10 Ways Landscape Architects Approach Residential Design
Landscape architects play a pivotal role in transforming residential spaces into functional, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing environments. Their approach to design is multifaceted, addressing various challenges and ensuring that outdoor spaces enhance the quality of life for homeowners. This blog post explores ten key ways landscape architects approach residential design, incorporating insights into their design process, the distinction between landscape architects and designers, the problems they solve, and the value they bring to residential projects.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
In urban planning and design, ensuring the safety and security of spaces is a top priority. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) offers a proven approach to deterring criminal behavior through environmental design. Landscape architects are at the forefront of implementing CPTED across various property types, including residential, commercial, multifamily, and educational campuses.
2024 Landscape Design Trends: Reimagining Outdoor Spaces
As we embrace 2024, the landscape design trends are a reflection of our evolving lifestyles and environmental awareness. This year, we're witnessing transformative trends in front yard redesign, permeable surfaces, mixed materials, and outdoor wellness areas, each contributing to a more sustainable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living experience.
Elevating Multifamily Living: The Transformative Power of Outdoor Amenity Pods
In the dynamic realm of multifamily property design, a trend is emerging that's capturing the attention of property owners, designers, and residents alike: outdoor amenity pods.
Extend Your Home's Living Space with a Beautiful Patio: Inspiration and Ideas
Patios are an excellent way to utilize your backyard as an extension of your home. They provide a gathering space made of durable materials like stone or cement, that can endure beautifully with minimal upkeep. Moreover, they offer environmental benefits, such as reducing water consumption as compared to maintaining a lawn.
How to Incorporate Snow Storage in Your Landscape Design
When it comes to planning your dream landscape, it’s important not to forget the damage cold and dry winds, as well as the snow-laden winter season, is capable of causing on our landscapes. For instance, a sprinkler system can stop functioning as a result of prolonged cold temperatures. Similarly, plants may end up getting windburn whereas driveways and patios can sustain damages from corrosive products and plows. This is precisely why homeowners and/or property owners need to think about winterization in the design phase and protect their landscape against various kinds of damage from winter.
Connecting People to Nature and Community: The Role of Connectivity and Aesthetics in Community Trail Design
Community trails are an important aspect of healthy, sustainable, and livable communities. They promote physical and mental health, provide a convenient and safe way to travel, can drive economic development and connect people to nature, and foster community-building. When designing a community trail, there are several key elements that must be considered to ensure the trail is safe, accessible, and enjoyable for all users.
Bringing Social Impact Spaces to Home, Work, and School
Whether it's a first place (home), second place (work), or a public greenspace near your favorite third place, you may be looking for the opportunity to create a Social Impact Space where you and others can gather and reap the benefits. Whether you are seeking a balanced backyard space, outdoor break room, outdoor classroom, or customized public space to your desire, let us explore how to create a place rooted in social interaction for you.
A NEW APPROACH TO MULTIFAMILY VALUE-ADD
A guide for creating social impact through dynamic outdoor elements that balance form, function, and sustainability intended to improve your Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) rating.
The Balanced Backyard
Recently, we brought our full team together for an exciting group exercise and brainstorming session to reflect on a holistic view of what makes up the best backyard that we can design and implement. Our insightful team began thinking about each element that makes a truly balanced backyard - a term we are defining as a yard that blends form, function, and purpose. We are excited to share for the first time, 8 distinct elements we identified that comprise a balanced backyard and informs our design process and or we approach every project here at RPK Landscape Architecture - our goal is to assist you with getting the most out of the space you have with these 8 synergistic and complementary elements.
For the Love of Public Space
Though it may be hard to believe here in the snow-covered Northeast, the start of Spring is just over a month away. As we celebrate this Valentine's Day, we chose to espouse our love for public spaces and the different types of places we live to design and build as we begin to envision the warmer months ahead. We are excited to show you the proverbial box of chocolates available to choose from as we showcase our favorite types of public places we enjoy creating.
A New Community Solution - Placemaking at the Farash Foundation in the East End neighborhood of downtown Rochester, NY
As we wrap up 2021 we are reflecting on some of the major transitions and transformational projects that we hope to amplify and carry into the New Year. As you may have seen in previous blog and social media posts RPKLA (in addition to making vibrant outdoor places at your home) has started prioritizing efforts that impact the public realm and the human condition from places as nearby as your backyard to projects that have the power to shape neighborhoods.
Green Therapy - How you can benefit from health-promoting greenspace
As the warm summer memories begin to fade and the fall finds us slowly moving towards colder months, our thoughts continue to dwell on the importance of healthy places and spaces found outdoors. So often we hear about the benefits of things like greenspace, parks, and public spaces having an opportunity to benefit the health of ourselves and others - but what does this supposed health benefit actually mean, and how can we benefit from it?
Landscape Designing for Healthy Living
Landscapes that surround our homes, workplaces, and other areas are vital for our mental and physical well-being. While these changes may not be readily visible, they certainly occur gradually, resulting in positive vibrations and improved health. Landscape designs range from backyard and garden designing to the creation of public parks & places, as well as walking trails outside our offices. Landscape designing and urban green development encourage us to spend more time outdoors while ensuring quick and convenient access to green spaces as well as a host of wellness amenities for better living.