Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Why Would I Want to Call a Landscape Architect?


Landscape Architects create and shape the outdoor world around all of us. Farnsworth Group boasts that our Landscape Architects create memorable spaces, but how does this process work, and when do you contact a Landscape Architect for your project?

Let’s begin by pretending you are the Director of a Parks and Recreation Department.  You have a large piece of undeveloped land that was previously on the outskirts of town and will soon be surrounded by new residential neighborhoods. You will need to know how to best develop this space for the members of your community, but even more so how to pay for such developments. Call a Landscape Architect to develop a Master Plan- a pretty picture to show the community how the overall space may be developed, and more importantly how it could be developed into future phases. The Landscape Architect will put together a budget that accompanies the Master Plan that you can use to seek grant funding to make this park a realization.


On the opposite spectrum, pretend you are a Manager for a private healthcare company and you have a new assisted living facility being built. You know exactly the type of client you are providing for and what types of activities you need to provide for them. Calling a Landscape Architect to work with your Architect in preliminary design phases will ensure that the necessary outdoor spaces for the facility connect seamlessly to the indoor spaces.

What if you are a City Planner and the City has challenged you with leading a downtown renovation project? Calling a Landscape Architect to work side-by-side with your Engineer will result in a beautiful aesthetic for your streetscape, but also means that this will be attained in a way that incorporates sustainable practices. What once was a hot, oversized and uninviting sidewalk now has the potential to be a pedestrian-friendly sidewalk with seating and a street-side tree planter that both provides shade and catches/helps to filter runoff. The Landscape Architect will see to it that project drawings will include the specific details a contractor needs to make this project a reality.

Now, you are a private landowner.  You have invested in several acres of land that you would like to develop into housing, but still maintain the character of the site that includes rolling hills, lakes and wooded groves.  Your first call should be to a Landscape Architect who will conduct a detailed analysis of the site and can help determine the most efficient use of the land while still maintaining the character of the site. Lots and roads will be laid out to maximize development potential while consciously protecting the site’s natural amenities and maybe realizing the potential to create additional green spaces for future native plant and wildlife habitats.

No matter who you might be, a Landscape Architect is a key member of your team throughout the entire design process and remains around throughout project installation. A Landscape Architect will ensure that the project is installed per the plans, and can even be hired for post construction services to ensure that a project functions properly and is maintained as it should be.

So, what are you waiting for? Call one of our Landscape Architects today at 309.689.9888 to create your memorable space.

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