Ever wondered what a landscape architect actually does? Well, in a nutshell, they are the ones who design and implement all the beautiful parks and landscapes that make up residential areas, public parks and playgrounds, colleges, shopping centers and golf courses. The goal of the landscape architect is to design functional, beautiful spaces that are also compatible with the existing natural environment. To this end, they plan out the locations of buildings, roads and walkways and the arrangement of shrubs, flowers and trees. They may also do restorative work, planning and implementing courses of actions to repair parts of the environment that have been negatively impacted by human beings. Read here to discover more about California engineering jobs.

A landscape architect may be employed by a diverse group of clients- real estate development firms, private corporations, and government entities all employ landscape architects. They work with other professionals such as architects and engineers to best lay out the arrangement of the site. After final design of roads and buildings is determine, the landscape architect on a project creates blueprints indicating where new hardscape and landscape features such as plants, walkways, fountains and decorative features will go at the completion of the project.

When planning a site, a landscape architect studies the site, the stated purpose of the project, and the budget. They conduct an analysis of the natural elements of the building site including the soil, slope and drainage of the land, vegetation, and sunlight patterns to assess the effect of incorporating new elements into existing designs. They then prepare a preliminary design which will change (probably frequently) before it receives final approval. As they do this they take all local, State and Federal regulations into account, and they often use a tool called CAD- Computer Aided Design- to realize their vision virtually before construction on the site ever begins. Civil engineering jobs are for detail-oriented individuals to be sure!

Landscape architects work closely with many other professionals such as engineers, hydrologists, ecologists and architects throughout the course of a project to create detailed plans of the site, which are then submitted for approval both to the client and to any relevant regulatory agencies. They continue to monitor the project on site once building has begun to make sure their plans are being properly executed.

Landscape architects work on a variety of projects, though some may choose to specialize in one particular area such as street layout and design, parks and playgrounds, or waterfront renewal/repurposing. Others work on large scale projects such as regional planning, environmental impact or resource management. An emerging field within landscape architecture is environmental remediation- preserving and restoring wetlands, for example. Some landscape architects also work to preserve and restore historic landscapes.

Keep all of this in mind when looking for landscape architecture jobs and you’ll be set in no time!