Regan Flavelle - Landscape Architectural Technologist

After graduation, what was the first position you had? How did that shape where you are now as a Landscape Architectural Technologist?

My first position out post-graduation remains the position I currently occupy. As a Junior LAT with Invistec, I have been given a remarkable amount of opportunity for creative input in our projects. Working as part of small team within an organization that includes planning and engineering services, I have had the chance to work collaboratively with people of different professional backgrounds to produce high quality, full perspective projects. It has very quickly broadened my perspective on what must be practically considered to realize a project.

What is something that surprised you at the start of your career? or What is something that surprises you about being a Landscape Architectural Technologist?

One of the greatest surprises was just how many people must be involved to make even the smallest of projects come to life. Still, there is a significant role for an LAT to play, and I have found that our input is often invaluable in the early design stages of a site. We are often well positioned to provide creative input into engineering and planning designs as we work to bridge regulatory requirements and the space needs and comfort of the end-user.

What are some of your roles and responsibilities?

My duties primarily include preliminary and detailed design, drawing and specifications preparation, 3D modeling, and presentation graphics. As a member of a small team, however, the duties are as varied as the work is. I also gladly operate as a member of our Joint Health & Safety and Diversity & Inclusion Committees.

What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day for me includes biking to the office in the morning, having a brief meeting first thing to get everyone on the same page about what work is being completed and what our timelines are, and then getting to it. I use AutoCAD/Civil3D and Adobe Creative Suite for most of my work, and I also spend a decent amount of time in books and online resources collecting and understanding plant information. We are fortunate enough to have an office gym, so at the noon hour I make use of it with several of my coworkers, and then it's back up to work for the afternoon, before biking home.

What skills do you feel are important to have as a Landscape Architectural Technologist?

Number one is collaboration. There will be times when you are working on your own, but no project can be completed on the back of one person. Invariably, you will need to work with a diverse range of people and perspectives.

Number two is data synthesis. You will be required to process a great deal of information, from planting to construction details to regulatory requirements, so it's worthwhile to be practiced at making connections between seemingly disparate fields and projects.

Then, of course, it's important to be adaptable, and that means learning to shift priorities as needed. It also means being willing to constantly learn; new programs, new ways to use familiar programs, new rendering techniques, new materials, etc.

Finally, get comfortable with drafting and rendering software.

What are you passionate about as a Landscape Architectural Technologist?

I'm passionate about indigenizing space, and that means for people and non-human kin alike. I'm also learning all the time about the way that spaces impact people, for better or worse, so I'm passionate about learning as much as I can to skew landscape impacts in favour of helping over harming.

Tell us about some of the exciting projects you have been a part of.

I have been able to work on several projects dealing with play and naturalization. I have also had the opportunity to design for an Elders Lodge. Mostly I deal with greenfield development, but even in these cases, I make the effort to bring native plants to the fore and create really special places for projects with limited space and even more limited budgets. I find all of that very exciting.

Describe something that you have found challenging as a LAT?. How did you overcome this?

One of the greatest challenges has been communicating with other professions to help them understand our project goals and how each of our independent works impact one another. In my short time in the industry, it's become evident that engineers, planners, and architects can have very different ideas about use of space. Getting clear on everyone's goals and limitations as early as possible in a project has been instrumental in avoiding conflicts later on.

What advice would you give a new Landscape Architectural Technologist?

Keep learning, stay hungry for new experiences, try everything, and see every small project as an opportunity to do something good. No one benefits from considering even the smallest of spaces as beneath our input and care.

What are your future goals?

I hope to carry on in this profession for a long time, and to pursue in due course an LA designation. I look forward to learning a lot on the way and contributing to some truly special places.