Comments on: Kerb – is landscape architecture dead? – a magazine review

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:52:08 +0000

Wells, I share your doubts about restrictive practices. Professional groups should explain what they can contribute to the public welfare. They should not campaign to restrict the professional activities of other people.
Those of us who support trade and professional groups should always bear in mind the prophetic words of capitalism’s greatest advocate: “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary.” Adam Smith An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) Book I, Chapter 10, para 82

By: Wells Rawls

Wells Rawls — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:06:34 +0000

Very good comments all around.

My observation as a horticulturist with a design focus is that landscape architecture is being defeated by the very thing that has made it the dominant segment of design work in landscaping.

For 20 years the ASLA has had a program of lobbying state legislatures to enact laws that require all persons submitting landscape plans for design review to be a licensed LA. The Landscape Architecture curriculum in America has been incomplete with an over emphasis on architecture and not landscaping. Most landscape architects know little of how to build and maintain what they design. Unfortunately a legislated monopoly on landscape design (architecture and design should be the same field) has created an undereducated workforce with too much power. That’s my opinion.

A fact is that over 20 years in landscape design/build, I have seen hundreds of examples of design work that required years of mowing, trimming, and power pruning to maintain. The landscape architect did not know the life span of the plant materials or the methods of maintenance to anticipate the labor requirements and reduce them on the drawing board.

Furthermore, the disconnect that occurs between the LA and the contractor leads to further problems.

We need to eliminate the requirement of holding a Landscape Architecture Degree in order to be eligible to take a state’s licensing exam.

If you can pass the exam you should get a license.

Sincerely,

Wells Rawls
EcoLandscape Group

By: Felicity Waters

Felicity Waters — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:38:03 +0000

yes – you are right – we just need good horticulturists on the design team as well and perhaps we will be building some really amazing workable buildings/landscapes

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:12:25 +0000

Felicity I believe the reluctance may have had to do with design intent – if you consciously design with plants in mind they are an integral part of the design.

Rather than being used on the exterior surface of a building as an additive tool 1) to disguise less than desirable areas or views 2)to soften buildings or 3) in the worst cases to totally cover an unappealing building, as was probably once the case, plants on a buildings surface are now considered within design as part of the building fabric itself.

By: Felicity Waters

Felicity Waters — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:46:10 +0000

‘Also at present there an unprecedented integration of landscape into architecture is occurring. This is new for both the professions of landscape and architecture’.

Christine – interesting point – not long ago architects were keen to NOT have plantings screen their designs – now many architects seem to be actively encouraging plant growth on building facades etc – it seems to have happened in the last 5 years (maybe 3?) – of course there are issues with this new approach but nevertheless I am finding LA alive… but perhaps this is not challenging enough for RMIT’s students ?

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:59:10 +0000

I wish they made more of Krugman’s article available. Refereed journals do not pay authors – so why should they charge readers? From the excerpt, I agree with him about where we (particularly the UK!) are in the economic cycle.

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:25:54 +0000

Yes. But it is worth reading ‘The Return of Depression Economics’ by Paul Krugman Professor of Economics at MIT published in ‘Foreign Affairs’ Jan/Feb edition 1999.[ http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fora78&div=10&g_sent=1&collection=journals ]

Demographics, risk and liquidity seem to be key aspects of any evaluation of an economy. Krugman believes that post the Asian economic crisis many Western economies moved back to a pre-Depression era model of Capitalism. The result being “bringing back some of its vices, most noticeably a vulnerability both to economic instability and sustained economic slumps.”

Of particular note is his mention of China’s ‘non-convertible capital account.’ Interesting that it was this feature of the world economy which was most prized when the GFC occurred.

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:33:19 +0000

That is a good account of the ‘provocation’ trap and one sees it with stockmarket pundits. They have one success with predicting a downturn and then turn into gloom-merchants for the rest of their lives. Not worth it.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:26:40 +0000

I am in total agreement that landscape architecture is a vitally important profession….in fact it has probably never been more crucially important. The landscape cannot talk for itself and so it needs advocates that understand its dynamics, the creative process and the fact that we humans do dependent on it in a myriad of ways including as a life support system.
[ http://sustainability.nationalacademies.org/support.php ]

Also at present there an unprecedented integration of landscape into architecture is occurring. This is new for both the professions of landscape and architecture.

Perhaps the writers at Kerb have fallen into one of the traps listed in the following blog on being provocative? [ http://thelostjacket.com/marketing/downside-provocative ]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:51:12 +0000

My view is that landscape architecture, with its eternal focus on the relationship between human systems and natural systems, is a vitally important profession. But this is no excuse for bad prose.