Facility landscapes result from design decisions made over time. Those decisions reflect the values and intentions of an organization’s professional staff and the industry experts they consult with. Unlike buildings which are at their finest on the day they open, landscapes mature over time, and are also subjected to changes resulting from natural events or imposed by people, either due to necessity or in some unfortunate cases upon the whim of whomever is charged with their stewardship. Understanding the design intent of your site’s landscape enables the FM to manage its evolution over time most efficiently and sustainably, by limiting unnecessary expenditure of resources.

In order to understand the original design intent and develop a baseline, employ the following means of discovering and compiling helpful data:

If the site has not had any construction projects in recent years then discerning the design intent may be more difficult; but it remains no less important. Though as-built documentation may not be readily available, research on similar sites with contemporaneous designs could offer clues as to how the landscape was originally conceived. When making such comparisons be sure to take account of street frontage, solar orientation, topography, vegetation, land use, and cultural significance. Catalogue your findings both through annotated photographs and written descriptions.

In order to understand the original design intent and develop a baseline, consider the following methods for discovering and compiling helpful data:

• Before initiating changes, investigate the landscape’s historic development. Research provides a foundation to make educated decisions for landscape treatment, and can guide long-term management.
• Develop a digital archive of design documents, including drawings, historic photographs, specifications, as-built plans, invoices for materials, and relevant correspondence. Make such document files part of the hand-off process when a new Facility Manager arrives at site.
• Track the dates, sources, and attributions of archived materials.
• Prioritize narratives that serve to explain the design intent, and document decisions made during the design process. Drawings and specifications are a record of WHICH systems, materials and components the landscape includes; and narratives should record WHY they were each chosen.
• Consider the entire landscape, holistically. Many individual elements of a landscape contribute to its design integrity – e.g., the professional record of the landscape architect, the site layout and relationship to other landmarks, the landforms and materials employed, the workmanship applied, and the overall effect achieved.
• If no narratives or other documentation interpreting the design intent can be found then consider having a Cultural Landscape Report prepared in order to identify the site’s key features and judge its historical significance.
• Consider embracing change if it will result in a more sustainable outcome than the original design – e.g., a more drought-tolerant plant palette – but make discreet changes within the framework of the original design.
• Understand the intent of design choices, as the basis for making future decisions about landscape management. If a particular type of plant perpetually dies off in one area of the site then instead of replicating the original plant specification, look for a substitute species with a similar form, mature size, color, and texture as the original selection was designed to have.