I have practiced as a landscape architect for over 30 years.  I have pursued formal training at Virginia Tech. I have past the Landscape Architecture Registration Examination (LARE). I maintain my current licensure through work experience and continued educational training annually, as recorded through the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

For the last 33 years, I have worked within two separate multi-disciplinary firms along with various professionals including civil engineers, surveyors, environmental scientists, and landscape architects.  As a Principal and shareholder within the company, I fulfill various roles ranging from client/project manager to designer.  In my project manager role, I collaborate, coordinate, and manage architects, engineers, surveyors, and environmental scientists for completion of legislative planning applications, land development applications, and site plans for public schools, public parks, mixed-use communities, commercial projects, and infra-structure.

Over the years, my role as a landscape architect/project manager, along with my professional experience in land development has directly influenced public health, safety, and welfare.  I have managed and designed larger projects which have included studies and planning for mixed-use communities and their infra-structure.  These projects undergo further refinement and detailing through preliminary site design, site grading, preliminary design for infra-structure (roadways and utilities), and environmental protection/mitigation.  Both large and small projects I have managed and designed include detailing for site design, public bike/pedestrian facilities, ADA accessibility, playgrounds, vehicular access, parking, lighting, and site amenities.

Some services provided by Landscape architects may overlap with other allied professionals, but this “overlap” often complements their profession.  No one person has all the answers in a land development project.  When I have led teams, the goals of a community or client were maintained because I understood and collaborated toward solutions in architecture design; and the site’s functionality and constraints encountered by engineers.  It was our mutual respect (in part through professional licensure) and professional experience of each allied profession that encouraged individual team members to excel in their own areas of expertise and specialty.

Licensure is critical for me to continue as a landscape architect, and especially in pursuit of federal, state, and local projects.  It is in these public projects where agencies and jurisdictions require licensure for the manager leading the project.  Without licensure, we would not lead and potentially be limited in our ability to collaborate with allied professions.

I hope this personal narrative demonstrates the function and value of our profession, as well as the collaborative expertise that landscape architects bring to projects in Virginia.

Thank you,

Mark W. Baker