September 2005 ISSUE
insight
Good Landscaping Gains Importance
BY MICHELLE LEFEBRE
AND JASON WILSON, UMA
PEGG Contributors
Engineers tend to think of landscaping as peripheral to their work. However, well-designed landscaping is likely to become more and more important to the success of engineers.
Why? Here are the main reasons.
Lower Cost of Construction
Ponds and streams can reduce the need for storm-water measures, because rainwater is retained to flow into the storm sewer system more gradually. Effective landscaping not only reduces the volume of storm flow, it improves the quality of the water, reducing sedimentation of streams — an increasing concern to many municipalities and provincial environmental agencies.
This reduces the need for sediment traps and other ways to reduce the flow of sediment and road salt into watercourses.
Lower Cost of Operation
Landscaping can provide the building management with temperature control through shading buildings and driveways in summer, while providing windbreaks and solar exposure in winter. Wise choices in landscaping might include low-maintenance ground cover and shrubbery, reducing the cost, noise and pollution caused by lawn-mowing.
Often, choosing local species of plants means lower maintenance costs because of better survivability and less need to water — particularly important in Alberta’s dry climate.
Safety and Security Issues
Improper landscaping can be a safety hazard, leaving too many places for a burglar or other criminal to hide.
Good placement of shrubs and trees, effective lighting and other measures can deal with these concerns.
Better Environmental Performance
Lower heating and cooling requirements translate into less environmental impact, due to less pollution. Trees and other plants form carbon sinks to reduce carbon dioxoide impacts, and can even provide wildlife habitat.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, is becoming a bigger part of engineers’ work these days, moving from a nice-to-have to a requirement. Landscaping that meets current standards is a big part of making a building LEED-compliant.
Better Curb Appeal
Whether it is a housing development, a residential tower, an industrial facility or an office complex, attractive landscaping increases the appeal of the building, possibly leading to a higher selling price and occupancy rates. This can result in a happy client and more return engagements.
Landscaping can be particularly important in residential construction — either a new development or a renovated older building. Many builders would rather concentrate on the building’s layout and appliances to differentiate their products, but landscaping is an oft-underused way of helping a house stand out from the competition.
Particularly in themed developments, landscaping is an important part of providing the look that the developer wants to provide.
The good news is that landscaping does not need to add excessively to the cost of a building or development. In many cases, “less is more.” A few well-chosen, correctly placed elements may work better than grounds crowded with trees and shrubs.
Working with A Landscape Architect
As with any business situation, one of the first steps to getting good results is choosing the right individual practitioner or firm. Finding someone with the right professional designations is a good start, but it is important to go on further to find someone who has experience on the type of project you have in mind. Ask for references and check them.
One of the most common situations landscape architects face is being called in to a project too late in the process, after many of the decisions have already been made. If involved in the process earlier, the landscape architect might be able to make suggestions that will reduce construction and operation costs, and make the building more appealing and environmentally appropriate.
Landscape architects work best as part of the team, including property owners and developers, architects, engineers and contractors. The result of this cooperation can be a win for everyone involved.
Michelle Lefebre is manager of landscape architecture and Jason Wilson is senior landscape architectural technologist, both at UMA. They work in the Calgary office of UMA, a member of the AECOM Group of Companies. Reach them at michelle.lefebre@uma.aecom.com and jason.wilson@uma.aecom.com.