About design diversity....

A very common misconception about landscape architects is that we design plant and tree spaces...and we do, but very infrequently. The term "landscape" in the title was originally used to describe a space, either dimensional or non-dimensional... "the landscape of the savanna is", or "the landscape of early Christianity is littered with...". It wasn't until the 1960's that the term really started being used to describe the planting areas in a residence...."a home's landscape". Which is very unfortunate as it places an immediate stereotype on the profession.

I noted the events of a fairly typical week in our landscape architecture office, and none of it had anything to do with plants and flowerbeds. Suprisingly, much of it had to do with human psychology and sociology.

Here is what we did last week: Consult with a Navy SEAL regarding logos and verbiage for a memorial, designed a $500,000 municipal playground, pursued project meetings for university campus master plans, developed signage for the golf course of a country club, picked the placement and solar orientation of a home on an empty lot, met with a committee to help select an architect for a major regional project, developed a schematic sketch for the addition to an existing home, worked on the interior layout and footprint of a hunting cabin in the Texas Hill Country, reviewed design guidelines for a city's future growth and development, studied and developed layout concepts of a public park, designed a basketball court and tennis court for public bidding, did grading studies for a parking lot, designed a swimming pool, and met with a team in another state regarding site planning a new commercial development. Notice that we didn't design any flowerbeds.

The field of landscape architecture is very diverse. It encompasses venues that many don't typically associate with the profession: urban planning, golf course design, zoo design, public parks and playgrounds, memorials, shoreline preservation and restoration, nature preserves, national park circulation and campsite layouts, college campus layouts, hike and bike trails, healing gardens, and yes...backyards, are all designed or developed by landscape architects. KDC Associates has been blessed to have an extremely diverse design portfolio. Yes, we can help you with your residence or business, but please---understand we are about so much more than plants. Use the unique education and vast experience of our registered landscape architects to help you to develop your home, your business, your university, or your community to achieve it's true potential.