Culture Helps Clear It Up

A super fun TV commercial at this year’s Superbowl 57 was Booking.com’s advertisement “Somewhere, Anywhere,” starring Melissa McCarthy.

Melissa wakes up singing, “it’s been too long since I had a vacation” as she’s looking at the Booking. com website on her phone, then the scenes switches to a balcony at a beach house on a bluff overlooking the ocean…” I am going somewhere, anywhere- a beach house or tree house…honestly, I don’t care” … Then she is sitting by a pool surrounded by beautiful Bougainvillea blossoms and a green hedge with someone standing nearby…” a fancy hotel with a sexy gardener” …The sexy gardener stands up, clips off a branch, and proclaims, “A Landscape Architect!”

It was great to see our profession getting airplay during the biggest advertising event of the year, but there are still misconceptions out there. Although it’s mostly the general public who hold misconceptions about our profession, we still sometimes have to spread the work within our own industry.

ASLA Takes the Ball and Runs

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) received feedback about the commercial from some members and released a statement. From ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen:

“Landscape architects design the treasured outdoor spaces where Americans gather, play, compete, relax, live, learn and work. If you love football stadiums, vacation resorts, public parks, campuses, plazas, waterfronts and other outdoor spaces, thank a landscape architect!

“At American Society of Landscape Architects, we love the humor and the delivery in ‘Somewhere, Anywhere.’ Like actor Ben Falcone’s character, every landscape architect knows what it’s like to have to explain what they do.

“Here’s the secret: Landscape architects bring people together in beloved spaces enjoyed by all and make the world healthier and more beautiful.”

“For sports arenas, landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA recently helped set a new standard in Los Angeles, “opening up the arena to the sky, air, and nature, and blurring the lines between stadium, botanical garden, and public park.”

According to the ASLA Web site – The actual term landscape architecture became common after 1863 when Fredrick La Olmstead and Calvert Vaus designed New York’s Central Park. The profession has been around for 160 years.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WHAT DO WE DO?

Variety is the Spice of Work

There are many different avenues we can explore since our profession has a broad spectrum of areas in which to practice. We participate in environments from the private and public sectors to academic organizations and beyond. In the private sector, the clients can range from homeowners, residential developers (master planned communities), retail developers and office building developers. In the public sector, there is work with the federal, state, regional, and municipal agencies – including U.S. Forest Services and National Park Services. In academia, there are teaching or research positions in various universities and colleges.

Landscape Architects can have an impact, whether on a small scale or a large regional scale. A project can be a small simple garden, a retail site, a restaurant or office building, a hotel or complete resort site, a master planned community, a large community park, or a large regional park.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WHAT DO WE DO?