The importance of designing environmental and maintenance resilience in landscapes

by Dave Flaherty | April 10, 2020 12:28 pm

By Gary van Eijk

Any homeowners may wonder why they should spend money investing in a designer independent or inclusive of a builder. If a customer has not been through any construction process with a designer or builder that has developed a relationship of trust, they may not understand how the professional’s services can bring value and savings.

So, how does one perceive the importance or need of a designer for any project? The answer to this might be that contractors are the best designers because they build environments and have a tactile connection, making them an obvious choice for any outdoor project. This, in many cases, is true. That said, a contractor does not design the space where customers spend the maximum amount of their time—in their homes. Therefore, the comparison between outdoor landscapes and homes might not seem like a logical or fair comparison, but the principles are similar. Both the spaces and levels are meticulously planned and designed using spatial formulas, an understanding of ergonomics, and the interaction of materials and utilities. For example, an architect or designer who comprehends typical human ergonomics ensures there is sufficient room for chairs, tables, and bookcases that do not interfere with movement during social events, and the space still allows the interior to feel comfortable with a few people or just one person in the room. However, the skill of building and bringing materials together to achieve the overall structure and space according to the design is almost always reserved for craftsmen builders.

So, how does one perceive the importance or need of a designer for any project? The answer to this might be that contractors are the best designers because they build environments and have a tactile connection, making them an obvious choice for any outdoor project. This, in many cases, is true. That said, a contractor does not design the space where customers spend the maximum amount of their time—in their homes. Therefore, the comparison between outdoor landscapes and homes might not seem like a logical or fair comparison, but the principles are similar. Both the spaces and levels are meticulously planned and designed using spatial formulas, an understanding of ergonomics, and the interaction of materials and utilities. For example, an architect or designer who comprehends typical human ergonomics ensures there is sufficient room for chairs, tables, and bookcases that do not interfere with movement during social events, and the space still allows the interior to feel comfortable with a few people or just one person in the room. However, the skill of building and bringing materials together to achieve the overall structure and space according to the design is almost always reserved for craftsmen builders.

 

Every project is unique                                                                              

All designers are ideally trained and educated with technical understanding first—with the support of the material and practical knowledge of the industry. Applying esthetic value is secondary. All other aspects, including environmental and maintenance resilience, may trail behind in support, even if it is the primary motivation of the
landscape professional.

For custom-built homes, clients confer deeply with architects and designers to ensure the best look and feel of the finished product. Does this mean every project requires a designer? The answer may vary, depending on the depth or complexity of the solution, and does not depend on the overall perceived size of the client’s project.

Case in point

A homeowner noticed their mature rhododendron (evergreen shrub with large flowers) was failing in the same area as their front stone walkway, which was uneven, cracked, and getting worse every year. The natural flagstone path—that was in place for 15 years or more—sloped toward the house, where water collected in a puddle every time it rained. Fully aware of the landscape’s lacklustre, the homeowner was more concerned visitors—especially their aging parents—would have trouble walking the path or could even hurt themselves by tripping and falling. The owner did not expect to live in the house much longer, and therefore, did not see the need to invest in improvements.

 Potential fixes

At first glance, this case does not appear be a large project. In fact, depending on the trade, one might think there are many ways to fix the small walkway, such as lifting the existing stones, re-levelling the grade, and re-laying the existing stones or replacing them with equivalent natural stone or precast pavers. The solution seems simple at the initial appearance of the problem—to create a re-levelled and safe walkway for the client.

Next steps

The client requested a quote from a paving contractor—one that was prepared with options to replace or re-lay the existing stone. The professional made the observation that water was collecting at a point and re-grading the section of the front walkway was necessary.

The homeowner also requested a landscape designer to provide ideas on why the rhododendron was failing, what could be done on a budget to improve the front of their house using plants, and creating a more interesting pathway to replace the one that was deteriorating.

In doing so, the designer expressed concerns with the façade’s appearance and was eager to suggest ideas for resale-value based improvements to enhance the house’s curb appeal. This observation and questioning provided a wider scope of perception without exclusively focusing on the deteriorating pathway and eventually led to expose the true cause of the issue. The evidence of blackened stains on the eaves trough and soffit above, as well as damp moss stains on the parged foundation revealed more than one problem. Asking the client additional questions led to the discovery of a wet area in their basement. As a result, it was determined that possibly multiple tradespersons would be needed to address more than a failing walkway.

Observations

The issues with roof drainage were caused by blocked and insufficiently sized gutters. Downspouts, invisible from the front of the property, were draining directly into an exposed section of the foundation. Further, the poorly graded areas also directed surface water into the foundation (instead of away from it), causing long-term and costly damage. Had these problems been left to be observed by a home inspector—at the time of resale—after the walkway was repaired, the later awareness of the extent of the issue’s cause and effect could have led to the work being done eventually or not at all. Evident to prospective homebuyers, these issues could even depreciate the value of the house instead of directing the investment strictly to the front walkway work.

This is where the perception and skill of a designer or a widely experienced contractor come into play, where one is able to detect future damage from an unrealized source. Where multiple contractors may have addressed their own areas of expertise, a paving contractor would have been hired, and the homeowner’s opportunity to fix all the problems may have gone unrealized, thereby affecting obvious value and longer term savings.

A local paving contractor’s services would surely result in a new pathway installed in a short period of time—on a relatively small budget; however, an experienced designer investigating the same situation may make multiple observations, seeking the full cause of the failure and suggesting appropriate preventative (resilient) measures. The same actions are often employed by renovation experts, plumbers, or foundation experts called in for larger budget projects without consideration to the landscape per se.

Where is the resiliency in this?

Resiliency is identified in minimizing (or eliminating) the environmental impact of a necessary activity. The time and resources (and carbon footprint) put forth by the paving contractor would be considered uneconomical—especially if it resulted in destroying the work done to resolve future water damage or spending additional time/money to preserve their work. It should be considered that the total cost of the construction may be more expensive than addressing the paving symptom alone; however, the total cost is less expensive than multiple symptom treatments while allowing the exponential deterioration of the foundation.

The full extent of the work was completed. The paving contractor added additional curb appeal to his scope of work along with resolving drainage issues and also fixing the foundation leak. Having this work done passed additional value on to prospective buyers with resiliency peace of mind, resulting in the quick sale of the house. Further, the homeowner hired the professional to work on the newly purchased home improvements, too.

It is not all about the flowers

The experience of most contractors and designers suggests there are no typical scenarios, and the simple replacement of a walkway could be as it appears (but rarely is). The presented observations of the landscape designer are not reserved to their profession alone, but these can be applied by many experienced home improvement professionals, landscape contractors, paving specialists, renovation contractors, and maintenance services. It is the linking of the anomalies—from the deteriorating health of the rhododendron to detecting the stains on the foundation and the eaves trough—that led to the result.

Left to a single trade to resolve, unobserved or not, the overlying issue would have progressed into additional cost and home decline. If/when caught eventually, the problem could have been corrected before the work on the walkway was completed. Many television shows have been created on the premise that home improvement disasters occur due to issues that exponentially get worse from being missed, misdiagnosed, covered up, or ignored.

The promise of environmental resiliency

Many professionals, including landscape designers, make the mistake of assuming their work simply involves placing the correct plant in the right place according to the design. Although true (to a certain degree), an experienced professional will admit the design solutions in landscaping cannot be resolved with perennials and border plants alone. This skill is added to the design consciousness integrated into residential landscape design but not hinged on it.

It is the widened scope of the education of a landscape designer, typically through the exposure of landscape architecture, grading, and social science, that both horticulture and awareness in building standards and construction can link the person to place. This association to nature is the promise of environmental resiliency.

It is not the architect or the urban planner’s vision alone that provides the designed connection of person to place. Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language made these observations decades ago, and the relevance is not lost: “A house feels isolated from the nature around it, unless its floors are interleaved directly with the earth around the house.”

All professionals, designers, and tradespersons alike are an integral part of the home improvement industry that encompasses the home living experience. No one architectural design element is considered disconnected from the other. The recent trend of material and spatial blending and the seamless integration of the interior to the exterior have never really been out of fashion. The expanded use of materials in colder climates, including weather-resilient fabrics available in multiple patterns and the use of folding glass panels, now allow for the integration of the interior (features) to interact with exterior (seasons/climates). Consider the expanded exposure of television segments on outdoor living, with designers providing ideas to bring the indoors to the outside. These elements stitched together by landscape professionals expand the possibilities for contractors to wade into outdoor renovations, adding heightened value to a project. Creative processes that allow the fashionable integration of designer solutions mean potential payback and value-added services for the contractor’s clients. Developing the budget with the integrated design adds new pressure on a project.

What comes first: Design or budget?

For smaller projects, as with large, the process of drawing and designing a landscape is the act of solving. Combined with understanding the client’s needs and site conditions, designing offers solutions to problems that have occurred but, more importantly, will never occur because the landscape professional has invested their time, experience, and education to identify and avoid future issues. Further, knowledge and understanding of local zoning and permit requirements, grading and parking limitations, as well as privacy concerns ensure meeting the client’s needs for the function and appearance of the finished design.

The true test of a designer is to take the scope of work—from conceptualization to the finished product—and define a budget to the client that identifies all the costs before moving ahead. It is important professionals plan design options and phasing considerations to reduce waste before construction begins.

To establish a preliminary construction budget before designing, some homeowners use a formula where approximately 10 to 20 per cent of their home’s assessed value should be considered a reasonable landscaping budget. This estimation might help; however, formulas do not consider the cost of proper grading required to prevent flooding or savings calculated due to a properly placed tree. Keeping optional materials and increasing costs in mind, many more homeowners are investing more than simple formal values and consider property value added, affordability, and the expected value received over time occupying the home. Added value appears in the equation where owners incorporate one or more luxurious items such as outdoor kitchens, pools, and hot tubs. These additional elements help with meeting esthetics and basic recreational prerequisites; however, sometimes there are greater needs when investing in aging homes, such as the client’s house mentioned earlier.

Planning to fail

Once the design is underway and an application is submitted to the municipality, many homeowners may become aware of restricting factors to a project budget. The bylaws for homes that are in need of extensive construction or renovation require certifications where a landscape architect or grading engineer creates a grading design. For instance, Oakville, Ont., requires an approval of grading design to mitigate storm system overload to protect urban trees and prevent damaging grading patterns from indiscriminate landscaping when planning new home environments. This authorization process requires an arborist report on existing trees, a certified grading plan, and a storm water assessment. In such cases, it is beneficial for contractors to employ a landscape designer who has knowledge of permitting and zoning policies and is experienced in grading design. The professional’s skill helps to establish designed grading and construction techniques that preserve the integrity of the design into the desired and future landscape features and also ensures they do not interfere with the greater environmental and municipal concerns while meeting the expectations of the client.

Environmentally resilient solutions

A designer’s services may not always be required. Many contractors have a background in design, or they have a flair for creative layout having developed the skill either through education or many years of on-the-job training—finding and managing design solutions. Mostly, the on-site experience suffices until the design requires approval, where the regulatory agencies need the graphic communications of the design to meet their own requirements. The complexities and demands of the application process may force many contractors to seek ways to avoid the administrative duties of municipal or conservation authority approval.

The contractor’s interest of building in an efficient and timely manner conflicts with the necessary administrative processes that are time- and resource-consuming. It has become increasingly necessary for contractors, as first response contacts to clients, to have systems in place that manage the efficiency and environmental resiliency of a project from beginning to end. At times, it means incorporating administration as a subcontract to avoid overhead charges. It is the nature of dealing with the permitting process to endure policy changes, design compromise, and certification requirements. The increasing number of these requirements makes it challenging for small- and mid-size contractors to manage every aspect of a project. The nature of all of these responsibilities can lead many into the pitfall of compromising quality for convenience. Many professionals often lose a sense of the crafted planning of a project and force the incorporation and acceptance of prefabricated solutions. These solutions, forever on the horizon from manufacturers, can offer less expensive solutions to clients and contractors and may diminish the overall value and quality of
a project.

Landscape construction professionals and designers are often able to see the homeowner’s emotional connection with nature, which is indicative of a collective need to connect with nature in built environments. The improvements to homes strengthen this connection, and the promises of environmental resiliency empower industry professionals to add value to their projects and the trade. Environmental awareness is not an element that can be used per convenience, but it is an opportunity for the professional to embrace their commitment to the craft, the industry, and their clients.

[1]Gary van Eijk is a Ryerson graduate of landscape architectural technology. He is the owner and the principal designer at Uncommon Ground Design Group Inc., in Burlington, Ont. Van Eijk has been working with homeowners, contractors, builders, and architects in the Greater Toronto Area since 1996, and has been designing residential landscape projects in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Ancaster, Muskoka, Collingwood, and the Kitchener-Waterloo regions. He can be reached via email at gary@uncommonground.ca.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/the-importance-of-designing-environmental-and-maintenance-resilience-in-landscapes/

---