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<\/a>Lots of\u00a0landscape architecture firms in the Northern Virginia region practice a design-build approach to landscape design<\/a>. We\u2019d like to think that we stand out amongst all that competition because we push ourselves so hard to achieve exceptional creativity and craftsmanship in all of our garden & landscape designs. We know how we feel about designing with nature, but what about the other landscape architects? We wanted to know. So, we asked some of our esteemed colleagues to share their thoughts with us.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise that we discovered we have much in common\u2014our respect for nature and natural history is one. On the other hand, we each see in our own ways and thus take a very personal approach to design with nature.<\/p>\n Here are highlights from our conversations with some of the best landscape architects based in the Northern Virginia and metropolitan Washington DC region:<\/p>\n Guy Williams<\/strong>, DCA Landscape Architects (website under construction), Washington DC You want to figure out what the site is trying to tell you so you can respond in some physical way with design. Mark Gionet, Landscape Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Guy Williams, DCA Landscape Architects<\/strong>: That process of asking questions, getting to know the clients, looking at the site is what gets me started. Always when I go to meet people at their home and talk to them, see their house, and how they live in it\u2014I try to get a sense of who they are. Our work is contextual. That means finding and developing a particular sense of place.<\/p>\n Jay Graham, Graham Landscape Architecture<\/strong>: Walking the site is absolutely key. I get a lot of inspiration right there. That\u2019s where the design starts because it starts with analyzing the existing conditions. I\u2019ve become more and more aware of how water moves across a site. The topography and the trail of water tell me what\u2019s happening on the site but also around it. It\u2019s important to go beyond the property line and learn about the larger unit of land and how that\u2019s impacting the site.<\/p>\n Mark Gionet, LSG Landscape Architecture<\/strong>: It always begins with the site. Nothing substitutes for the visceral response that you get from being there. Understanding the micro-climatic conditions (moisture and temperature), where the wind comes from, how much sun is there, what the soil is like, what are the views, what can you hear and see and smell\u2014you need the full sensory experience in order to respond fully. You want to figure out what the site is trying to tell you so you can respond in some physical way with design.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got to do my best work but be able to condense my creative process to meet deadlines. Guy Williams, Landscape Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Guy:<\/strong> If I were to draw a cartoon of myself in the design process, I visualize a large funnel-shaped sieve above my head that has levels of filtering in it. I toss everything into that top level and let it start filtering down through the layers. Moving down through my head, down through my arm, out my fingers and into lines and shapes on a page. It keeps changing through the process until it becomes an idea that works for that site. At the same time, we live in a real-world of permits and construction schedules. That means I\u2019ve got to do my best work but be able to condense my creative process to meet deadlines.<\/p>\n Jay:<\/strong> It\u2019s a little of both. The methodology part starts with collecting data, understanding the site and the program. Then it\u2019s like fitting the pieces together\u2014like a puzzle. You are looking for the best arrangement of the program on the site. At the same time, you are also looking for -your design brain is looking for- some magic in it.<\/p>\n Mark:<\/strong> There is a methodology that you follow. With public or corporate clients, it is spelled out for you. In other situations design is a process of exploration.\t\t You are at the threshold of an exciting journey. This eBook will provide sound guidance as you take your first steps.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t I like the operatic approach. Go big or go home. Mark Gionet, Landscape Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Guy:<\/strong> It\u2019s art, science and intuition. There\u2019s art in a planting plan where you have color, texture, form, flower, berry, leaf, and awareness of seasonal changes. These are the paints in your palette. Then you\u2019ve got the science: You make note of the topography, the slopes and flats, the dry areas, and where it\u2019s shady or sunny. Knowing what will work where is part science and part your gut. If you work with things long enough you get a sense of where certain plants will be happy on the site.<\/p>\n Mark:<\/strong> It\u2019s art but you need a little artifice to pull it off. The artifice part can\u2019t be false or insincere. We\u2019ve all seen those geologic impossibilities as it were\u2026 So there has to be truthfulness. What we do is a lot like stage design\u2014like when you go to the theater. You know you are in the theater but you can still be transported. I like the operatic approach. Go big or go home. If done well, something in the design hooks the viewer and you just believe it.<\/p>\n Jay:<\/strong> Some people don\u2019t ask much of us and we may rely on artifice. But every once in awhile, we get clients who push us and ask more of us. I think that\u2019s when it can rise closer to the level of art. More often than not we are working with an architect on developing a home site. In that case, our work will interact with the house. We design in layers so there are transitions rather than an abrupt meeting of house and landscape.<\/p>\n You can start trusting your intuition after you\u2019ve practiced for many years. Jay Graham, Landscape Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Mark:<\/strong> I\u2019ve had the good fortune to have a career that began at a time when everything had to be drawn by hand. Now, we\u2019ve got all these other expressive technologies to work with. It\u2019s been an amazing period of time in our industry with the introduction of new products on the technical and horticultural side. At the same time, we\u2019ve been rethinking our relationship to the environment and to the earth. It\u2019s a huge amount of material to command and have at the disposal of our clients. I still have an enormous amount left to learn.<\/p>\n Jay:<\/strong> Follow the water. Look for the story. The stronger story could be the natural character of the land or it could be the cultural character. The other important thing I\u2019ve learned is to trust my intuition. I think I was in my thirties when I read a book by Geoffrey Jellicoe, a British landscape architect. He talked about trusting his intuition. A couple of decades later I realized Jellicoe was much older when he wrote that book. And I finally got it. He was right. You can start trusting your intuition after you\u2019ve practiced for many years.<\/p>\n Guy<\/strong>: I think I learned how to see at a young age. I am highly aware of my surroundings and sensitive to little details of how things fit together. But the same sensitivity that helps you to do good work, can be hard on you in the process of working with people and their lives and homes. You need to be able to create a reality that is partly your vision and partly your client\u2019s vision. You start with a strong idea in your head, but it doesn\u2019t always turn out as you planned. If you are a painter or a writer, for example, you find very often that what you set out to create, in a way, creates itself. That\u2019s what\u2019s great about it: The simplicity of the end result belies all of the levels of detail that go into making it turn out that way.<\/p>\n What you realize is that you just have to go through all these processes to get to that end result. And it\u2019s always going to be the same. There aren\u2019t any shortcuts. Guy Williams, Landscape Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s another point we all agree on: there are no shortcuts. Our work takes us through a process with the site and the client. The ideas go through multiple iterations, some being filtered out or dramatically changed along the way. What we as landscape architects set out to do is influenced by -and made better by- our intimate understanding of the character of the site and the desires of the client.<\/p>\n Our sincere thanks go out to fellow landscape architects Jay Graham, Mark Gionet, and Guy Williams for their generous and thoughtful contributions to this post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Heart & Craft of Landscape Architecture Lots of\u00a0landscape architecture firms in the Northern Virginia region practice a design-build approach to landscape design. We\u2019d like to think that we stand out amongst all that competition because we push ourselves so hard to achieve exceptional creativity and craftsmanship in all of our garden & landscape designs. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10,11],"class_list":["post-2065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landscape-design","tag-landscape-architect","tag-landscape-architecture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nJay Graham<\/strong>, Moody\u00a0Graham Landscape Architecture<\/a>, Baltimore & Annapolis, Maryland
\nMark Gionet<\/strong>, LSG Landscape Architecture<\/a>, Tysons Corner, Virginia<\/p>\nWhere Does The Design Begin?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Is Your Creative Process Deliberate & Methodical Or Exploratory And Open-Ended?<\/h3>\n
Begin your project with a dream and a plan!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Is Landscape Design Art Or Artifice?<\/h3>\n
<\/a>What Have You Learned From Years In Practice?<\/h3>\n
<\/a>No Shortcuts<\/h3>\n
<\/a>