“Landscape architecture is an often-misunderstood profession,” admits Brett Smith, PLA, AICP, Southeast Region Landscape Architecture Leader for RaganSmith, a Pape-Dawson company. Fellow landscape architect Alan Thompson, PLA, LEED AP, RaganSmith Chief Marketing Officer, agrees: “Part of that is because there’s such a wide range of what a landscape architect can do.”Landscape architecture is a broad discipline that exists in the intersection of engineering and art. A STEM subject that requires licensure, it combines functional requirements, safety considerations, and aesthetics to design outdoor spaces that improve people’s lives. Landscape architects attend to geology, geography, vegetation, hydrology, and other aspects of the environment, shepherding a project from initial ideas through final implementation. Across the globe, their work brings life to private and public spaces in neighborhoods, museums, city parks, and community areas.
Although the overarching focus has not changed, Pape-Dawson landscape architects find themselves addressing urgent challenges for their clients. Here are some of the most important ones:
- Resiliency: “In recent years, we’re paying more attention to resilient design, where we prevent the destructive effects of storm water, flooding, fires, high winds, and other weather scenarios,” says Patrick Waylor, PLA, Pape-Dawson Senior Landscape Architect.
The needs of the environment dictate the materials and structures to be used, says Richard Chalupa, PLA, Landscape Architect at Florida-based GradyMinor, a Pape-Dawson company. “We have unique environmental concerns in Southwest Florida, for example, especially drawing on our history with recent hurricanes. For almost every single project we work on, especially the closer to the coast we get, the questions are all about how we can design a space to withstand these massive storm events.” The landscape architect considers each project, selecting design elements such as vegetation, hardscape materials, and even novel ways to keep bike racks and park benches in place during a storm.
- Housing shortages: Experts agree the United States faces a significant housing shortage. Creating inviting, livable spaces has become central to landscape architects’ core mission. “Whether it’s single-family housing or mixed-use developments where people are populating the urban cores, a landscape architect plays a significant role—a lot of times on the front end,” Alan says.
That can include decisions on parks or courtyards, street layout and aesthetics, repurposed architectural elements, the way the human-made features interact with natural terrain, and more. In the quest to create housing for a population that needs it, Alan continues, “It’s not just how many houses I can achieve, but ‘What does it look like? What does it feel like when I live there?’ That’s the real measure of success.”
- Resistance to growth: Just as the nation is experiencing a housing shortfall, many communities are seeing an increase in anti-growth sentiment. In many cases, localities elect officials based on their promises to curb growth. “Education is key,” says Alan. “We have to teach people the value of intelligent growth.” Landscape architects are crucial to promoting smart growth, whether that be townhomes, multifamily units, or other methods of creative design, and demonstrating how that’s better than uncontrolled sprawl or unplanned-for congestion.
The desires of various groups can often be accommodated with a mixture of creativity and realism. For example, some of the most-promising ideas breathe new life into obsolete or under-utilized facilities, sometimes called grayfields. “We have tons of half-used or empty shopping malls and strip malls that can be reimagined for new commercial or residential uses, which is so much better than plowing up pristine forest areas,” adds Patrick.
- Other political shifts: The federal government has recently cut funding for many programs, which has increased uncertainty in the development environment. “Many of us are wondering if the pace of the RFPs [Requests for Proposals] and RFQs [Requests for Qualifications] we receive will slow down,” says Patrick. Many expect cuts in federal spending to result in fewer public dollars spent on infrastructure and development at the state and local levels, too.
At the same time, much state-level legislation seems to be clearing the way for greater private development, reports Brett. “In many states we work in—Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee—we’re seeing more private property rights and protections pass at state legislatures than just a few years ago.” For the near term, it’s likely that the federal, state, and local levels of government will continue to emit a complex combination of signals.
While landscape architects respond to the requirements of the moment, the essentials of the discipline endure. “No two sites are the same,” says Alan. “Each one is different. Landscape architecture is holistic design that takes into account the site, its use, and the end-user experience.”
Shawn Massock, PLA, Pape-Dawson’s Vice President – Planning & Landscape Architecture, describes it like this: “As landscape architects, we create the sense that you’ve come home, that you belong in this place. The question we always come back to is, ‘Through our design, how can we make people’s lives better?’”