Landscape Architect Job Description

Well designed gardens are reflection of personal tastes and a landscape architect's skill to execute them. It takes great deal of planning and looking out for every intricate inch to design a garden that fits the customer's imagination. The job of a landscape architect demands an ability to create gardens that are aesthetically beautiful and useful at the same time. The landscape architect job description is definitely one that demands imagination, creativity, and an analytical mind. A landscape architect has to design indoor as well as external garden spaces. Thus, he must understand the dynamics of space utilization thoroughly.

Landscape Architect's Job Description

• To being with, the job of a landscape architect is to beautify the outdoor and indoor premises (garden area) of a building, while keeping in mind its utility.
• Thus, the job includes designing public and private gardens, playgrounds, development of real estate, restaurants, resorts, hospitals, hotels and public housing societies. The architect also has to plan tree plantations, he must choose the colors of flowers to be planted in the given area, the types of shrubs, trees; he must select the color and shape of sidewalk tiles and also pick the lampshades.
• To get all of this as per the planned design, he must have the ability to map, noting every little detail of the assigned task. For this purpose, he must be adept with CADD or Computer Aided Design and Drafting. This helps in simplifying visualization for both, the client and the architect.
• After preparing a preliminary design, the architect must consult the client for further changes and only get down to execution of the plan after final approval.
• While designing a garden, a landscape architect must keep in mind the topography of the surroundings. He should be aware about the drainage system, the pipelines, the kind of soil, possible vegetation that can be grown and most importantly, the ecosystem that can be maintained by developing a garden.
• On many occasions, a landscape architect has work in tandem with hydrologists, engineers and the architects of the building. He also has to hire good workmen for the job and must explain the details of the same. Thus, he needs to possess excellent communication skills to get the job done with ease.
• A landscape architect may have to design an area right from scratch or redesign it. His workload is often decided by the nature of the work.

To become a landscape architect one needs to have a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture. One can also pursue a master's in landscape architecture after basic graduation. Many landscape architects work on their own after gaining sufficient years of experience in the field. Thus, initially, one needs to gain experience by interning in the initial years and then working with an architecture firm to understand the finer nuances of job. Interning while you are studying is an excellent option to get some hands-on experience at an early stage of your career.

The landscape architect job is similar to that of a project manager. He is mainly responsible for conception of the idea, planning, and execution. He must have the ability to hire the right candidates to delegate his work to. Thus, in more ways that one, he must also act like a human resource office. In totality, a landscape architect must have excellent communication skills, managerial skills, negotiation skills, and the ability to expand his business too. He is solely responsible for shaping the client's imagination into reality. Thus, the job of a landscape architect is definitely the one that requires more than just business acumen.