There are a number of people in the landscape business who refer to themselves or advertise as Landscape Architects when, actually they are not. 'Back in the day, ' this was occasional and would frequently show up in the Yellow Pages, but with the advent of online media, the practice has become much more prevalent.
While it's an illegal action, our legal system has lots of more pressing matters. The commonest misuse is by nurseries or landscape installation businesses who include design services for free or at reduced rates with the purchase of landscape installation.
So, what is the difference between a Landscape Designer and a Landscape Architect? To start, anyone can call themselves a Landscape Designer, but to be a Lanscape Architect, one must be registered (often called licensed.)
While many schools offer degrees in Landscape Design, which are certainly beneficial, there isn't any educational or experience needed to practice as a landscape designer. This results in extensive variety of 'practitioners' which may be very gifted or may not have any information at all about landscaping. The running joke is "Green side up! ."
A Landscape Architect, on the other hand, must meet the following requirements:
- Receive a degree from a College with an Accredited Landscape Architecture program, typically 5 years for an Undergraduate Degree or 3 years for a Graduate Degree
- Practice under a Registered Landscape Architect for a period. (Tutelage). The time varies by state; The State of Tennessee needs a minimum of 3 years. In that time and until Registered, one is known as a Landscape Architect Intern.
- Take and pass a Countrywide Homogenized examination called the L.A.R.E. (Landscape Architect's Registration Exam) The multiple-part test takes several days and often takes one or two attempts to pass all sections. Roughly 5% pass the whole text on the first try.
- Depending on State of Registration, an extra section might be added to the L.A.R.E. Georgia, for instance, has an extra section on plants.
- Maintain an active Registration in each state of practice. This generally involves getting a specified number of Continuing Education credits during an one or two year cycle, as well as charges for each state.
- Some states, eg Tennessee, need taxes in addition to standard state and Fed. taxes, for example the Pro Privilege Tax.
So , there are the biggest differences between the two names. Soon, we'll talk about some of the variations in services offered by each.
About the Author:
Ben Pethel works as a landscape architect at his firm The Penland Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, and writes about landscape architecture on his blog.