CDPC Landscape Architecture Landscape

What a Landscape Architect Will do for you…

  1. Landscape Architects are good listeners. As we talk together we ask important question of our clients such as: How will you use this space? We can envision design while our clients are talking and waving their arms. Then we can draw the concept to be built. What could be better than starting from an idea, showcasing the concept and then building it accurately and cohesively so that it looks like it was meant to be?
  2. Our training is typically a four year college degree plus 3 years required field training to qualify for a Landscape Architects license. Education is traditionally one-third engineering, one third plant material and construction and one-third design theory. Therefore we can bring dimension to design energy for our clients so that the appropriate design elements can be quantified correctly and built in a manner that is cost effective for our clients.
  3. Landscape Architects are licensed by the state you work in just like Architects and Engineers. We have a national professional organization called the American Society of Landscape Architects.
  4. We are trained in Grading and Drainage so we can interpret surveys and develop design alternatives that work closely with the land forms of a site.
  5. We can envision and orchestrate an entire building design with a compatible landscape design to work hand and hand so that the design is integral with the land as the doors and windows are developed with interior of the building. This saves the client headache and money in the long run.
  6. We can use software programs to illustrate our design concepts visually so that the client can see how the building will sit on the land, the colors and textures of a particular design can be showcased.
  7. Our designs can be changed easily with the help of computer software and photographs that express your design ideas.
  8. The addition of new pathways, new sitting areas, site furniture, outdoor lighting, irrigation systems and plantings can increase the resale value of a property for a seller.
  9. We provide accurate material and labor estimates for a variety of materials for a project to find the best choice for our projects and our clients.
  10. Lastly, we are adept at sticking to our client’s budget and designing a space or an element that is an affordable enhancement which can bring the most pleasure to our clients for their investments.
  11. In order to get started it is a good idea to establish what you want to spend. We can base our fees on a construction budget as a fixed fee which is best for our clients. That way they can spend more on the project. We can purchase materials at wholesale rates and offset the cost of the project to account for our fee.
  12. We can consult with you at the site and do a walk through to analyze the sun angle, soils, slopes and drainage, adjacent surrounding impacts such as neighbors or automobile circulation.
  13. Once we have that we have addressed all of the dreams and wishes we can develop preliminary design sketches that fit all of your ideas together into one design approach. Then we can choose a design to work with that meets your budget.
  14. The Construction documents define the material quality and quantities. A complete package of working drawings can consist of a construction layout plan for the horizontal dimensions, a Grading and Drainage plan illustrating the vertical dimensions and how the water runs across the site, a lighting plan, an irrigation plan, a planting plan and construction detail sheets for features such as waterfalls and swimming pools to be built from. For public works projects written specifications can be added. Once these are prepared the costs can be itemized and determined. Permits can be obtained if necessary form city and county departments.
  15. Our company is a one stop shop which has in house expertise for the design and the construction aspects of your project. This will also save our clients money. Or we can sell you a set of drawings and then you can receive bids for the work from other teams of contractors during a bidding process.
  16. We can supervise your team of builders and act as the quality control for you and your project to stay on track and on budget.

Our Design Process:

DesignProcess-Diagram2