I work in a multidisciplinary office of designers and engineers. My most challenging ‘clients’ are frequently within my office. Our collaborative atmosphere at Harley Ellis Devereaux allows for a vigorous dialogue about how design and engineering can seek and solve problems that can exceed our external client’s expectations and provide the best ‘fit’ for connecting the built and natural environments. This requires that I, as a landscape architect and the lead voice on the team for all aspects influencing and affecting the site, clearly communicate ideas that are both functional and beautiful. Function alone can be unattractive and unengaging. Beauty alone lacks strong purpose and frequently becomes the first thing thrifted out of tight budgets. Working in an interdisciplinary office allows the landscape architect to be involved at the very inception of a project. Proximity and familiarity builds trust in one another and provides space for contextual exploration, a consensus establishment of design principles, and ongoing refinement as the project ideas and program are developed. This integrated approach to design provides the greatest potential for finding innovative solutions where the site and building become a single idea. In this approach to design, the site is functional and beautiful rather than being treated as an afterthought to be ‘shrubbed up’. Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to lead complex projects because we are a profession that touches the edges of so many different disciplines. On any given project, the landscape architect must interact with Natural Systems (such as Ecology, Botany, Horticulture, Wildlife, Aquatic Sciences), Urban Systems (such as Transportation, Land Use Planning, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Construction), and Visual Arts (such as drawing, computer graphics, Art History, Sculpture). The ability to synthesize the requirements of each of these varied disciplines to develop the appropriate Design Form is what makes the Landscape Architect so valuable as a team LEFT: The Fountain Plaza design at Lawrence Technological University is a metaphor depicting the process of learning. Fog and light emanate from the Central Boulder representing new ideas from the mind of the Student. Image courtesy of Harley Ellis Devereaux
member and as crucial as our allied professional colleagues in architecture and engineering in ensuring public health, safety and welfare. A good example of this integrated, multidisciplinary design process is the Quadrangle and Student Services Building at Lawrence Technological University (LTU) in Southfield, Michigan. The project began with an investigation of context driven primarily by stormwater issues. Like many cities across the country, Southfield faces significant stormwater management issues. The abundance of sealed surfaces, pavements, and rooftops accompanying development over time contribute to stormwater and environmental problems that are prevalent in urban areas where pollution threatens native habitats and the aquatic environment. Like many property owners across the country, LTU had substantially surpassed its ability to detain stormwater, a result of campus growth over a series of years. Large areas of sealed surfaces (pavement and rooftops) on its campus and the unimpeded flow of stormwater were contributing to flash flood conditions, erosion, and sediment flow into the fragile ecosystems of the Rouge River. The City of Southfield stated that LTU’s approach to stormwater management was not good enough. The City made it clear that LTU would need to improve stormwater management before any new construction could proceed. In an effort to address the City’s mandates, and avoid the possibility of all development being placed on hold, LTU called in our design team to help develop a two-part solution. First, a Strategic Campus Master Plan for the 125-acre campus was developed. The team was led by the landscape architect and included strategic planners and engineers to align campus facilities, infrastructure, and the environment with the LTU’s academic and administrative plan, and capital planning processes and maintenance operations. Then, the landscape architect led a team of designers and civil engineers in the development of a stormwater master plan that focused on innovative stormwater infiltration strategies as part of the larger strategic enterprise. The Quadrangle and Student Services Building was further developed in a central campus area master plan refinement. continued on page 4 3