Designing a New Paradigm (Part 2)
In August 1999, more than 30 professionals gathered at a small college in Southeastern Ohio to talk about water and absorb the rudiments of a collective “Philosophy of Design.” In attendance were Rick Anderson and Richard Dubé of the Whispering Crane Institute and the Genesis 3 team, including Skip Phillips, Brian Van Bower and David Tisherman – all of them anxious to engage in a roundtable discussion about shared concerns and interests. We presented one part of their discussion in the last edition of this newsletter. Here, in excerpted form, is another key exchange:
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Brian Van Bower: ‘In a perfect world, I suppose that every site development would be coordinated through the project’s architect. . . . We have a shared responsibility to address these issues and take as much as possible into account. In projects where nothing is being coordinated, the homeowner suffers or the project is degraded.’
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Rick Anderson: ‘That’s a problem I see all the time, because no one’s really in the practice of identifying and solving these issues ahead of time. Around the country, both pool people and landscape people butt heads, get in arguments or just avoid each other completely. What happens then is that the landscaper comes in and fixes some mess left behind by the pool contractor, or the pool builder comes in and cleans up the landscaper’s mess.’
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Bower: ‘It all boils down to respect. Once you have respect and have worked together a couple of times, then it becomes very smooth.’
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Anderson: ‘So we’ve identified the problem and five of us are working individually toward better things. Great! The question is, what’s the process that leads us to a more enduring, broader-based solution?’
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Skip Phillips: ‘The fact is that the process is under way. You have a Whispering Crane “family” developing solutions and sharing them within the landscape trades. We have a Genesis “family” developing on our side, and I think we’re all working, simultaneously, to foster respect for each other’s trades, strong suits and attitudes. . . . But we have to identify ways to talk to each other, perhaps in small ways at first. For those of us sitting around this table at least, we’ve gotten a fair start.’
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Richard Dubé: ‘Perhaps a session on conflict resolution could open people up to an interactive mindset when it comes to initial planning. Whatever the case may be, there needs to be an outline of how our trades can work together within the context of a job. At that point, we can begin to share our principles of design.’
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Phillips: ‘It always comes back to design. That’s so important, because in order to execute someone’s design, you have to understand their vision and share in their passion on some level. When poorly executed, even great design suffers, but it never flips completely around so that well-executed bad designs are desirable. There absolutely has to be a connection between designers and the contractors who are asked to execute their visions.’
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Anderson: ‘So here we are, five guys with vision, and if we really care about the way the rest of the world lives, then we’ll make it happen. [But] I don’t see other groups on the landscape side lining up behind this sort of movement. There are lots of groups out there, but they just won’t do it.’
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David Tisherman: ‘People are going to read this. Some will get mad and reject what we’re saying, others will accept some or all of it. None of this will mean anything if people don’t have a desire to change. In our work . . ., however, we’ve found at least some people who welcome change.’
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Dubé: ‘I think we can all safely agree that this is long-term process, and that we’ve only just started.’
Have these industries advanced in the 15 years since this landmark roundtable discussion took place? Have you seen advances in the level of communication, in willingness to collaborate, in mutual respect across trades? Please share your experiences by commenting on these important topics in the space provided below!
Roundtable participants included David Tisherman, owner and operator of David Tisherman’s Visuals in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and of Liquid Design in Cherry Hill, N.J.; Richard Dubé, a landscape designer based in Columbia, S.C.; Rick Anderson, owner of Ston Wurks in Columbia, S.C.; Skip Phillips, president of Questar Pools in Escondido, Calif.; and Brian Van Bower, owner of Aquatic Consultants in Miami.