75 2017 Architecture Awards Build wner and principal Brooks Kolb, a Seattle native, offers a complete range of services tailored to residential clients, including but not limited to site master planning, cost analysis for budgeting and phasing, construction documents, city permitting, contractor selection and construction observation. Brooks talks to us about Seattle and how this affects his firm. “Three converging factors make Seattle a terrific place to create residential gardens and landscapes. The first is the breathtaking scenic quality of our Puget Sound Region, with its dazzling mountain, lake and sound views. This scenery is reflected in the wide ecological diversity of our residential properties, from small urban lots to flat meadows and shorelines, to steep hillsides and dense forests. No two sites or projects are alike and this is what continually keeps me engaged and excited about garden creation. The second factor is that despite all its growth in recent years, Seattle and its suburbs remain a place where single family residences predominate. Third is our booming economy, with people flocking here from all over the US and the world to work in the burgeoning high-tech field. This affluent work force has the means and desire to transform their properties, and I am on hand to help them realize their highly individual landscape visions.” Outlining the overall mission of the firm and its approach to each new project, Brooks is keen to discuss how important it is to be responsive to clients, highlighting communication as the key to a successful project. Taking a hands-on approach, the owner always makes sure he can oversee the project personally. “If there is one thing I focus on to ensure a project’s success, it is communication. Its always communication. That is primarily how I differentiate myself from some highly-qualified competitors. I try to be as responsive and reachable as I can by e-mail, telephone and in person, addressing clients’ concerns as well as pro-actively anticipating problems ahead of time. My overall mission is to help each client transform their property into highly usable and enjoyable outdoor spaces. The first step is to create a conceptual master plan for the site, obtain client feedback, and then Best Traditional Landscape Architecture Firm – Washington & Best Washington Residential Garden Design: Interlaken Park Garden Brooks Kolb LLC Landscape Architecture is a Seattle, Washington firm with a specialty in residential garden design for all budgets. We invited Brooks Kolb, owner and principal of the firm to tell us more about the company’s success and recent achievements. Contact: Brooks Kolb Contact Email:
[email protected] Address: 4615 45th Ave S, Seattle, WA<, 98118, USA Phone: 001 206 324 0858 Website: www.brookskolbllc.net AR170095 O revise and refine it until it meets their goals. The second step is to estimate probable landscape costs to help clients set their budgets, and then revise the design once more to meet that budget. Thirdly, we proceed to construction drawings and then I bid my projects competitively, using highly qualified landscape contractors with whom I have worked successfully and repeatedly. Lastly, I always perform construction observation site visits to make sure the project successfully realizes the initial design vision.” With technology developing at a rapid rate, it is becoming increasingly essential to firms and businesses to stay ahead and move forward with these advances. Brooks comments on how he does not focus on technology as much as other firms within the industry, however, he does not refrain from recommending new products and materials to clients, which are born from technology. “As a residential garden designer, I am less tech-focused than many landscape architects who work in the public project realm. My strengths are more as an intuitive, imaginative and artistic designer. Still, I recommend new products and materials to my clients whenever possible; these materials are in turn generated from new technologies in each industry. Three examples of such modern products include self-watering planters; turf paving systems, in which the honeycomb grid is invisible below the turf; and porcelain pavers that emulate stone, wood and other natural materials.” Ultimately, Brooks is settled in the Seattle area and believes his firm and the architecture industry can benefit and move forward within the region. With more exciting garden projects lined up, clients and staff can feel enthusiastic about working with Brooks Kolb LLC, Landscape Architecture. “Looking forward, I see almost no limits to the opportunities for the industry and practice of landscape architecture in the Seattle area. Meanwhile, I have a wide range of projects on the boards, including a large garden in Seattle’s Windermere neighbourhood, which features not only lake and mountain views but preservation of some enormous native conifers.”