Barnsley House

Program Content Subject To Change

In this nuts-and-bolts course you will work on a real design project in studio, with feedback and tutoring during the course of the week. Morning lectures include “The Dirt on Working With Contractors,” “Lighting Basics,” “Standards, Codes and Regulations,” “Irrigation Basics,” “Designing With Trees,” “Site Layout Strategies,” and “Selling Your Ideas.” Afternoons are spent primarily in the studio. The week ends with each student presenting his/her design to the class for critique and feedback. Click here for materials list.

Monday
8:00 AM-8:30 AM Check-in and continental breakfast
8:30 AM-9:30 AM Introduction
9:30 AM-10:30 AM The Dirt on Working with Contractors, Subs, and Crews. Whether you work for a design/build firm, have your own landscape crews, or are on your own, you will need to communicate your ideas to the guys in the field that make it all happen.
10:30 AM-11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM The Project.: Design project will be introduced.
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM-4:30 PM Studio: Students work on the design project with tutoring from instructor.

Tuesday
8:30 AM-10:30 AM Lighting Basics: Landscape lighting used to be an "upsell" item for landscape professionals. Now it is something clients ask for. But to do it well and do it tastefully is a skill many have not learned. You don't need to know it all, but you need to know some key things.
10:30 AM-11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Standards: Landscape Designers are responsible for adhering to codes and standards. You can't possibly have them all memorized, so you need to know what questions to ask, and when. We'll discuss the American Standard for Nursery Stock, ANSI, BOCA, ADA and local building codes.
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM-4:30 PM Studio: Students work on the design project with tutoring from instructor.

Wednesday
8:30 AM-10:30 AM Irrigation Basics: Whether you work in an area plagued by drought or not, you still need to know a few things about watering. Properly-watered landscapes look better than those that are not. You don’t need to be an expert technician, but there are some very important things every designer needs to know.
10:30 AM-11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Designing With Trees: Not botany, but a primer on horticultural knowledge that every landscape designer needs to know. This session will be taught by Scott Jamieson, President and CEO of The Care of Trees.
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM-4:30 PM Studio: Students work on the design project with tutoring from instructor.

Thursday
8:30 AM-10:30 AM Site Layout Strategies. A pretty drawing is great, but it is even better if it gets installed the way you intended! Here will discuss things you can do early in the design process that will help get it done right in the field.
10:30 AM-11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Selling Your Ideas: Tomorrow we will be presenting our designs to the class. How you present a design to a designer or contractor is different from how you present it to a client. After all, it won’t get installed unless the client is willing to pay for it, so you have to sell it!
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM-4:30 PM Studio: Students work on the design project with tutoring from instructor.

Friday
8:30 AM-10:30 AM Studio.: Complete your design projects for afternoon presentation
10:30 AM-11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Studio.: Complete your design projects for afternoon presentation
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM-3:30 PM Presentations: Students present projects they have worked on all week.
3:30 PM-4:30 PM Concluding remarks. Feedback.

PLANET has approved this course for 2 Education Points and APLD has approved this course for 20.75 CEUS, one of which is a Business CEU.

Expectations
This is not a design program for beginners. Instructors assume you will have some experience with drafting tools, plants, and landscape design and understand basic landscape design vocabulary. Design projects will emphasize space planning, creating connections, and advanced design principles. We ask that each student have at least two years of experience. If you do not meet these criteria but feel your other qualifications ought to be considered, by all means give us a call and we can discuss it. Likewise if you have any other concerns, please let us know.

We limit class sizes to make sure each student gets enough one-on-one attention. Depending on the material being covered, you may have more than one instructor over the course of a week.

Facilities
Courses will held at the Wheeling campus of National Louis University at 1000 Capitol Drive, Wheeling, IL 60090, a short walk across the parking lot from the Candlewood Suites Hotel described below. All rooms in the hotel are suites and moderately priced. If you are into nice restaurants, there are many in the area and the hotel shuttle will be glad to take you. If you would rather keep it simple, each room is equipped with kitchen facilities. The hotel can shuttle you to a grocery store if you would prefer to go that route.

Many visitors may want to plan on coming early or staying on a couple days to explore the City of Chicago. For those who want to explore the city, you will need to have a car. Wheeling is about 20 miles from the heart of the city, which can take 40 minutes or so, depending on traffic.

The hotel headquarters is the Candlewood Suites at 8000 Capitol Drive in Wheeling. Call 847-520-1684 and mention the American Academy of Landscape Design to get preferred rates as listed below. Rooms must be guaranteed at the time of the reservation for late arrival by a credit card. A guaranteed reservation not cancelled prior to 6:00 pm 24 hours prior to arrival will be billed to the method of guarantee. Candlewood is an all-suites hotel. You can cook in your room, or go to one of the nearby restaurants for meals. The hotel has a complimentary shuttle that will deliver you if you need a ride. A hotel brochure in pdf format is located here.

Room Rates
Studio Suites $77.99 per night includes continental breakfast
One Bedroom $97.99 per night includes continental breakfast
*11% tax applies to all above rates..

Travel
If you are driving, the AALD programs will be held in Wheeling, IL, a suburb 20 miles north of Chicago. From O’Hare Airport, it is about a 30-40 minute taxi ride. Call 303 Taxi (1-888-CALL-303) for a flat rate of approximately $25 each way.