Comments on: Do Landscape Architects Need to Open Up the Conversation?

By: B Davis

B Davis — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:29:16 +0000

I think the author is right that we need to communicate better, and write more in general. Part of the problem is that not many of us write, and those that do (mostly our critics and theorists in universities) write for the professional audience- to get peer-reviewed publications and invited to these conferences the author mentioned. Meanwhile the Scripps network pumps out shows and magazines every day that speak to pop culture. I think more of us should write for popular outlets- the Times, local newspapers, Wired magazine, national geographic, or even some rag from Scripps. Olmsted wasn’t trained as a designer but rather a journalist, and he wrote for the Times during the shaping of Central Park.

By: Bernadette Clay

Bernadette Clay — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:01:19 +0000

I think the real issue is that we as landscape architects don’t really DO anything. We talk a lot. We draw some. Design a bit, but fewer of our projects are successfully built than other allied professions such as engineering, architecture, etc. We are largely viewed as fundamentally unnecessary to projects, especially in the harsh economic times currently facing the USA and the world. The gray areas we operate in don’t sell first; they are leftovers, effects of other necessary evils. We may make progress in this conversation if we focus on showing the public, the world, and allied professionals the tangible contributions we make, improvements that can be measured in value, not just talked about.

By: Joe Hoyle, PLA, ASLA

Joe Hoyle, PLA, ASLA — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:53:26 +0000

This is great, well written.

By: Jane Roy Brown

Jane Roy Brown — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:21:21 +0000

To Mark Francis’s observation, I add, And where are the journalists? The profession can take a cue from Brad McKee’s excellent panel at the 2012 ASLA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, in which design critics from major daily newspapers in US cities and Toronto discussed issues affecting urban design, ranging from funding to policy to regulations. Their acquaintance with such broad trends and influences comes from their training; rarely does a journalist start out as a specialist. This generalist approach yields insight beyond the professional box, and can be encouraged through conferences that convene participants across disciplines with topics of common interest. Thanks again, Brad, for demonstrating a way to enlarge the discussion.

By: Mark Francis

Mark Francis — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:29:04 +0000

Kudos to Daryl Jones for his critical and challenging take on current discourse in landscape architecture. He is correct in observing that we too often tend to talk to one another at these forums (including ASLA conferences) and rarely do we draw in points of view outside our profession. Where is the theologian, anthropologist, art historian, psychologist, community activist, etc. in these conversations?

By: Robin Karson

Robin Karson — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:05:58 +0000

I completely agree with these points. It’s why I wrote a book about Fletcher Steele, who was completely unknown twenty years ago and founded the
Library of American Landscape History, in Amherst, Massachusetts– dedicated to “fostering understanding of the fine art of landscape architecture.” We’ve been at this since 1992–through readable (affordable) books, touring exhibitions, lectures, and online resources that include documentary films. (If you haven’t seen “Designing in the Prairie Spirit: A Conversation with Darrel Morrison,” please go to our website click “films.” It’s really good.) We also publish VIEW, a magazine that features articles on North American landscape design from all periods (downloadable from our website). We used to send it to ASLA members free; now that it’s 48 pages long, full color, we send by subscription. Next year, we will launch a paperback series with W.W. Norton on American landscape architecture, beginning with the modernists.

We would love to hear from you (the profession) about how to extend our reach to greater numbers of the general public and to design professionals in other fields. Our goal is to promote understanding of the profession and its amazing accomplishments.