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.
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