Confessions of a landscape architect: Three things I wish my clients knew

Author: Georgia Madden on Houzz

Are you considering enlisting the services of a landscape architect to give your garden a fresh new look? A little knowledge can help make the process quicker and smoother for all involved.

Brett Robinson, creative director at award-winning Melbourne landscape architecture firm Acre, discusses the three things he wishes every client understood before the start of a landscaping project.

1. A landscaper and a landscape architect are not the same thing

They are two very different professions. A landscape architect creates the design and a landscaper builds it. A landscape architect is professionally trained and needs to have a degree. A landscaper doesn’t require a qualification, neither does a landscape designer, although training and qualifications are available.

A landscape architect comes up with a design in collaboration with the clients, then drafts all the details, and organises quotes for construction through a tendering process. They can then help with all the red tape with councils, and will oversee the build to make sure the design intent comes to fruition.

Greater value is given to landscape architectural design today, but many people will still contact a pool builder early on, install a pool, then contact a landscaper who tells them they need a design done by a landscape architect. It’s all a bit backwards and ends up creating all sorts of issues.

2. External work needs to be tackled with the same care as internal work… and that costs

We pride ourselves on the outcomes we achieve, but with a team of designers and a long process to go through, costs do add up.

Gone are the days of sketching up a landscape on a pad of paper and handing it over to a landscaper to price. Australia has some of the most complex red tape when it comes to approvals and getting things built. This means that from start to finish there can be schematic concepts, landscape plans, construction detailing, permit drawings and engineering to get a design built, all of which takes time.

Many clients find the costs a shock at first, but the advice I give is that any external building or construction needs to be tackled with the same care and finesse as building a house. Landscaping is very labour-heavy. It often takes months to complete a project, so you can understand the kinds of outlays involved when you have teams of three to five people on site for that amount of time.

To build an architect-designed home, prices range from about $2,000- $5,500 per square metre, and for volume homes it’s about $1,600 per square metre. Our projects cost around $1,000 per square metre, which quickly adds up. At Acre, an average 600-square metre block costs around $200,000 to landscape, or around $350,000 with a pool. Gone are the days of spending $15,000 to get your garden landscaped.  

3. It will probably take longer than you think
Most of our jobs take six to 12 months to complete, and some even longer, depending on complexities and the scope of works. If your property has an easement or an overlay, for example, planning drawings will normally need to be completed and submitted to council. This process alone can take two months to complete, and then the project still needs to be quoted and built.

We’ll often get calls in early spring from clients who want a new garden or pool by Christmas. Unfortunately, on most projects, this just isn’t possible.  As they say in the gym business; “Summer bodies are built in winter”. The same can be said for landscapes. The behind-the-scenes work needs to be done during the colder months to have it ready to enjoy in summer.

And another thing on pools…
The sooner you contact us the better. Many people don’t realise that those amazing pools they see on design websites and in magazines were generally designed by a landscape architect. It’s a landscape architect’s holistic approach that ensures the pool is incorporated so beautifully into the landscape.