Landscape architect

Business card for eighteenth century landscape architect Humphry Repton, by Thomas Medland
Landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and the team they gathered to execute the Greensward Plan, their 1858 design for Central Park in Manhattan, photographed in 1862 at the park standing on the pathway atop the span of the Willowdell Arch (from the left: Andrew Haswell Green, George Waring, Vaux, Ignaz Anton Pilat, Jacob Wrey Mould, and Olmsted)

A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water management, sustainable design, construction specification, and ensuring that all plans meet the current building codes and local and federal ordinances.[1]

The practice of landscape architecture dates to some of the earliest of human cultures and just as much as the practice of medicine has been inimical to the species and ubiquitous worldwide for several millennia. However, this article examines the modern profession and educational discipline of those practicing the design of landscape architecture.

In the 1700s, Humphry Repton described his occupation as "landscape gardener" on business cards he had prepared to represent him in work that now would be described as that of a landscape architect.

The title, "landscape architect", was first used by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York City's Central Park in Manhattan and numerous projects of large scale both public and private. He was the founder of a firm of landscape architects who employed highly skilled professionals to design and execute aspects of projects designed under his auspices.

Depending on the jurisdiction, landscape architects who pass state requirements to become registered, licensed, or certified may be entitled to use the postnominal letters PLA.[2] In the US, all 50 states have adopted licensure.[3] The American Society of Landscape Architects endorses the postnominal letters PLA, for Professional Landscape Architect.[4]

  1. ^ "What Is Landscape Architecture? | asla.org". www.asla.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  2. ^ "Licensed to Design: PLA". The Field. American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). 27 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS ARE LICENSED IN ALL 50 STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA", American Society of Landscape Architects. "Become a Landscape Architect". www.asla.org. Archived from the original on 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  4. ^ "Professional Licensure: Universal Designation" (PDF). Washington, DC: American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2021-09-14.