish/base materials ), but it’s a useful tool that larger contractors seem to use for estimating.…[Read more]

Yes, there were a few when I was in school that hired designers to help the licensed staff do construction/permitting/zoning drawings and to do nice fluffy renderings to sell the work.  I’d image large scale homebuilders do the same.  I get the feeling qualifications for a large portion of their operations are not degree specific.

I took CAD in college (the engineering school was 3 versions behind, architecture 1 version behind), but I didn’t really learn how to use it until I started working (summer internship).  So many of the commands are hard to understand in abstraction (at least for me).
My program tried throwing in 3D terrain modeling via FormZ, Civil 3D, Maya…[Read more]

Andrew’s suggestions are all great – there’s a bit of a learning curve with all of the software before you get quick at it, but once you’re squared away it’s nice to be able to edit so quickly.  I hated the scraping and cut&tape working on mylar.
So to all the hand drafters out there:  what do you do when the architect changes their building f…[Read more]

I’d bet money on Olmsted working in BIM, maybe getting CATIA to work for his needs.  He’d probably have a dedicated programming staff to create plug-ins his needs and laughing at the rest of us for being shoe-horned into using software meant for engineers and building architects.

The content or the format?  The content should basically be the same (life/safety/welfare of the public hasn’t changed much) as the old – the Strom ‘Site Engineering for Landscape Architects’ was a good resource for me when I took the written version.  
As for the format – I’d take a look at the ASLA video (available somewhere online) and find s…[Read more]

Congrats, and welcome to the club.  I normally don’t use initials after my name – my email has my title ‘landscape architect’, but I’ve left it off my business card.  I figure anyone who needs to know if I have the necessary paperwork will ask, and most should know by job title anyway.
It gets a little hard to decide what post-nominals should s…[Read more]

Pretty sure licensure is a state jurisdiction and not federal, so don’t hold your breath on Congress intervening (even if they were a more organized bunch).  It’s up to professionals to get their own act together – and it seems from the comments here and on ASLA’s website that there are enough people who have little or no interest in a common…[Read more]

http://www.asla.org/uploadedFiles/CMS/Government_Affairs/Public_Policies/Licensure%20Universal%20Designation.pdf
See ‘Rationale’ section for detailed explanation as to why the ASLA is pushing for PLA.  I’ve heard through the grapevine that it also had few conflicts in the 50 states when vetted and in states with issues the legal issues seemed resolvable.

I’m told A=1, B=2 and D questions are in 3&4. Graphic questions aren’t used anymore.  I used the ’05 ppi study guide when I took it (right before the switch) and there were some differences in B(2): no surveying questions, new questions on fire safety planning, playgrounds, and stormwater management.  I’d say the section A portion was 90% r…[Read more]

Wood : black locust (US sourced, not the eastern European stuff everyone seems to use), Accoya and other heat/chemical treated wood (some of them are now building US plants); in general lumber that isn’t shipped to Canada to be processed and brought back down; reused timbers
Stone: local (though often more costly than Chinese, both for…[Read more]

It would depend on the position – larger firms sometimes will have ‘design principals’ who are more in charge of overall design than technical aspects (basically dividing the work up even at the senior levels).  Hence you will occasionally find senior level people who are unlicensed.
In general having technical knowledge and project managing…[Read more]

Of the offices I’ve been at:

1. 7 person engineering/planning office – everyone did everything, though the PMs did most of the spec work.  The principal checked everything and made most of the big decisions.  More PMs than staff, so they had to do their share of CAD work too.  Some task work (marketing, etc) but not much as there was a no…[Read more]

There’s always the attractiveness in hiring someone who’s already employed as well – I see a lot of poaching going on (in architecture as well as LA).

I recall a competition entry using a highly absorbent fabric buoy/levy system… seemed a bit hokey, but maybe not? 

I’ve seen pollarded trees that might work (Frankfurt’s main pedestrian way has plane trees that maintain branches/leaves in a few feet, above pedestrians but below 2nd story windows).  

Acacia, locust, and hornbeam are probably the better options for size and pollarding.

Any way to get a basic structure and try growing vines instead?

Hilarious!  Almost like the lizard zoo exhibit… for people!

Doesn’t this make an ideal ‘kill zone’ for the predators?  Albeit no different than the ones that naturally exist, and perhaps more fair than the highway.