Site Grading Is Integral to the Phases of Design

The process of landscape architecture design generally follows standard steps or phases of work similar to the steps followed by architects and engineers. The process is detailed in a professional service contract under the heading of scope of work. The scope of work consists of a number of phases: first, consultation with the client, followed by developing one or more design solutions, each of which is accompanied by a budget analysis. Subsequent steps in the process lead to the preparation of what are called bid documents. These documents contain a set of plan drawings, details, written technical specifications, and other contractual and bonding documents that make up the complete bid package. Contractors prepare and submit their bids based on their review of the plans, detail drawings, and technical specifications prepared by the landscape architect.

Now that we have established the broader context of the design process, we should appreciate why design involves many steps and the preparation of many documentation types, graphic and written. A documentation package specific to the requirements of each phase would include preparation of plans, details, and other graphic representation drawings for client and governmental reviews.

A site-grading plan is a representation of a portion of the earth, such as the project site. The project area is drawn to fit on a sheet of paper or within a computer file that is viewed on a screen. The distinctive characteristics of a site (topography, tree cover, circulation, and structures) are represented with lines, symbols, contours, and elevations supplemented with notes and dimensions. These graphic representations are of course smaller than the real areas they represent. The lines, dimensions, contours, and other graphics are drawn such that each dimension and length on paper represents an actual dimension or length on the ground. Two-dimensional representations of the physical world are drawn at a prescribed scale. Further explanations of the concept of scale are found in the following section.