tails many considerations including man- agement of time, budget, materials, the plan itself, and, of course, all of the parties involved. "We believe what is of paramount im-
B
portance in large-scale landscape design/build projects is to have all the re- lated decision makers involved at the earli- est stage of the project," said Andrew Demus, principal & senior designer at Gilson Group Landscape Design, Tarzana, Calif. "This includes the key individuals from both the client side, as well as the landscape design/build group. It has been our experience that when everyone is on the same page as far as the direction of the project is concerned, there is less chance of unexpected surprises in the later stages of the project." According to Demus, this is important
for establishing the direction of the design process.
"The creative process that establishes the visual direction of the landscape design is, by and large, subjective in nature and needs to be resolved as soon as possible in the earliest stages of the project," he said. According to Matthew Cunningham,
ASLA, Professional Member APLD, of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design, Melrose, Mass., during the preliminary de- sign stage, look at the site and work di- rectly with the homeowner to develop a master plan.
"The most important thing is to listen to the client's needs from the start, and dovetail that with the budget," he said. Cunningham added that it is important
to determine the client's maximum limit of financial contribution to the project, understand the scope of the work and how it will unfold, work with other team mem- bers, and coordinate the timeline. Demus said that he begins landscape
design/build projects with the client's "wish list" of elements they would like in- cluded.
"That gives us a feel for the scope of the project from their perspective and al-
www.landscapeirrigation.com Images on this page provided by Gilson Group Landscape Design
eing involved with a large-scale landscape design/build project may sound exciting, but proper execution of major projects en-
lows us to make suggestions and contribu- tions based on our creative and logistical experience," he said. "More importantly, it allows us to arrive at a ballpark budget, and thereby determine if the project is within the client's budgetary scope." Demus added that he typically uses 3-D
renderings to help lower the threshold of misunderstanding. "It pays dividends to make sure that
clients are comfortable and fully under- stand the hardscape and softscape they are getting," he said. Cunningham recommends guiding the
Landscape and Irrigation 11
