No days are alike in the life of a landscape architect. We come together as a design community, consult with partners and clients, express ideas through sketches, and conduct site visits. We are joyfully accustomed to an active, challenging, adventurous and meaningful life.
The landscape architecture profession poses an immense demand on the mind, body and spirit. It is very important for us to start off the day right with healthy morning routines such as meditation and workouts to improve overall health, increase productivity and help kick start creativity. As stewards of creation and “passionate gardeners” of sort, we also tend daily to the plants in the office and in our homes, fully appreciating its many therapeutic benefits.
Mornings are filled with workshops, administrative work and numerous meetings with clients and consultants. We prepare construction drawings, conduct detailed sit down discussions of revisions and improvements before we present the ideas to the clients for feedback. These are all part of the very essential and complex design process in landscape architecture.
Leaving no stones unturned, we do insightful research on every project, to make sure that we have a full empathic understanding of what the end users need. Wellness and safety aspects must also be considered during the early design stage. Our goal is to create outdoor spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also guarantee the peace of mind and absolute satisfaction of clients.
Meeting the demands and stress of a hard day’s work can eventually take its toll on everyone in the office. To switch off, relax and reconnect with our colleagues, we encourage eating lunch together as part of a morale building experience. This serves as a great opportunity for the management and the staff to get to know each other better. We strongly believe that genuinely caring about each other significantly improves workplace unity and this translates to increased creativity and productivity. From time to time, as our own little way of giving back and helping hone the design skills of aspiring landscape architects, we also open our doors for interns. Our design staff get to teach and pass on what they know to the younger generation who are all very eager to have a closer look at the career field they are thinking to pursue.
Our adventure as landscape architects continue during construction site visits. By physically experiencing the site, we, together with the architects, designers, engineers and all the other members of the project team are able to match the construction drawings and plans with the actual project site and make the necessary improvements to the designs. We do not see site visits as mere contractual obligations. We do them to understand what our clients want as part of our commitment to delivering top quality services.
To manage the physical, mental and emotional stress and challenges that comes along with the profession of landscape architecture, life outside of work is also very important to us. We enjoy our work but we also enjoy life’s simple pleasures. For instance, our principal landscape architect does a weekly “landscape architecture bike tour” to relieve stress, explore places and gather new design ideas for future projects. Our staff members are also committed to the AJM health goals and continue to uplift and advance the spirit of overall wellness by incorporating regular workouts, having better food choices, and investing in recreation and rest in our personal lives. We firmly believe that fostering this culture of health within our circle will greatly enhance our performance in the office and in the field.
As the day dawns on a landscape architectural firm’s typical work week, we make sure that we are always steps ahead and courageously gear up for what’s to come. This strong passion drives us to continuously improve in our chosen craft. Our motivation to serve the community well propels us to succeed in this field. A good landscape architect is gifted with amazing sketching skills, textbook knowledge and years of training. Yet it takes someone with a certain level of dedication to give his very best to this profession and create designs that will produce true social impact and environmental solutions that will help the community for many years to come.
The next time you get to visit places such as a nature-inspired children’s park in the neighborhood, a resort’s elegant swimming pool at your family’s next tourist destination, a healing garden in a hospital or an al-fresco dining area in your favorite shopping mall – we encourage you to pay close attention to the landscape design features and details in these environments. May it bring you back to the extraordinary and adventurous life story of a landscape architect. Our work impacts the broader community’s health, safety, enjoyment and productivity. Our commitment to the natural environment drives us to protect and sustain it. As the famous saying goes, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. This rings true every single day for this talented, hardworking, dedicated and humble landscape architecture community.
I agreed when you stated that textbook understanding and years of training are what make a good landscape architect. My friend told me that their building needs precise architectural landscape design to be built. I think they should employ a well-trained professional with vast experience in designing landscapes.
Hi, Victoria! Thank you for the kind words! We are thrilled to know that we share the same belief that landscape architecture and architecture should blend well together as both share a common goal: to come up with beautifully designed indoor and open spaces that address the people’s unique needs. Peace & Blessings!