Landscape Architects Must Balance Practical with Artistic Considerations

beautiful (attractive to the eye and other senses). Their work can also improve the health of the environment and increase the desirability and economic value of the community where they practice their art and science. There is a potential for the practice of landscape architects to be a science in the way we think about ecology, horticulture, and geology as sciences. But, in fact, landscape architects, at least the present-day practitioners, might consider themselves applied scientists and not true research-based scientists. Landscape architects are not typically engaged in what one thinks of as scientific research. Rather, landscape architects draw from and are informed in their work by the body of knowledge scientists report as the result of their research. There are of course exceptions in the case of landscape architecture university faculty, who are engaged in research that is guided by scientific methods and protocols. Those individuals drawn to the science aspects of landscape architecture tend to pursue an academic career where time and resources facilitate pursuit of the scientific questions and their own curiosity about the world.6

In practice, a landscape architect must find a balance between practical considerations with legal and economic and artistic expression. Ultimately the spaces they create through the process of design are said to resonate experientially, taken in by all of one’s senses not just only visually. A space can be described as one comfortable to be in or a pleasant space to move through. Successful created landscape spaces are imbued with elements of comfort in addition to being practical and useable. Well-designed spaces for public use feel safe to be in and one feels welcomed psychologically if the design has considered the needs of all potential users, including those with physical disabilities. The landscape architect must contemplate a range of practical considerations when designing, such as the correct turning radii for vehicles or bicycles, or the correct dimension, such as a seat height or walkway width. Sightlines to enhance attractive distant views or baffle less attractive ones must also be considered. Design of landscape spaces considers orienting the layout of activities within a space either to be exposed to sun when desirable or to block the sun to prevent moderate to extreme hot air temperatures or glare. These and other practical considerations are part of the lexicon of landscape design.

Landscape architects also select materials for walks or gathering places as well as walls, fences, site furnishings, and other constructed elements. Material selection criteria might include durability and ease of maintenance and selecting complementary colors and textures. Perhaps the single most important design consideration landscape architects must devise is solutions for the modification of terrain. Landscape architects prepare site grading plans to guide the modification of existing landforms not only to accommodate intended uses but also to provide the proper handling of surface storm-water. Site grading most often provides the physical underpinning and visual structure of a designed landscape. Some grading decisions emphasize aesthetic design objectives and other decisions have to do with