Landscape architecture

By: Jason Petrina



Landscape architecture is one form of architecture that many people do not know too much about. Most people think of designing towering skyscrapers and expensive mountain homes when they picture what an architect does for a living but the field of landscape architecture is much less well known. A landscape architect is required to obtain the same educational background, fulfill the same work requirements and undergo the same testing procedures in order to be licensed as an architect as more traditional architects who work on buildings. The term landscape architect can be very confusing and will lead many to believe that these architects deal mainly with plant life but this is not true. While plant life is a part of their daily job activities, it is only a small part of what they really do. As you walk through your neighborhood, you are likely to be surrounded by the work of a landscape architect.

Your own neighborhood was likely designed by a landscape architect. There work includes the obvious aspects such as selections of grass and trees. The architect choosing plant life for a particular project based on a number of factors including climate, budgetary constraints, the surroundings, maintenance concerns and even personal preference of the client. There are literally thousands of options for just the type of grass that is planted in a neighborhood. Climate is an obvious consideration but there is a great deal of work that goes into designing the architecture of a building. In addition to the plant life, the landscape architect also makes decisions regarding sidewalk and pavement materials. This process usually requires close coordination with the engineers especially in the pavement areas but the landscape architect does have some leeway in the design process. For example, if the client is looking for an old fashioned appeal to the neighborhood, the landscape architect may suggest the use of paving stones instead of solid concrete. This material might create the architecture that the client is looking for but it is important to also consider the load that will be placed on the material by the passing cars. The landscape architect may make suggestions regarding paving materials and the engineer will essentially crunch the numbers to determine whether or not the architecture will be structurally sound.

Architecture also comes into play in other aspects such as the design of street signs and street lighting. Both the traffic lights as well as any additional lights placed along the road might be designed by a landscape architect. Although most street signs are somewhat standard, there is always the opportunity for a landscape architect to design monuments to hold the street signs as opposed to standard poles. The lighting on the street is also usually designed by the landscape architect. Everything from the spacing of the lights to the height and color of the poles and the shape and wattage of the bulbs is often designed by landscape architects.

A few other aspects of a typically neighborhood that may be influenced by landscape architects include retaining walls as well as decorative walls and medians. Retaining walls usually have some structural purpose but are often relatively simple. The landscape architect is usually responsible for designing the walls to have an aesthetic appeal but they may also be responsible for the structural design of these architectural elements as well. Decorative walls are usually largely designed by the landscape architect with placement being the only input from the engineer. Another element that could be part of the architecture of the neighborhood is the medians on the roadway. Although these elements usually serve a purpose and were deemed necessary by the traffic engineer, the landscape architect is usually responsible for designing the landscape of the median including the surface materials used as well as any architectural elements that are placed on the median such as planters.



Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com