Landscape Architecture
Architectural site planning for residential properties across the Seattle Eastside.
Landscape architecture is often engaged when a property has reached the limits of piecemeal solutions. Persistent drainage issues, steep or irregular slopes, or years of disconnected planting and hardscape decisions eventually reveal a deeper problem: the site was never planned as a whole.
What We Do
A Licensed Landscape Architect leads this work to establish planning and design authority before construction begins. We define how the site should function as a complete system, including circulation, grading logic, drainage behavior, structural placement, and long-term landscape performance.
Landscape architecture is not installation-first landscaping. It is the professional planning framework that resolves site constraints, sets technical direction, and translates design intent into buildable documentation. On Eastside residential properties, that means decisions are made early, before materials are ordered or field conditions force reactive changes.
For collaborative project teams and architect partners, this framework keeps design intent aligned from planning through installation.
Scope typically includes:
- Comprehensive site analysis, including drainage patterns, slopes, soils, and existing vegetation
- Master planning that establishes clear spatial hierarchy and long-term intent
- Grading and drainage design to manage water responsibly across the entire property
- Hardscape layout that accounts for structure, load, and long-term stability
- Planting design based on site conditions, not trends
- Construction documentation that translates design intent into buildable plans
This approach is intended to reduce the most common failures we see on Eastside properties, where planting or hardscape is installed before water movement and grading are properly resolved, locking in long-term problems that are expensive to correct later.
Landscape architecture is often the difference between a landscape that holds together over decades and one that requires continual repair.
How Landscape Architecture Solves Common Property Problems
Many clients come to us after investing in individual improvements that never fully worked. A new patio settles. A planting bed stays wet. A lawn struggles on a slope. These are rarely isolated issues.
Landscape architecture addresses the site as a system:
- Persistent drainage issues are resolved by designing water movement across the entire property, not just away from the house
- Steep or irregular slopes are analyzed and reshaped to improve stability, access, and usable space
- Disconnected outdoor spaces are unified through circulation planning and spatial organization
- Mature trees are preserved by designing within root protection zones instead of damaging them during construction
This work sets the foundation for successful design-build and construction phases. Without it, even well-executed installation can fail.
Relationship to Design-Build
Landscape architecture and construction are most effective when they are closely coordinated.
When design and construction are separated, plans are often created without full awareness of constructability, material behavior, or site constraints. During installation, compromises are made that erode the original intent.
Our process integrates landscape architecture directly with design-build services. Design decisions are informed by construction reality from the start, and the same team remains accountable through implementation.
This reduces rework, limits value-engineering that undermines the design, and helps keep drawings aligned with what gets built.
Ready to Discuss Your Project?
If your property is dealing with drainage challenges, steep grades, or years of disconnected improvements, landscape architecture provides a clear path forward. Request a consultation to assess your site, discuss design goals, and determine the right approach for your property. We'll help you understand what is happening beneath the surface and outline next steps before construction begins.
