(Photo above provided by Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc.)
If you’ve ever been asked this question and looked to the sky as you searched for a believable response, you were probably sixteen and probably responsible for something pretty silly…but wait – while this may sound like an accusatory question to some, it is perhaps the greatest compliment that can be given to a landscape architect.
Here’s why – if a landscape architect does their job well, little notice of the ‘genius’ of the work will be made because new buildings and streets will “fit” into the neighborhood, new parks and open spaces will seem as if they were always “there” and vegetated buffers, restored stream banks and natural areas will be viable andinviting to birds and people, seemingly overnight.
While Central Oregon’s natural beauty and ‘quality of life’ is unequaled nationwide, bad development practices can and do threaten the very thing we all hold so dear – the magical balance between constructed environments and ‘our’ natural settings.
Practice
We all place great importance in life on creating and maintaining a similar balance between work and play. In and outside of the workplace, we enjoy attractive grounds and neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, parks, playgrounds, campuses and open spaces. Cities are best known for their vibrant downtown areas, which create a sense of security and curb appeal for employees, visitors and residents. Weekends can’t come quickly enough as families and friendshead out to campgrounds and parks for rest, relaxation and recreation.
Urban or rural, many of these built environments, facilities and features have one thing in common – that is, they are designed spaces or facilities. The good ones are often designed by landscape architects. Working individually or as part of a design team, landscape architects meet with user groups, engineers, architects and specialists at the outset of a project to determine the best arrangement of buildings, parking areas, roads and facilities in relation to existing site features.
Landscape architects collaborate with environmental scientists and foresters to find the best way to conserve, restore and protect our lands so that environmental impacts to natural resources are minimized in wetlands, streams and rivers, mined areas and forested lands.
Landscape architects integrate stewardship of natural environments, constructedfacilities and open spaces with the public’s short term and long-term health, safety and welfare as an over-riding priority.
Sustainability and beyond…
Green and sustainable design while new to some, is a working tenet for landscape architects – and always has been. Many landscape architects have an intuitive sense for aesthetic and the functional relationships – and we are trained to better understand and apply them to working principals of the arts and the sciences. Training to become a landscape architect typically includes five years in an accredited program, followed by one to three years of training with a licensed landscape architect. As with most professional practice, registration and licensure comes only after the successful completion of a national examination administered at the state level.
Make Local Habit…
Mark Twain once described an ‘expert’ as “an ordinary fellow from another town.” Over the previous two decades, as Central Oregon has grown and developed, the number of registered landscape architects has grown as well and currently stands at seventeen in private and public practice. It is no longer necessary to go to Portland or Seattle to find a professional landscape architect with comprehensive experiences in all phases of residential, commercial, industrial, environmental and recreation design and development. From master planning to site planning and design, many local professionals have similar working experience and professional credentials as our peers in larger cities. What ‘local’ landscape architects may have to offer to your needs in addition to professional skill is a deeper understanding and respect for ‘the place’ we all call home.
The answer to the question, “what have you done here?”
It’s simple – we have designed a feature or a place with people’s needs and nature in balance.
David Olsen RLA
On behalf of the
High Desert Chapter of Oregon ASLA
(American Society of Landscape Architects)
DavidO@hhpr.com
