The Need for Scaled Drawings While it is possible to build a landscape design without any drawings— and in some special cases it may be a reasonable approach—in the litigious world we live in, it is probably not a good idea. One could build a garden, play area, or any other landscape design on-site using shovels, picks, and possibly earth-moving machinery without a set of drawings. The opportunities of doing so are limited, in large part due to the complex nature of our lives in the context of governmental requirements and legal constraints. You could create, say, a small garden following a design in your head, and a “build as you go” approach—for instance, your own garden or the garden of a friend or relative who is confident of your design sensibility and skills. However, grabbing a shovel and proceeding to construct an urban plaza or wetland restoration project without first going through a design process that follows a paper trail of reviews and approvals is next to impossible in today’s world of regulation and contracts. The practice of landscape architecture consists of a series of formalized steps following a paper trail whereby preliminary designs are first developed and presented for client feedback and governmental approval. Drawings and sketches, either drawn by hand or using computer software, are involved in a process consisting of a sequence of steps. Each step requires refining and developing more detailed plans, with technical details, sections, and technical written specifications. At the close of each step, the client and governmental units having jurisdiction for design and plan review will evaluate the drawings. The design review process often involves, in addition to governmental review, a requirement for scheduling and conducting public hearings and outreach to gain public input and approval. A number of governmental authorities are tasked with reviewing landscape designs—including grading plans—to assess their conformity to a range of public safety and health standards. Examples of governmental entities having review and approval authority would include municipal government departments, state public works and environmental quality agencies, federal government resource managers such as U.S. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and additional agencies having jurisdiction over water quality and wetlands management.
What Is Scale, Why Is It Important, and How Is It Used?
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