November 27, 2011
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via LAND E-News from ASLA Nationals
With the Board of Trustees approval, ASLA is encouraging all licensed landscape architects to use the post-nominal letters “PLA” after their names. As an abbreviation of the title “professional landscape architect,” it will better enable potential clients and the general public to identify licensed practitioners. It will also provide consistent recognition for the landscape architecture profession across the nation.
Why PLA? To truly establish a designation that can be used universally, it is necessary to avoid words that have specific legal meanings, like the terms registration and licensure. While these terms are often used interchangeably, in reality each has a distinct meaning in the realm of professional regulation. Like the PE designation for engineering, PLA can be used in any jurisdiction where a landscape architect is duly licensed. Most important, the use of PLA can raise the profile of landscape architecture by creating a universally recognized symbol for licensed landscape architects.
The use of PLA by landscape architects is intended as a customary designation, just as similar abbreviations are used today. No legislative changes or rule development for state licensing is necessary, given that it falls under current title restriction provisions that restrict the use of any title (or abbreviation) that indicates the individual is a landscape architect. Further, no state law or regulation assigns specific post-nominal letters that licensed landscape architects must use.
The development of this policy and the discussion of this issue have raised many questions, particularly regarding how such a designation interacts with licensure laws. For more information, see below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did ASLA adopt this policy?
There is currently no uniform way for a licensed landscape architect to indicate that he/she is licensed. Many use PLA, RLA, LLA, or LA to signify licensure. The lack of a consistent post-nominal abbreviation makes it more difficult for potential clients and the general public to identify a licensed practitioner.
Why did ASLA choose PLA?
State laws and regulations use different terms to denote professional regulation of landscape architects, with many using licensure, others using registration, and several using both. These terms were originally intended to signify different levels of regulation; however, common usage has blurred these definitions for the design professions so that licensure and registration are often used interchangeably. The ASLA Licensure Committee chose PLA for two reasons. First, PLA does not conflict with the existing legal terminology (licensure and registration), thereby allowing for universal usage. States that use registration or licensure may not be comfortable with its licensees using the other term, making PLA a neutral designation that can apply to both terms. Second, PLA is consistent with existing post-nominal abbreviations for related disciplines, such as engineering (PE) and land surveying (PLS).
How would the use of PLA affect existing licensure laws and regulations?
State laws are written to ensure that only qualified individuals hold themselves out as landscape architects. Laws typically reserve “landscape architect” and “landscape architecture” for licensees and sometimes include restrictions on other titles, such as “registered landscape architect” or “licensed landscape architect.” Further, the title protection provisions prohibit any unlicensed individual from in any way holding himself or herself out to practice landscape architecture, which includes abbreviations and other derivations of the term landscape architect. At the present time, no state law or regulation assigns specific post-nominal letters that licensed landscape architects must use. States may be interested in changing rules to specify that the use of PLA (professional landscape architect) is restricted, but it is not necessary because existing language covers use of all iterations of “landscape architect.”
My state uses RLA on its stamp. Can I use PLA?
Yes. The post-nominal abbreviation PLA is intended as a customary designation to identify oneself as a landscape architect with a valid license/registration. As long as the individual has a valid license in the state, that licensee can use PLA after his/her name to signify licensure. The state could choose to change its rules and stamp design to be consistent with PLA, but it is not necessary, and ASLA does not intend to advocate for such changes. It is important to note that a landscape architect should always follow the state specifications for the official stamp.
What is the responsibility of the landscape architect?
As the PLA designation is intended to signify licensure, it is the responsibility of licensees who use PLA to remain in compliance with their respective licensure requirements and only to use the designation in jurisdictions where they have a valid license. Those who are unlicensed should never use PLA.
What is the responsibility of the licensing board?
Because the use of PLA would signify licensure, the existing title restriction provisions will provide the authority for state licensing boards to take enforcement action in the same way that they can currently enforce the use of the title landscape architect by those who are not licensed. In keeping with existing title restriction provisions, state licensure boards alone have the authority to ensure that only individuals with a valid license hold themselves out as landscape architects, including the use of PLA.
How does this policy affect the ASLA designation?
The ASLA designation will continue to denote that the individual has met the qualifications of membership in the Society and has a membership in good standing. PLA does not replace ASLA as a designation, but establishes a supplementary designation that can be recognized by all to signify licensure (e.g., Jane J. Smith, ASLA, PLA).
I am not a member of ASLA. Can I use PLA?
Yes. ASLA intends for the PLA designation to be open to all licensed landscape architects. Otherwise, it could not truly become a universally recognized designation for clients and the general public to identify licensed landscape architects.
Questions?
Contact ASLA Government Affairs Director Julia Lent at jlent@asla.org.
November 27, 2011
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via ASLA Nationals 'The Dirt'
"Instead of a lofty discussion on the merits of different prerequisites and credits, Jose Alminana, FASLA, Andropogon, Angela Dye, FASLA, A. DYE Design, Hunter Beckham, ASLA, SWT Design, and Sarah Weidner Astheimer, ASLA, james corner field operations, launched into the practical challenges and rewards involved in applying the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) to new and existing projects and steering the first pilot projects through the submittal and certification process. In fact, Beckham and Astheimer are now neck and neck, having moved past the first submittal process and now heading towards the final submittal and certification, meaning one will be the first SITES-certified project.
Alminana said that 157 pilot projects in 34 U.S. States, Iceland, Canada, and Spain are registered and moving through the submittal and certification process, with 9 projects already in the preliminary submittal process. Projects clearing the preliminary review move to final review and then are set at one of the four levels: 1-4 stars. He said landscape architects testing out SITES view the initiative as valuable because it “adds clarity and vigor to technical content.”
Now, the SITES team is also reviewing feedback from the pilot projects to determine the “accuracy and fairness of the credits weights, their applicability to diverse project types, and how challenging or rewarding certification levels are.”
A wide variety of projects are moving forward. Some 65 percent of projects are greyfield redevelopments, while another 15 percent are brownfields. There are lots of sizes, from less than one acre to up to 500 acres. Alminana said the guidelines will be available as a stand-alone rating system, or can simply be used as voluntary guidelines. SITES is being incorporated into LEED through updated credits, and the U.S. Green Building Council and SITES founding partners are also working out how SITES certified projects will be treated in the LEED systems. Pilot testing will continue through 2013. When that process ends, the reference guide will be revised and presented. “This is freeware for all.” (see earlier post on the progress of SITES).
A Few Projects Testing out SITES
The Novus International headquarters, a 9.5-acre site outside St. Louis, is part of a University of Missouri research park, and has already made its way through the preliminary submittal process. Beckham, the landscape architect on the project, said “they want everything in SITES in their project so I got lucky.” The building, which is LEED Platinum, is now surrounded by active design elements, including a running loop, biomimetic dedsign features, and vegetable gardens. More importantly, Beckham mapped out the nine different habitats in the region and developed a plan and set of design proposals to incorporate those into the site. To accomplish SITES pre-requisite 2.1, the pre-design assessment, Beckham basically incorporated all these ideas into his client pitch, introducing all the concepts from the get-go. To match the LEED platinum building, Beckham is aiming for SITES 4-stars.
Shelby Farms Park, a massive 4,000-acre park less than 6 kilometers from Memphis, is one of the major projects of james corner field operations, and has already gone through the preliminary submittal process. Astheimer said the master plan’s goal is to create a “major public space and destination, along with a model of sustainable design.” One of the first projects, the 4.5-acre Woodland Discovery Center, is already done. Astheimer said Corner’s firm used this project because we “wanted to test ourselves” against the benchmarks and guidelines. The site include mature oaks surrounded by invasive Chinese species. An adjacent forest provides a frame for a series of “play rooms or nests.” There’s a “rich set of play experiences tailored to different children’s needs.”
Shoemaker Green, a yard and plaza on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, provides 3.85 acres of new open space, passive recreation as well as six tennis courts. It’s surrounded by buildings and has an innovative on-site water reuse program with zero runoff. There are “very intensive uses on the site” — some 57,000 participate in annual relays every spring. For Alminana at Andropogon, another key goal is zero-waste. “Every cubic inch of material on site was reused.”
The Tempe Transportation Center in Tempe, Arizona, was a 2-acre employee parking lot. Constructed between 2006 and 2008, the project is close to downtown, and across from Arizona State University dorms. Suited to SITES, it displaced parking, includes a vegetated green roof (one of the first in the desert), shaded areas for “respite,” a 3-story mixed-use building, and bike station with valet, repair, and lockers. The site is also of great historic significance to the local native American community: the city found that the location of the transportation center was a burial ground sacred to the Hohokam. Archeological investigations were blessed by tribal elders. Remains found by the city were removed and are being inventoried, with the goal of eventually returning them to the tribe.
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See the full article HERE
November 27, 2011
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via Metro Nature in Neighborhoods November eNewsletter
2011 Oregon Landscape Expo
December 1, 2011
Oregon Convention Center, Hall E
777 NE Martin Luther King Blvd., Portland
Class topic areas include business/marketing, irrigation, maintenance, construction and sustainability.
Learn more
Fill out a registration form
View the schedule
November 27, 2011
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via Metro Nature in Neighborhoods November eNewsletter
New round of the ecoroof incentive
The next round of ecoroof incentives is now open, and the deadline for applications is Dec. 1, 2011. Nearly all roofs in Portland are eligible to receive up to $5 per square foot for an ecoroof. This is the seventh round of funding the incentive, and since 2008 the program has funded close to 150 projects across the city. If you have a roof that might be a good candidate, please submit an application or contact the City of Portland to discuss. You can also visit the website, with many technical resources to help you, project reports from past incentives and an ecoroof blog to keep you updated.
Learn more and download an application
2011 Ecoroof Seminars
The City of Portland is again offering free technical workshops for anyone interested in learning more about ecoroofs in Portland. There will be two separate one-day seminars: one for professionals on Dec. 6 and one for property ownerson December 10.
Learn more and register
November 27, 2011
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via Landscape Architect and Specifier News
We cordially invite you to showcase your firm in LASN’s upcoming “Parks” issue for March 2012.
Show Issue: LA EXPO - Long Beach
Submitting Material is Easy and Free!
Just send a half-dozen low-res images (.jpg or .tif) to mmedaris@landscapeonline.com with “Feature Submittal” in the subject line, and a short paragraph describing the project. Please include the project location and your complete contact information. If your project is selected for publication, we will require 12-15 hi-res images and additional information.
Submissions are due by December 9th.
Contact: Steve Kelly, senior editor
skelly@landscapeonline.com
(714) 979-5276 x12
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF
SUBMIT MATERIALS
November 27, 2011
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Landscape Architects still needed for the Architects in Schools Program!
The Architects in Schools Program is still in need of volunteer landscape architects for the 2011-2012 school year! Architects in Schools matches professional landscape architects with 3rd through 5th grade teachers for a 6 week classroom residency at no cost to the schools. The program is based on a curriculum guide that teachers and their partner landscape architect can use to compliment existing curriculum. The curriculum uses architectural concepts to teach math, science, social studies, language arts and other disciplines and includes 'green' designing concepts. Landscape architects can receive 1 pdh for participating. Those who've participated report the experience of sharing their passion with young people to be very rewarding. For applications, questions and more information, please contact Kim Ruthardt Knowles as soon as possible at 503.317.7537 or kim_ais@msn.com. For more information about the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, go to the website at www.af-oregon.org.
November 25, 2011
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The ASLA Oregon 2011 Design Awards Winners have been featured in the A&E Section of the Oregon DJC!
Click Here for the full story
November 8, 2011
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The Sustainable Cities Initiative and the UO Department of Landscape Architecture Present:
Designing The New Cities of China: Blending Ancient Traditions with 21st Century Sustainability
China is experiencing urbanization at a scale previously unseen in world history. Much of the new urban development is very international, rather than Chinese, in character. Dr. Jie Hu will discuss how the Tsinghua University Planning and Design Institute attempts to infuse projects with both 21st century ecological science and the spirit of Chinese culture and tradition. His ideas are illustrated in his prize-winning designs for Beijing's Olympic Forest Park (twice the size of New York City's Central Park), Tieling Fanhe New City Landscape planning and Tangshan Nanhu Eco-City Central Park. Click here for more information.
Portland Tuesday, November 8, 2011
5:30 pm Reception
6:00 pm Lecture
University of Oregon in Portland
White Stag Block, Event Room
70 NW Couch St.
Portland, OR 97209
Eugene Thursday, November 10, 2011
Noon-1:00 pm Brownbag Lunch
231 Lawrence Hall
University of Oregon
1190 Franklin Blvd.
Eugene, OR 97403
5:30 pm Lecture
110 Fenton Hall
University of Oregon
1021 E 13th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97403
JohnPaul Jone, FAIA
Jones & Jones Architects, Landscape Architects and Planners
Portland, Wednesday, November 9
5:30 pm Reception
6:00 pm Lecture
University of Oregon in Portland
White Stage Block
Portland Turnbull Center, #350
70 NW Couch St.