A landscape architect is a professional who specialises in the design, planning, and management of outdoor spaces. This can be a space of any scale including town centres, parks, public spaces, schools and university campuses, hospital grounds, commercial and industrial sites, residential developments, and other open areas including nature reserves and even national parks. We consider many different factors including the natural environment, cultural and social context, and the needs and preferences of the people who will use the space.
Landscape architects typically work on projects that involve creating or modifying outdoor spaces to improve their functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability. We regularly collaborate with other professionals, such as architects, engineers, urban designers, ecologists and arboriculturists, to ensure that our designs are well-integrated with the surrounding built and natural environment.
Landscape architects may be involved in a wide range of activities, such as site analysis, feasibility studies, concept development, detailed design, construction documentation, project management, and post-construction evaluation. We also have strong technical skills, knowledge of materials and construction techniques, and a thorough understanding of the planning system and environmental and regulatory issues related to land use and development.
Landscape architects provide invaluable expertise and guidance when it comes to designing, managing and improving outdoor spaces. If you have any questions or concerns related to your outdoor space, a landscape architect will be able to help you find solutions that meet your needs and goals.
Perhaps you are considering applying for planning permission for a project involving some outdoor space. We can advise you on all aspects of the planning requirements relating to landscape. This may include landscape and visual impact assessment, feasibility studies, conceptual or detailed design, management plans and design statements. We also work alongside other disciplines to help you design a scheme that achieves biodiversity net gain.
If you already have planning permission we could help you to discharge any landscape related planning conditions. This may include producing detailed planting plans or hard landscape layouts including specifying materials, lighting and street furniture. We can also provide technical details for landscape features including walls, steps, ramps and also ponds and swales.
Once planning has been achieved we can tender your landscape work to a range of landscape contractors that we have good relationships with. We will produce all the tender documentation, answer any tender queries and analyse returned tenders. We will keep you fully informed during the process and provide you with a tender report which will recommend an appropriate contractor. This takes all the hassle out of the process for our clients.
Once a contractor has been agreed we will appoint them and put in place a contract between them and the client. We act as contract administrator and oversee the work on site dealing with any challenges as they arise. We carry out regular site inspections and provide you with inspection reports and photographs to keep you up to date. Once the site works are finished we carry out final inspections and produce snagging reports. After 12 months we will return to site to conduct a defects inspection and ensure these works are carried out before the project is fully complete.
