Landscape & Gardening Awards 2018

Build 2018 Landscape & Gardening Awards 8 Best Residential Landscape Design/Build Company - Nevada LandArt is a Design Build Landscape Company consisting of an exceptional team of Landscape Architects, and Contractors led by Landscape Architect, Contractor and Artist Ron DuHamel. We invited Ron to talk us through the firm and the range of services it has to offer. LGA18011 Company: LandArt Contact: Ron DuHamel Address: 4600 Kietzke Lane, Building B Suite 113, Reno, NV, 89502, USA Phone: 001 775 686 6777 Website: www.landartwest.com andArt specializes in the design and construction of outdoor living areas, pool and spa designs, outdoor kitchens, shade structures, patio covers, decks, water features, driveways, drainage systems, outdoor lighting, irrigation and general landscaping. When creating a new design, the firm always aims to blend indoor and outdoor spaces together creating outdoor living areas in a resort like setting. Ron explores the various roles that the firm plays when it embarks on a project and how these come together to produce an exquisite outcome every time. “At LandArt, we are first and foremost Landscape Architects and Artist. We enjoy sitting down with our clients and listening to their ideas, hopes and dreams for their project. We promote a healthy dialog discussing the client’s wishes in comparison to their budget and expected outcome of the project. We assess the land and the structures to see how to blend the vision with the physical characteristics of the property. From there we can design, critique and revise, coming up with the best solutions for the project. Finally, we present the vision to our clients through 2D and 3D design, so the ideas are clear and easy to understand. Working with the best design and estimating software on market provides us the ability to provide line item proposals with a clear description of the services our clients are buying. We can easily make changes so our client’s design goals and budget are met. “Once a project has been designed, LandArt builds the project under their licenses or finds the best local contractors, tradesmen, and craftsmen to build the project. Collaboration is key, as we want the most qualified tradesmen to build the pieces to the project giving the client the best quality. This helps us to jointly achieve our overall mission: to create beautiful projects that provide our clients an outdoor living area that they can enjoy for years to come. More importantly we want our clients to enjoy the process by feeling their ideas have been incorporated, that we have designed something better than they could have imagined and that they have received a good value.” This collaborative approach is a key differentiator between LandArt and its competitors, as Ron is keen to highlight. “One major difference between LandArt and other Design Build companies is that LandArt subcontracts out most of the Landscape construction work. The only work done in house is the outdoor kitchens and shades structures due to the complexity of the design and the construction. The landscape contractors we work typically do not have designers and sales people on staff. A contractor of this type has a lower overhead as it eliminates the need to provide office space, salaries and train a design team. With lower overhead from the Landscape Contractor, LandArt can then charge a fee that is fair for the designer and LandArt. The combined fee of both LandArt and the Landscape contractor is comparable to that of a company that has designers on staff. “By working together, the LandArt team of designers and contractors expands far beyond our own office doors. This give LandArt much more flexibility to take on more projects or fewer projects depending on the time of the year without the stress of meeting high monthly overhead bills. The team environment also insures quality on the construction side and less likelihood of change orders, as contractors who want to work with us, will do whatever they can to provide a quality product.” As such, collaboration and support are at the heart of LandArt’s internal culture, and they shape every aspect of the firm’s work, as Ron explains. “Currently our design staff of five is working with between six and eight contractors. Each designer may have one to three projects in construction at any given time. Being on commission, our design team is highly motivated to seek out their own clients and contractors that they want to work with. The exchange of services and clients between contractor and LandArt provides positive opportunities for all parties involved.” Ultimately, in the two years that LandArt has been in business the company and its client base has grown immensely. From the designers and contractors the firm is attracting, to the high end clients that want the service it provides, LandArt is doing exceptionally well. Moving forward, the company is hoping to expand this philosophy to other regions in the country in years come. L