Landscape Architects

A Day in the Life

Between meetings and site visits, your day planner as a newly graduated landscape architect is already full. You work with a regional architectural firm that handles a mixture of civic and private projects, a blend you appreciate because of the variety that it offers. At the office, you work with a fellow architect on finalizing the details of a big presentation you've been assembling for some time. You've done the necessary footwork of speaking to hydrologists, landscape designers and developers; all that remains now is the presentation itself.

Your first client meeting of the day is your biggest. You've learned to schedule big meetings early before your hair wilts at a work site. You're to meet with a local hospital's planning committee and show your final designs for the facility's green space and gardens. The space was once a box store's parking lot and an empty field, but your plan transforms it into a shaded garden with footpaths and a tranquil pond.

Computer-aided design and sleek graphics give your presentation polish, but the expertise that went into the plans goes deeper than the appealing images you show to the board. The specific challenges this project presented, including full wheelchair accessibility, sustainable building materials, paths that provide firm footing and gentle slopes that convalescing patients can traverse, are all a part of your presentation. The board seems delighted with your attention to detail and readily approves your plans with no changes.

Before you enjoy a celebratory lunch at the office, you stop by another building site to see how the work is progressing. This project, a small waterfront park and playground, involved careful attention to water and wind as well as the usual playground safety measures. You're especially proud of the inspired choice of using fragrant herbs as plantings; as the wind comes in from the lake, it carries the scent of mint and lavender with it. The smaller plants are just going in, so the work is almost complete.

After lunch, you spend some time on the phone with various city officials. Pushing paperwork through a lengthy approval process takes almost as long as designing some projects. You also place a call to one of the engineers in charge of the hospital project to discuss public lighting. Your work a few summers ago as a landscape designer gave you experience with hands-on planting and building, but as a landscape architect, you're responsible for many other aspects of a project.

The rest of your afternoon is devoted to developing cost estimates and locating sources for materials. The math isn't as glamorous as a client presentation, but it's essential to your work. You become absorbed in your calculations and are surprised when it's already time to go home. During your commute, you notice how people use parks and pathways, giving you new ideas.