Profile of the landscape architect
Planned landscape
Our environment, is it the city, the village or 'the natural landscape' is dominated and shaped by the action of the man, our action. 'Unaffected nature' is nowadays seldom uninfluenced by humans. Hardly a part of the Earth can avoid to be affected by the influence of the man. Europe is, with its multiple natural spaces, a 'cultural landscape', shaped during centuries by pastoral and forestry economies, agriculture, towns and industrialization.
The thuringian landscapes, composed of forests, fields and ponds, were also shaped by human actions like the mining industry, the multiple urban silhouettes as well as the gardens and parks. We human beings organize our environment, our landscape, today like thousand years ago. Landscape architects take a key position in these processes.
The occupation of the landscape architect – which is a "vocation" for many – is divided into two 'fields of activities' today: the fields of open space planning and landscape planning.
The open space planning is predominantly related to settlements and objects. The spectrum of the tasks reaches from the planning 'of the classical' back garden up to the recultivation and restructuring of former industrial and trade areas. It covers the planning of gardens and parks, of open spaces in trade, industrial and residential areas, of city places, pedestrian precincts, green areas in the city, sport and playgrounds as well as roof and facade greenings. The planning of horticultural exhibitions belongs likewise to their field of attributions, like the development of concepts of conservation and development of historical parks.
The landscape planning develops various goals like nature protection and landscape conservation as well as measures aiming at the transposition of these objectives at the federal level as at the regional and local level. Specialized plans and valuations are provided for the transposition of the legislation about the protection of the countryside. To these classical fields of application belong among other things the development of landscape and open-space control plans, environmental compatibility tests as well as conservation and development plans for protected areas. Landscape architects also take part in sectoral plannings within the ranges of traffic planning, river systems, sylviculture and agriculture, farmland regrouping procedures of regrouping and rural restoration.
In this task spectrum, landscape architects are project authors, obtain official permissions, are work task planners, are responsible for advertisement and assignment and supervise the construction measures on order of the building owners. Landscape architects take part in competitions or prepare these for their clients. They work in close cooperation with architects, engineers and implementing companies and represent the building owners in relation to other planning-taken part and authorities.
The title 'landscape architect' may only be lead in Thuringia, by who is registered in the list of the Chamber of Architecture. Conditions for it is a completed final higher education in the field of 'landscape architecture' and a two-year professional experience.