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Comment by Elizabeth Tabler 7 hours ago

Hey all,. I just moved to Portland, from Las Vegas and I am interested in meeting other LA's in the area. Trying to learn the local culture. :)

Comment by Michael G. Cluer on November 17, 2009 at 2:32pm

Hi Lisa, I studied at UW in the LA program there.

I think the stonework both in how it was used/located in space and how it was finished stood out to me as being particularly of a PNW style.

Comment by Lisa Town on October 27, 2009 at 4:37pm

Speaking of iconic Northwest landscape designs, the great Lawrence Halprin died on Sunday, October 25th at the age of 93.

Comment by Lisa Town on October 27, 2009 at 4:08pm

I see that you're from New York. It'd be interesting to hear your opinion on what you think defines a PNW design. You mention Haag and Murase but what elements stand out to you? Are there any particular spaces that spoke to you?

Comment by Michael G. Cluer on October 8, 2009 at 5:51am

Hey all,

I was recently in the Seattle/Bremerton area and notice with some glee, some disdain the recent parks and their design. While I'm thrilled to see more pocket parks and interesting streetscapes in the area, I have to say, the influence of certain PNW designers have positively prevailed. I don't think these parks were by Murase or Haag, but elements which define those iconic offices certainly appear regularly in contemporary PNW landscapes, no? So what about that?

Comment by NZ on January 22, 2009 at 8:23am

Anyone studying at Washington State? Particulary their MSLA? I would love to correspond with some questions.

Comment by Oona on October 21, 2008 at 5:40am

I put an album on my folio called "Parks & Restoration . Anderson Property". This is the project I worked on which integrates restoration and design (part of the paper I mentioned in the last email). A topic which could be argued about. You also might want to go to UW campus and see the Fisheries building and adjacent parking lot and the Shell house. All or mostly natives were used there. Even the sculpture park could be an example.

Comment by Oona on October 17, 2008 at 6:31am

Hi Karen, I wrote a paper on your topic, "The Restoration of a Harvested Thuja plicata/Tsuga heterophylla Forest Ecosystem to Recreate Mature Second Growth with Old-Growth Characteristics and Aesthetic Qualities" I believe you can use native plants in such a way that can achieve a "stunning landscape". As those who have already stated in this discussion, a question to ask is: What is a stunning landscape to your client? There are many perceptions of landscape and you will never please everyone. I have designed quite a few landscapes in Seattle...I am getting my projects in order on this site slowly. If you keep in touch with me, I can lead you to some photos. I am living in California now and am addressing this same challenge on the California State Univ. Monterey Bay campus.

Comment by Jason King on September 21, 2008 at 4:12pm

An awesome topic (and prod for discussion). Working in a firm that does mostly sustainable projects - we struggle with the native purism vs. ornamental aesthetics probably on a daily basis... in order to meet the varied goals of our clients. We have native-only folks that won't budge on throwing in a drought tolerant non-native. We also have designers that adhere to the more ornamental schools of thought - and use a bunch on non-natives in the process to create more painterly design.

When we do restoration / revegetation work, we are recreating nature (or at least an analog of it) and lean on natural paradigms for determining plant communities. An urban park, ecoroof or dense infill development require a different aesthetic, due to space, usage, environment, exposure, soils, water, and social expectations. This doesn't mean all non-natives - but a selection of plants that work but also are drought tolerant and don't require high inputs of fertilizer and herbicides. The key - knowing the fuzzy middle ground of 'adapted' plants.

The expansion of LEED and other systems to include 'adapted' not just allows for greater creativity but more appropriate design. In Oregon, the predominant plant palette is 1) deciduous and 2) typically HUGE! Thus in urban conditions, you soon have overgrown or unmanagable or somewhat unstructured thickets of plantings where you really want a sustainable and beautiful environments that is easy to maintain and look good all year. A bunch of stormwater management projects have suffered from this - and the entire potential of certain techniques suffers alongside - because people want certain sustainable techniques - but not at the expense of aesthetics. Part of it is changing expectations and aesthetics. Part of it is making a 'sustainable' landscape (which doesn't necessarily equal native).

Green Roofs are a great example... as the typical model that has been applied uses sedums. There are two native sedums in oregon, which do well, but are not necessarily our goal to create monocultures or un-diverse environments.

Another big question is lawn. Although some would like to remove it completely from design - it's something that is required (sports, play areas, open space) in particular amounts for a variety of projects. Ecolawn is an option... (which is usually non-native as well).

My philosophy is to find the balance that works best for a project. Influences on this are the writings of Joan Nassauer (the Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames discussion) - as well as some of the more interesting ecological designs coming out of the leaders in the fields. Another great (and little known) book is called The Dynamic Landscape - which investigates 'ecological' planting design through history...

I wrote an article about this a few years back for OregonLAND - which I think is still online... http://www.aslaoregon.org/files/pdf/oregonland-winter06.pdf

Comment by Karen Oleson on September 19, 2008 at 10:46am

Aren't we a quiet group! Hello all. I am trying to refine my thesis question or topic. It is going to center around what design principles could successfully be used with native plants particular to a specific bioregion (in my case the pacific northwest, zones 3-5) in order to create a landscape of high design. My purpose is to demonstrate to the general public that wild plants can create a stunning landscape. I am experiencing difficulty in getting all that into one statement. Also, does anyone have experience using natives in designs that are not supposed to look "natural?" Cheers, Karen