Kalamazoo, MI - Landscape Forms, North American’s largest designer and manufacturer of site furniture, invited the Landscape Architecture Foundation to join in sponsoring a Landscape Architecture Leaders Roundtable in May, 2010 at Chicago’s Elysian Hotel. Twenty-four leaders from fifteen states and all regions of the country explored a broad range of specific topics. Moderator for the event was Edward Uhlir, Director of Chicago’s Millennium Park.
Distinguished professionals from major multidisciplinary firms and small landscape architectural practices included Leo Alvarez, Principal, Perkins + Will; Dennis Carmichael, Principal, AECOM; Richard Conant, Principal, Foster Conant & Associates; Barbara Faga, Principal, AECOM; Peter Hedlund, Principal, Sasaki; Deb Mitchell, Director of Design, JJR; Cindy Sanders, Principal, Olin Partnership; Peter Schaudt, Principal, Hoerr Schaudt; Christy TenEyck, Principal, TenEyck Landscape Architects; and Ernie Wong, Principal, Site Design Group.
Participants shared ideas on the changing nature and scale of work, opportunities in the US and overseas, on public and private projects, competition within and from outside the profession, the impact of the economy on the bottom line and how businesses are rethinking and adjusting, continuing commitment to sustainability, and whether landscape architecture remains a viable professional path for young people.
Barbara Faga provided an overview, observing that the profession is undergoing a paradigm shift and that the opportunities for landscape architects are now in projects related to infrastructure, including water resources, healthy cities, and transportation. She was both cautionary and hopeful: “The easy projects are done. Now they are all going to be difficult. They’re not going to be greenfields. They’re all going to be in town, they’re all going to be complicated, and they’re all going to have political action attached to them. We should be involved in these because that’s where the work is and that’s something we know about doing. It’s still our work. We’ve just got to re-organize it.”
Words used during the Roundtable to describe the state of the profession today included improving, stressful, challenging, hopeful, frustrating, sleep-deprived, optimistic, opportunistic, transitional. The report in its entirety is attached here.
Since its founding in 1969 Landscape Forms has earned a reputation for excellent design, high quality products and exceptional service. The Landscape Forms U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan with sales offices throughout North America, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Southern Europe. Landscape Forms collaborates with renowned industrial designers and consultancies, landscape architects, and architects to design and develop integrated collections of products that address emerging needs. The company has an installed base of products around the world. Clients include municipalities, transit centers, corporate, college and health care campuses; and familiar brand leaders such as Boeing, Cisco Systems, Disney, Sprint, American Airlines, Herman Miller and Nike. Landscape Forms was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 15 Small Workplaces in the US. www.landscapeforms.com
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