Landscape architecture is the art and profession of designing and planning landscapes and has been practiced in the United States for the last one hundred years. The profession became most popular following the environmental movement of the 1960’s, when public respect for protecting our valuable natural resources reached an all-time high. Since then, the design and development of aesthetically pleasing landscapes have become much more important to the average homeowner. Landscape architects constantly apply creative design and planning recommendations for new housing communities, commercial centers, parks and plazas, recreation facilities, parkways, highways, and nature conservation areas. Many environmental and cultural factors affect landscape design and planning, and landscape architects must know how these factors relate. The primary function of landscape architects is to plan and design outdoor spaces that make the best use of the land and at the same time respect the needs of the natural environment. The Design Process The central area of specialization for landscape architects is the design process. Landscape design involves the union between nature and man-made environments through incorporating aesthetics and function. The main focus of landscape design is on people and their enjoyment of the environment. Landscape projects require a great deal of careful planning in order for them to work well and look good. Many long hours are spent by the designers practicing, refining, and applying techniques and processes to eventually reach their ultimate goal. The design process is a problem-solving process used to organize the designer’s thought and ideas. It assists in helping them to translate their thoughts and ideas into material, viewable, and graphic ideas.

 The design process is used by landscape designers as a framework, structure, and checklist for designing landscapes. The process contains a list of phases and steps which must be followed, many of them having to be repeated. Repeating important steps assures the designer of a complete and fulfilled project. The organization of the design process may be different among landscape designers; however, every designer’s common goal is to create an aesthetic and functional design, pleasing to the client and sensitive to the environment.

The design process consists of two parts — the program or planning phase and the design phase.

Program Phase

• Client Interview and Analysis
• Site Survey and Analysis
• Problem Statement
• Objectives
• Concept

• Preliminary Design
• Final Design

The client interview and analysis is very important in making sure that the landscape design is pleasing to him/her. The interview, or examination, must be very thorough and cover questions concerning the client’s personality, lifestyle, needs and desires, and priorities. These features must be referred to throughout the design process, in order to meet the designer’s main objective, satisfying the true desires of the client. In addition to soliciting the owner’s needs and wants, it is also very important to provide input and ideas. The architect should educate the client on the issues of existing tree and wildlife habitat protection. These matters are often overlooked and not considered, but should be included in the client interview and analysis.

The site survey and analysis is an inventory of the site’s current features, including topography, geology, hydrology, climate, existing vegetation, circulation, existing structures, utilities, views and vistas, culture, and off-site influences. This phase is also very important in creating a design that will adapt to and enhance the already existing environment. Trees and plants are often damaged or killed due to negligence during construction on a site. The site survey, if used correctly, can prevent such negligence and is repeatedly considered to determine additional possible site uses and objectives.

After analyzing the site and desires of the client, the designer then develops a problem statement. This statement defines the scope of the project with general sentences or phrases explaining the project. The problem statement states the ultimate goal of the project to be completed and satisfied through the design process.

Using the problem statement, the client interview, and the site survey, a series of objectives is created. These objectives are stated in a general sense and do not contain any detailed design decisions. The series of objectives addresses what is going to be accomplished in completing the project and helps the designer to satisfy the needs and desires of the client.
 

Last, after the objectives are developed, the designer determines the concept for the project. The concept is the "image setter" and expresses the style, setting, and feeling of the project. It sets the guidelines from which all other design decisions will be made. In the concept, a designer can represent his/her own creativity through producing a unique final design.

 

Design Phase: The design phase of the design process allows the architect to integrate his/her own creativity while considering the opportunities of the project. It involves creating a preliminary and final design while considering all of the established objectives.

In the preliminary design phase, the designer first creates a series of bubble diagrams to show the relationship between space and site components. The designer considers the client’s desires and needs when developing the bubble diagrams. The diagrams do not contain any design details but create an appealing arrangement of the site components.

From the bubble diagrams, the designer is able to create, depending on the project, either one or a sequence of preliminary drawings. Each considers data from the bubble diagrams, the analyses of the site and clients, and the program objectives. The designer can then sit down to review the preliminary drawings with the client to be sure of his/her satisfaction. The designer, along with the client, can then determine which preliminary drawing best fulfills the objectives of the project.

The designer is now ready to develop the final design. This is done using design and graphic details and the elements and principles of design. These creative individual features are applied while following the objectives of the project. The final design is based upon features and principles already established in the preliminary plan. After being developed, the final design is evaluated to make sure that it meets all the objectives and is feasible to the conditions of the site ("The Design Process").

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