I started my 2 year mla in the uk with no design experience a few weeks ago. Maybe I'm just used to undergrad where everything was a bit more straight forward and not open ended, but my undergrad degree was not in design. These mla classes are 3 days a week 10-5pm.

A lot of the instruction so far has been relatively vague with the directions. There's no inherent right answer to how a site should be designed. We also just started learning cad but so far only had one 3 hour instructional session so far, then we were told to practice it on our own, with the next instruction in 2 weeks.

I'm not mad at this, just a little surprised.

And how important is hand drawing? I can't draw for shit, but want to learn.

need someone that can make a 3d render of an aluminum pergola

i just have pictures of the site, I need someone that can replicate the picture for drawing

Installment #3. My entourage and overall graphic quality is improving. My workflow is sketchup -> twin motion -> power point. I’ve been so bogged down with autocad work that I haven’t done many marketing graphics and renderings, and I certainly do not have it dialed but this series is a work in progress and will continue to evolve as develop my skills and the conversations continue.

The flat bar should be included in every.single.skate.park. No questions asked, it’s as important as the standard ledge.

Your feedback is actually valuable to me because I really appreciate the LA community embracing this as a legitimate form of LA and that the designers everywhere are really stepping up their game.

Hello architecture siblings from across the pond! I am in need of your wisdom as I function off of duct-tape and spite. I'm currently doing my masters thesis, and this thesis topic has me handling a lot of country and province wide mapping during my initial research stages — which I'm quickly finding out is an entirely new bag of worms from neighbourhood scale site plans. Think forest ecology, land ownership, wildfire forensics, etc.

I don't have a lot of experience in doing country-wide or even province wide analytical maps, so I was wondering if y'all happened to have any tips, tricks, or programs you use consistently in your professional or school career, and what your work flow generally looks like to create nice, clear looking maps. Right now I'm using ARCGIS and photoshop layering because my computer really struggles with illustrator, but it just isn't really matching the quality that I want to achieve for my thesis.

Some programs I've used:

ARCGIS

CADMapper

Mapbox

Programs I know about but don't know how to use:

QGIS

Thanks in advance!

Hi there! I recently graduated from the university of Florida with my BLA. It’s an accredited program so I do not need to go back to school to earn my license.

I am currently working full time at an office, but I think I want to return to grad school within the next two years to earn a masters degree. Specifically, I want to go to the GSD because of the faculty, resources, and fun that the program looks like.

The general consensus I hear is that MLAs are not very lucrative if you already have an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture and aren’t planning on teaching. I’m wondering what people think about Masters in Landscape Architecture / Urban Design as a way to diversify my skillset. I’m also curious to hear if anyone has had direct experience with the MLAUD program at the GSD and what there thoughts are on it.

Some other questions are: is it even a good idea to be thinking about masters right now with the current state of the industry? Should I just ride out having a full time position until things get a bit better?

FYI: I have always had an interest in urban design and some of my role models in the industry have backgrounds in the discipline. I also have an interest in eventually teaching, so I’d need the masters to do that.

Hi all, was researching how I may be able to align my career with doing more of this kind of work. I was thinking a good way of doing so would be looking into courses in Therapeutic horticulture and potentially playground safety inspection (CPSI) requirements. Does anybody work for firms that primarily work in senior living or universal designs? Do you think pursuing such courses would be beneficial?

Hey guys!

So a bit of backstory, I am a Landscape Architecture student at a large and popular SEC school! I am sure you can probably guess which one haha! Anyways, I did not originally want to be an LA at all, I was interested in Architecture, but my school only offered Landscape Architecture. When I started school I immediately realized that this is where I need to be, I love what I am doing and I am shocked I had no idea about this before.

I want to build a life doing this and connecting with people/businesses to make a real change in our world’s landscapes. Now, I am one of many who wants this, and it is incredibly hard to stand out.

My credits in school put me at the end of junior year/beginning of senior year, but technically I am a sophomore, so my credits are ahead and I need to begin looking at masters/internships for next year.

My question here I guess would be what is the best masters/minor/certificate to get and what is the best pathway to follow just in general to become actually successful? Growing up I lived in a very expensive capital city, and my family always struggled. I want to be able to live comfortably as an adult and not worry about money like I always have.

I’ll be honest, I am not a kid person, so I will probably be child-free with my partner, so really it is just us and our pets, but I want to be successful to prove to myself that I am capable of so much more than what I have gone through.

Does anyone have any advice on this?

Hi everyone! I own a small landscape design studio in Northeast Florida specializing in high-end residential projects. We’ve had a pretty busy couple of months, and I’m exploring bringing on some freelance help with overflow work.

Ideally looking for someone with a landscape architecture background, strong AutoCAD skills, and experience putting together well-organized design development and construction drawing packages. Residential design experience is a big plus!
This would be remote, flexible, and on an hourly/project basis depending on workload. Not necessarily looking for someone full-time, but ideally someone we could build an ongoing working relationship with.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, feel free to shoot me a DM with a little about your experience, some work samples, and your hourly rate!
Thanks!

Im a third year landscape architecture student and today I found out I was not selected for an internship that I have been interviewing for. I met and networked with the firm, I got all the way through the interview process, and then didn’t get it.

What’s worse is that my recruiter told me that it was extremely close. So close that they even debated taking on two interns but ultimately I got edged out.

I’m honestly just feeling discouraged and I keep spiraling about what small thing I missed that my competition didn’t. Was it something with my portfolio? my professionalism? I’m not sure because the whole process went extremely well.

This firm is the highest paying for interns that I know of in my area and I feel like a majorly missed out on this opportunity.

Anyone else sharing similar feelings? I know it’s stupid to get upset over my first internship rejection but I made it so far in the process and really was getting excited.

We’re back with another series of vignettes on standard skatepark ledges with slight modifications to the original design. Got some good comments on the last series so excited to share again with this sub.

Personally I’m most partial to the banked ledge as it suits my skate style more than the wallie or curved ledge but ready for your thoughts.

These types of features are must haves in the public skate park. All of the provide standard functionality with a little bit of a twist. There are seemingly infinite possibilities for the final form on a rather simple feature.

I’m collecting peaceful nature moments as I work toward starting a small homestead in New Brunswick. This bright noon clearing felt like a reminder to slow down.

Location:

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

I started my program a few weeks ago, and we don't have our own workstations. Do you? I wanted to know if this is the norm sometimes. It's a little annoying to pick up everything instead of just leaving it on a desk. I toured some schools that have it, and I'm jealous.

Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects, Inc.
Landscape Designer / Landscape Architect | Ardmore, PA

• 2-5 years of professional experience as a landscape designer or landscape architect.
• A degree in landscape architecture or landscape design.

Hey all - I built this tool for a landscape architect friend of mine, and I figured it might be useful for some folks here too.

This is not lead gen for any business, it's just a tool i put together for a friend.

I've mostly tested this on WA addresses. If it is broken or not working for your state, please ping me and I'll be happy to fix it.

Type in a US address and it makes a planning-level base plan:

• the parcel line (for states where it's available)
• contours from LiDAR
• slope bands, soils, FEMA flood zones, NWI wetlands
• a recent aerial if available

Exports DXF/DWG, textured 3D terrain for SketchUp, a LandXML surface for Civil 3D, GIS files and a PDF summary.

I tried my best to include provenance info & dates for all info in case you need to trace the data back

https://basesheet.site/

I’m having a lot of fun building this, so if there’s something you’d want it to do (or something it gets wrong), I’d love to hear it.

Their Philadelphia office is hiring again. Hope this helps those looking for a job.

I’m currently getting an associates in horticulture at a SoCal community college and while the entry level botany and prop type classes are fun I have really enjoyed the design classes and plan to major in LA at a 4 year. Cal Poly Pomona is the only public school listed on assist.org that doesn’t have any articulations listed that I should do at CC first. The other limited options do, and there are a lot of stem requirements which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me for a design heavy degree. In a perfect world I only apply to CPP and get in and that’s that. It’s not too far from where I live now and in state tuition would be ideal, however I would like to have at least one other school that I can apply to so I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket. I would be more open to taking more bio and chem classes if I was going to be a botanist but, my first associates is in liberal arts and I’m just more of a creative type. All this to say, what schools would you recommend for a bachelors with less stem and more design focus, really anywhere in the US? I feel pretty overwhelmed by the prospect of sifting through all of them myself and assist.org only works for California. Are there similar resources for other regions? Any suggestions on how to at least narrow things down would be greatly appreciated!

So you broke out of the employee grind and went solo or took on a business partner. How did you do it? How’s that going for you? Does your partner have complimentary skills? How have you dealt with challenges? My professors told me that a lot of LAs break off and go their own way but most of my class mates are just doing the corporate thing still.

I work in civil engineering/land development and have been building a web app called CivPath. I'd like to get a landscape architect's perspective on the coordination side of it, especially from people dealing with agency reviews and submittals.

The problem I'm trying to work through is that a lot of a project's schedule depends on things outside our own task list. A submittal goes into review, comments come back, another consultant is waiting on a decision, and the next set of dates changes. I've been building around requirements, review cycles, dependencies and approvals rather than keeping those separate from the schedule.

I'm looking for about 5–10 people across civil engineering and land-development project delivery to spend 15–20 minutes trying it. If you're an LA who handles project coordination or works closely with civil PMs, I'd really value your take on where this misses how your work actually happens.

You'd use a fictional civil-development project already set up in the app. Can you tell what needs attention next? Do the review cycles and Schedule/Gantt view make sense? What's missing, or just more work to keep updated?

This is unpaid feedback, with no sales demo, purchase or call required. Access is by individual invitation. It's for fictional data only, uploads are disabled, and it isn't for use on real projects. Please don't enter employer, client or project information.

If you'd like to take a look, the evaluation details and interest form are here:

https://civpath.app/request-access/#evaluation

And if the whole approach seems off, that would be useful to hear too.

I’m currently a student on internship and I’m not getting very much experience working on graphics. I really want to improve this area of my skill set as I feel I pick up the technical skills more quickly.

What would be the best way to learn & practice new methods of creating graphics? I typically just scroll Pinterest, but I don’t want to just become a
Pinterest copycat. Any advice appreciated!

Hi everyone, I am feeling very lost in decision of where I should go to grad school for landscape architecture and hoping for some advice! I want to go back to school for an MLA (I have a bachelor degree in botany). I currently live in Ohio and I’m thinking about Kent State because I already have residency in Ohio and cost of living is lower in that area. However, I really love the west and have been considering University of Colorado in Denver. The program design is more interesting to me than Kent State’s. I’d also consider working and living in New England area because I love that part of the country.
I don’t feel heavily tied to any one area, I just don’t want to live long term in Ohio and make a career for myself here. But cost of living while putting yourself through school is obviously important.

How easy has it been for you to find work in a different part of the country from where you got your degree? Do you think it’s best to pick a school based on program design or does it not matter as much in the long run as long as you have the general training and mindset of a landscape architect? Thanks for any input!

I'm 26 and at a crossroads, and I would love some perspective. I graduated two years ago with a BA in Art History and a minor in Environmental Public Policy. Since then I've worked in research on horticulture and landscape work with native plants, and I've started an arboriculture certification with the goal of eventually earning my ISA certification.
I was recently accepted into a Master's in Architectural Conservation (about $15,000) and I was really excited about it. Then I had a job interview where the interviewer turned out to be a professor in that same program. When I mentioned it as my next step, he looked at me with pity. He told me the program isn't good and that he feels it takes advantage of students' money, though he tries to make the best of it from the inside. I know the world is small, but I felt shaken all of a sudden.
Now I don't know whether to go back into conservation and art or to pursue a career in arboriculture and landscape work. I'm passionate about both, and I don't want to feel like I wasted my time or my money. I live in a part of the US where historic buildings are plentiful and landscape work is also in high demand, so I could realistically find work in either field here. I'm also still in time to apply to a Master's in Landscape Architecture. I do want to pursue graduate studies, because I love learning, having mentors, and having my work evaluated as I grow. What matters most to me is job prospects, career growth, and fulfillment. I also plan to move to another country in about two years for new experiences, so I'm wondering which path would travel best.
I'd love to hear from anyone with experience in any of these paths. How do I vet a program beyond one person's opinion? Would an MLA make more sense given my plant and policy background, and does an art history degree transfer well into landscape architecture? Which credentials are recognized internationally? Or would it be smarter to work in the field a few more years before going back to school? Any advice is welcome, including from people who regret their choice. Thank you!

Hello! I'm wondering if anyone has design precedents that emphasize winter recreation, gathering outside in the winter, and/or seasonal structures that enable gathering in the wintertime. Any help appreciated!

What is landscape architecture design?

Give your design some real depth.

First you may wonder what is lamé. It is a fabric interwoven with gold or silver threads. But in the garden (landscape architecture subset)? The threads are the subtle arcane whispers that lead the observer to transfigurational pleasures. You think this is dream talk? Never. Have you ever had quiet moments in a garden that you could describe as timeless—timeless moments when the garden took control of your thoughts and senses? If your answer is no—then you have two choices: stop reading or go out into a beautiful late spring garden and allow yourself a touch of idle-time. You’ll be surprised.

In the post-WWI years of the 20th century, during turbulent times in Spain, Federico Garcia Lorca, a native Andalusian, wrote about the confluence of culture, landscape and design. He used lamé to describe the Andalusian connective tissue between landscape, music and culture.

He also wrote about duende—a spiritual or emotional bond between the Flamenco performer and the audience. Duende, could that be a spiritual or emotional bond between a garden and its guest?

Lorca was a poet. He examined both lamé and duende. Lorca talked about how a garden with Its scents and iridescences, its Andalusian perfumes and its hallucinatory play of waters. All together they transform into music. Lorca’s thing was a fanatical obsession for music and gardens as essential foils to counteract the urban rubato (sound familiar?). Lorca described: 

Andalusians--nothing in half measures. Lorca wrote about a perfect poem of tears--Gypsy and Andalusian culture where music speaks of a landscape and melancholy so irresistible, they become an overwhelming emotive force producing an inner weeping. That, he writes, is Andalusia.

What do you strive for in your garden design?