Design by Cowboy Boot...
Some time ago I stood watching a potential residential client butcher one of our plans on a project site. He was walking back and forth, making sure all around him were able to hear his every word as he "sketched" out what he wanted for his pool, entertaining space, retaining walls, and sidewalks. Now when I say "sketched", I don't mean with a pen and paper...I mean with the heal of his cowboy boot. I was amused that he was basically tracing out almost exactly what was on our conceptual design, he just didn't know it.
After a while, and after numerous references back to the plan, it dawned on me...he could not read in plan view. In other words, he could not read a blueprint and he had absolutely no concept of what was graphically represented in our drawings. That is not an insurmountable obstacle. As a professional landscape architect, we have had 5 or 6 years of university study in understanding a plan and being able to translate a one-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional space. Many of our clients have difficulties in reading a plan and fully understanding what they are seeing. What is the bigger issue is when you have problems with what you are seeing AND you won't admit it. When this happens, we highly recommend that you have your consultant provide an architectural perspective rendering of your site. This type of drawing is in full color and is usually taken from an eye-level perspective looking at the proposed site as it is currently designed. As an option, you can have a bird's-eye level perspective developed. This drawing is from an elevated view of your project, usually from a height of 100'-200' above the ground and looking at your site from a distance. If you look at some of the images in our web site, you will find some good examples of these perspective drawings. It cost a little more to do these, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Additionally, these drawings are excellent sales and marketing tools for a public project, as they may be reproduced onto bulletins, billboards, invitations, web sites, and other media.
These are actual quotes we have heard from residential clients over the years, some multiple times.
"I'm not worried about the cost." You actually have no concept of what you intend to budget for your project. Really? Money is not important? Remember that when your receive our invoice.
"My interior decorator told me to do it this way." They might have a good idea, they might not. Lets discuss where they are coming from with their thoughts.
"I'll draw it and you just put it on paper for a contractor to build." You really don't need to hire a Landscape Architect. You can save money and have your contractor draw the plan.
"What is the most expensive residence you have done? I want mine at least as big as the that one." He later spent $4.2 million just to prove a point to his neighbor.
"I need my friend to come over and tell me. She knows what she is looking at and is very talented." Which leads me to ask as to why hire us then? Have your friend design it and save you some money.
Now let me get to my very rambling point - Chances are you called us. So hire KDC Associates because you trust us...because we are in our third decade of professional experience...because we have won numerous design awards...because we do this for a living...because we want your project to be on a magazine cover...because we aren't selling you a physical product...and because we have your best interest in mind. We want your project to be better than you ever expected it to be.
