Active Spaces for Active People

Landscape Architects are Doing Their Part to Eliminate Childhood Obesity...

Since when did television become an acceptable method of exercise for our children? Is playing a video game really like going outside and playing? Really?? I think not. And no parent can rely on the public school system to help keep children fit and active…what, with only one-day of physical education per week!! Don’t forget recess time has also been cut back too. And don’t get me started on the dissolution of nearly all public school music programs…but let’s stay on topic.

There is a solution. Call your Landscape Architect to help develop your own backyard play area(s).Think about it; a Landscape Architect can help design active – and fun no less – outdoor spaces to play, right on your own property. Or if you’re a Do-It-Yourselfer, the internet can help you as well. Let me start by saying, this recommendation is not meant to take away from our beautifully designed and built neighborhood parks, only to compliment them. Backyard Play has developed into more than just converting your existing lawn area into a makeshift Croquet court. Let me explain.

Backyard Play is quickly becoming a requirement of successful outdoor gatherings. With some design intuition on hand, an active space(s) can be achieved to meet any budget, within virtually any size yard. So OK, the makeshift Croquet court is a practical way to begin using outdoor space, and it’s one of the least expensive ways to get outside and play. If you have a lawn, all you need is a kit from your local sporting good store. But you didn’t think this article was to tell you where to buy a croquet kit, right?

While some homeowners are taking it upon themselves to build play areas, a thoughtful design can go a long way. Did you know the majority of games have rules and regulations for the court configurations? For example, a badminton court is 44 feet long and 22 feet wide (17 feet wide for singles play) http://usabadminton.org/. The stakes in a horseshoe pit are 40 feet apart, 36 inches long, and exposed 14 inches above the ground, leaning backward at a 12 degree angle. Foul lines are spaced 27 feet and 37 feet from each stake…the 27 foot foul line is for children, women and elderly men and the 37 foot foul line is for men http://www.horseshoepitching.com/. Other notable sizes: a volleyball court is 60 feet long and 40 feet wide; a bocce ball court is 60 feet long and 10 feet wide; corn hole boards (bag-in-the-hole) are spaced 27 feet apart, front to front.

To maintain a somewhat resonably priced backyard play area, the following games are great options, with kits readily available: Croquet, Badminton, Horseshoes, Corn Hole, Bocce Ball, a Trampoline…to name a few. Consider adding a basketball hoop to the home, or a freestanding backboard. A simple net can allow a person to hit golf balls and baseballs into it. Accoutrements such as backstops, tables & caddies, netting, benches, etc., all add to the grander scheme for a wonderfully active outdoor space. Get the most out of whatever dollars you want to invest.

Let’s get extreme, and expensive. Avid golfers are beginning to install their very own putting greens, some with adjacent sand bunkers. The material of choice for today’s backyard putting greens is no maitenance sythetic turfs http://www.theputtinggreencompany.com/. What if a child in the home loves skateboarding? Have a custom – sometimes sculptural – skatepark built in the back yard http://www.spohnranch.com/. Consider a batting cage for the baseball/softball enthusiast. If you want it all, then wrap as many activities as possible into a multi-sport court that allows you to play almost any sport imaginable http://www.sportcourt.com/.

To get the most successful outcome from your Backyard Playspace, make sure it’s properly integrated into the overall landscaping. Plopping a court into the yard may function for the activity, but it’s not the responsible solution for the appearance or enjoyment of your yard. Your Landscape Architect will consider the court(s), but also the adjacent plant material, the need for hot summer shade, and places to sit, catch a breath and sometimes be a spectator. Assuming all the action creates hungry and thristy people, an outdoor terrace with BBQ and refrigerator is a great complement to your playspace. There’s nothing like good food and a tastey beverage to unwind and relax. If you need help, ask us…it’s what we do!

Landscape Architect v Landscape Designer

I’m often asked about difference between Landscape Architecture and landscape design.

Regardless of their professional arena, Landscape Architects use their artistic talents and technical training to plan and design built environments. They formulate graphic and written criteria through drawings, construction documents, and specifications to control the means of arranging and building land forms in conjunction with the manipulation of water resources. Currently, 49 states require a form of licensure for Landscape Architects. Of those, 45 states require a license to practice the art and science of Landscape Architecture. The remaining four states, with title acts, allow the practice of Landscape Architecture regardless of qualifications but require licensure to use the title of ‘Landscape Architect’.

Landscape Designers also create drawings and many times have the in-house capabilities and resources to construct what they’ve drawn, specified and manipulated. The disparity between Landscape Architecture and Landscape Design may be the result of a higher level of education, license and liability insurance. According to Columbia University’s program in Landscape Design, the primary difference between Landscape Design and Landscape Architecture is the required level of education and licensing.

To confuse matters further, the level of education varies quite dramatically from curriculum offered at one college, to the next. Landscape Design programs vary significantly. Some schools offer certificates of varying lengths, while others offer full 2-year to 4-year degrees. Many times the graduate of a Landscape Design program will pursue an undergraduate degree in horticulture or agriculture. The standard Landscape Architecture programs consist of a minimum 4-year undergraduate degree; (BLA) Bachelors of Landscape Architecture or (BSLA) Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture. Upon completion of an undergraduate 4-year Bachelors degree in the Landscape Design or Landscape Architecture program, a student can enter into a Masters of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program. Students with an undergraduate degree in Landscape Architecture typically earn their MLA in two years while the undergraduate from an ‘accredited’ school who earned their 4-year BS in Landscape Design, my take three years to earn the status of MLA.

There are many acclaimed and successful licensed Landscape Architects who got their roots from an education that is a derivative of the Landscape Design programs, coupled with good old hands-on experience. The father of Landscape Architecture and designer of New York’s Central Park, Frederic Law Olmsted, was a farmer without any relevant educational background. Yet Olmsted’s research and brilliance transformed the profession of Landscape Architecture across the world. It would be interesting to know if the value which Mr. Olmsted brought to this industry would hold its same level today, or would he be scrutinized since he only had the rudimentary training comparable to that of Landscape Architects?

Regardless of the written formality to differentiate those who provide Landscape Architectural services from those who provide Landscape Design services, the diversity in both fields greatly overlap as opposed to showing exclusivity. So what does that mean to the consumer?

Prior work experience, referrals and references along with an understanding of your needs should be the basis for choosing a Landscape Architect or Landscape Designer. Many highly professional firms offer both disciplines. When making your selection, make sure that the firms that respond to your inquiry for proposal have construction oversight capabilities, understand and enforce local regulations and can provide site engineering relative to building techniques. Above all, make absolutely sure that they have the professional liability insurance to properly cover their services and assurances.

Regardless of what your needs are, Land Designs by Ellison and A Cut Above Landcare has you covered. We employ two Licensed Landscape Architects and two designers who are working towards licensure. In addition to our Landscape Architecture division, we offer an informal design process for less complex projects or garden designs that still require regional horticultural and construction knowledge.

There is a wealth of knowledge and information available on the internet regarding the profession of Landscape Architecture. Here are a few of our favorite resources:

www.asla.org/

www.clarb.org/

www.thecela.org/

High Country Character Interview with Glen Ellison from Vail Colorado

When you leave a conversation with the words fair, honest, hard-work, responsibility, quality, family, and friends resonating in your mind, you feel grateful to have that person as a part of your community. These values combined with Glen Ellison’s passion for creating wonderful outdoor spaces for people to enjoy, has grown Land Designs by Ellison into one of the largest landscape companies in the region. The Vail location created a niche: landscape design, build and maintenance in high-elevation resort towns throughout Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

When did you arrive in Vail?

Starting in 1972, every winter, spring break and summer vacation seven of us would pack into the family station wagon and drive 24-hours to Vail. I grew an attachment to Vail during those years and interned here the summer before graduating college. In 1980, after marrying my high school sweetheart, I made a permanent move to Vail and began my career.

How did you end up founding a landscape architecture business?

I’ve had a passion for the business since I was 14 and worked at a landscape/nursery operation in Mansfield, Ohio. That job eventually gave me hands on and practical experience to create client drawings. After putting myself through college at Ohio State, earning a Horticulture degree but lacking start-up capital, I managed deposits from three small jobs to buy the tools and product that I needed to get started. In those days I regularly worked 24-hour days out of my Toyota pick up truck, only coming home for a dinner break.

How has your business grown?

In the 1980s Vail was a winter town without extensive landscapes, so local landscape architecture matured with the development of Beaver Creek and their design guidelines. We worked on one of the first Beaver Creek lots that included architectural landscape design plans of the level not yet seen here. Architect Jim Mortar asked me to help develop the Tyrolean Inn’s landscape. That led to more architects including us in their projects and our initial growth. More recently, we have reorganized into seven business units, each with their own business plan. The Landscape Design unit has seen the greatest change with the addition of talented landscape architect David Berg, who has transformed the business by implementing progressive technology. We now provide CAD drawings for seamless integration with the architect’s drawings. I’m now learning from those whom I mentored, and am able to get back to where it all started—into the community to continue relationships with clients, architects, and contractors, many of whom have become friends over the years.

Is there a project of which you are most proud?

This work is so fascinating and challenging because each project is different, starting with a unique piece of land and completely new pallet to create upon.

Two (out of 20+ ) award-winning projects stand out for different reasons. One is the Gerald R Ford Amphitheater. We had the opportunity to create and build this landscape originally and then again with the renovation. This is a special place because of the alpine spirit we captured in the outdoor setting, and because it is a place where community and visitors come together to enjoy something very unique to the area—a stimulation of all the aesthetic senses. A green roof we created in Steamboat Springs also stands out. This was the first time that the ALCC (Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado) ever awarded a perfect score to a project. They created the presidential award specifically because of this project. And, just this month we won another ALCC Grand award for a recent project in Cordillera.