Landscape Architecture represents the management, planning, and design of the built and natural environments. Anywhere from construction detail development, native planting, green infrastructure, and recreation/trail design to teaching, research, master planning, and ordinance preparation, every Landscape Architect is different.
United States Courthouse | Minneapolis, MN
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
wildlife habitat corridors | cities | constructed wetlands | green streets | green roofs & walls
Defined as anything and everything green, green infrastructure promotes streetscapes, parks, green roofs, and anything that will help absorb or treat stormwater and pollution in specifically urban environments. Oxygen is created through these plantings along with capturing carbon dioxide.
Strategies for more green infrastructure have already been underway in bigger cities like New York and Philadelphia costing 1.2-1.5 billion over the next couple of years. The city of Philadelphia is expecting to avoid roughly 1.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions all through the use of simple green infrastructure. Landscape Architects are the masterminds behind these urban forests implementing practices based on durability, resilience, character, growth habit, and aesthetic value. Diversity in species to limit monocultures will help with environmental factors involving pests and diseases.
Ricon Place | San Francisco, CA
The High Line | New York City, NY
MASTER PLANNING
parks | trails | plazas | waterfronts | gardens | streetscapes | commercial & residential developments
Precedent studies and detailed site analysis of current conditions, master planning is common in Landscape Architecture. Programming areas based on functionality, durability, and visual appearance all while blending together sidewalks, trails, and streets, work as a system that flows with it’s surrounding environment. Well-known Landscape Architects such as Fredrick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, James Corner, and Michael Van Valkenburgh can be identified through their master plan designs in cities like Chicago and New York. Olmsted was famous for designing urban parks such as Central Park in NYC and the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington D.C. James Corner created The High Line in NYC and Navy Pier in Chicago. The list goes on with incredible projects that have set a standard for designers.
The Gathering Place | Tulsa, OK
The next time you have a site design project or capital improvement plan that could benefit from landscape architecture, reach out to me to discuss your options!
Clay Silver, L.A.I. | Landscape Architect Intern
csilver@cgaconsultants.com
Text Source: https://www.asla.org/
Photo credit:
http://www.pamelaburtonco.com/projects/rincon-place/
https://www.archdaily.com/24362/the-new-york-high-line-officially-open
https://www.conteches.com/knowledge-center/case-studies/details/slug/gathering-place
