Landscape Architecture Urban Design Planning L/KLA is an award-winning design and planning firm with the ability to clearly convey ideas to clients, citizens, and team members. The firm s success results from closely working with clients to develop effective, creative, innovative, and cost-sensitive solutions that are responsive to the client s needs and the community s values. Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, P.C. provides the following services: landscape architectural, urban design and construction phase services scenic byway and corridor planning and development master plans and design guidelines community planning, design, and implementation through active citizen involvement, public forums, and workshops land use planning, resource management, and environmental assessments maintenance specifications and management guidelines L/KLA continues to receive recognition at local, state, and national levels for its innovative work. United States Department of Transportation Design for Transportation 2000 Merit Award (Connecticut Scenic Byways Corridor Management Study) Places Magazine/Environmental Design Research Association Planning Award (Hindman/Knott County Community Development Initiative) American Society of Landscape Architects, Potomac and Maryland Chapters Traveling Award (Maryland National Road Corridor Partnership Plan) Honor Award (You and Your Land, A Homeowner s Guide for the Potomac River Watershed) American Society of Landscape Architects, Virginia Chapter Honor Award (Shenandoah National Park Related Lands Study) American Planning Association, Virginia Chapter Meritorious Professional Planning Project Award (Village of Midlothian) National Association of Counties Achievement Award (Village of Midlothian) Chesterfield Riverfront Plan American Society of Landscape Architects Merit Award (Martic Township Environmental Inventory and Assessment) Washington Area Bicyclist Association WABA Award (Metropolitan Branch Trail, Takoma Park, MD) Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and American Society of Landscape Architects Rail-Trail Design Recognition Award (Metropolitan Branch Trail, Takoma Park, MD) L/KLA s project experience demonstrates the most necessary skill of all - getting clients and their communities, each with very different agendas, to agree on the needed planning and design concepts for a successful project and completing it. Lardner/Klein has been widely recognized for their ability to successfully work in a public setting on highly controversial projects. Our current project work includes: Route 50 Traffic Calming Measures, Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, Virginia Flight 93 National Memorial Corridor Management Study, Somerset, PA Vienna Town Green, Vienna, Virginia Millstone Valley Scenic Byway, Somerset County, NJ Lardner/Klein is a C Corporation, licensed and registered to provide landscape architectural services in Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oregon, and Connecticut. Established in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1988, the firm moved to Alexandria, Virginia in July of 1993.
Streetscapes Proposed Streetscape Design for Washington Street in Middleburg, VA Although streetscape is not listed in the dictionary, it is a term that is used to describe improvements to the public areas sidewalks, bike lanes, street trees, benches, etc. and improvements to the semipublic areas signs, facades, etc. of a street corridor. L/KLA works with each community to identify what shapes the image of your place. Today, these images are being overshadowed by the popular culture of signs, styles, and mass media. Yet within commercial centers and strips, buildings and forms remain that hold clues to the character of the place within them. These areas were built incrementally over time, and hold the accretions of physical changes as testimony to your community s history and identity. Too often, streetscape designers transpose their work from one community to another. This does not encourage the positive enhancement of your place s unique character. Six Steps to Success Site Analysis discover and affirm unique features and examine patterns of past transformations, site conditions, and safety issues. Distilled Structure and Variables synthesize and determine characteristics, concerns, interrelationships, and opportunities. Values determine what is important to the community. Design identify the options for improvements. Evaluation compare the design options with citizens, merchants, and property owners. Implementation find funding sources and determine phasing. Lardner/Klein is Experienced Village of Midlothian (National Association of Counties Achievement Award winner) (Meritorious Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association) Village of Ettrick, VA Route 1 - Fairfax and Prince William Counties, VA Ivy Road Design Study, Charlottesville, VA Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, VA Sandston Commercial Area, VA
Community Entrance Corridors and Commercial Strips Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects has the skill and experience to help your community improve the impression it makes on visitors and inhabitants. Firm members have the ability to work closely with property owners, local business operators, neighbors, civic organizations, and government to develop sensitive design solutions that contribute to a community s economic and environmental well-being. scaled areas. Link neighborhoods and commercial areas make it easier for bicycles and pedestrians to use the corridors. Find the space to place improvements: resolve conflicts with overhead and underground utilities and the lack of an existing right-of-way in some areas. Listening and Learning Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects is a people-oriented firm, skilled at working with groups and gaining consensus. Value, commitment, and success are the characteristics of the planning team and effort led by Lardner/ Klein. Lardner/Klein is Experienced Village of Midlothian (National Association of Counties Achievement Award winner) (Meritorious Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association) Village of Ettrick Route 1 - Fairfax and Prince William Counties, Virginia Lexington/Rockbridge Entrance Strategies for Success Lardner/Klein s award winning work is known for its comprehensiveness and clarity. Make the assets and unique characteristics a stronger competitive asset. Modify the auto-scaled entry to the community with planting and other improvements to enhance pedestrian- Reinforce the sense of entering a special place through the use of a coherent design vocabulary. Navigate the political and regulatory landscapes utility wires, work with private as well as public players, phasing, etc. Corridor Study
Village of Midlothian Landscape Plan Chesterfield County, Virginia Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects work as Project Director and designer/planner in the Village of Midlothian near Richmond demonstrates their skills at transforming the tremendous energy of citizen groups into concrete actions, in this case tree planting, entryway development, park construction and other landscape improvements. The Midlothian Village Improvement Plan was specifically designed so that citizens of the community play an active role in the planning and design decisions, and in fund-raising and implementation. This resulted in early action projects being built even before the plan was fully completed. These projects included tree plantings and the construction of a Pocket Park with sidewalks, benches, and hedges. No public construction monies were allocated for this project, yet the community and Chesterfield County, using the plan developed, have raised more than $350,000 for tree planting and other work. Chesterfield County has adopted the Village Plan as a part of its Zoning Ordinance. This project won a Meritorious Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association, and was recognized by the National Association of Counties with a 1992 Achievement Award.
Village of Ettrick Streetscape Chesterfield County, Virginia The Village of Ettrick is an historic mill village on the Appomattox River. A part of Chesterfield County, it is also home to Virginia State University. This CDBG-funded project includes street trees, entrance plantings, flags, and new street and pedestrian lighting. The design was developed using an open and deliberate public process to build support for the design and to develop public and private support for the project s long-term care. Lardner/Klein completed the schematic design and produced the construction documents. The project is built and was completed on time and on budget.
Ivy Road Design Study Charlottesville, Virginia Lardner/Klein assisted the University of Virginia, the City of Charlottesville, and Albemarle County in the preparation and endorsement of a long term corridor plan for this major western entrance to the University. One of the most important elements of the plan is the design of a bicycle trail along Ivy Road and connection to a remote parking lot. Lardner/Klein was the prime consultant for this project that involved an extensive series of citizen and agency workshops, public meetings, and presentations to three different jurisdictions, all with different goals for the corridor.
Lexington/Rockbridge County Entrance Corridor Study Rockbridge County, Virginia What greets you when you enter these communities? First impressions of the community are made when visiting the many attractions within the City of Lexington and Rockbridge County -- events at the Lime Kiln Theater, at Washington and Lee, at VMI, at the Virginia Horse Center, or in Lexington s restored downtown. This project is about change and how change can be guided in a positive manner. Change means additional choices and jobs, but change can also mean the destruction of what one values in a community. This plan includes conservation and enhancement strategies for the three major entrance corridors approaching the City of Lexington: Route 60; Route 11S; and Route 11N. Large scale resource inventories have been prepared including the identification of sensitive viewsheds, environmentally sensitive lands, and agricultural lands. Design guidelines have been prepared for key areas along primary corridors and interchanges. The plan provides an overall vision for the Entrance Corridors and Interstate Interchanges and some simple design principles that can help the City and County achieve this vision. The plan recommends an active role for voluntary conservation interests, recommends clustering growth along the Corridors and at some Interchanges, and suggests techniques for making the corridors more safe and attractive. Construction is already underway in the City of Lexington and plan concepts have been incorporated in the development process within the County.
Laskin Road Corridor Planning Study Virginia Beach, Virginia Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia This study focuses on Phase I, that portion of Laskin Road from First Colonial Road to Birdneck Road. Other segments of Laskin Road will be studied in the future. This segment of Laskin Road is a four lane, divided, urban arterial and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently proposing to add travel lanes and to eliminate the service lanes. The City of Virginia Beach and the community design consultant team of Lardner/Klein are working with the community over the next few months to assess the big picture and recommend ways to further improve the safety and aesthetic value of this important corridor in the City. Realistic capital and maintenance cost estimates will be prepared in order to elevate the attractiveness of Laskin Road as a place to do business, to live, to work, to travel, and to greet visitors to Virginia Beach. The Challenge The challenge is to take advantage of what is working within the corridor, improve upon the VDOT proposal with City funds, and encourage private sector contributions as well. Concept Plan Alternatives Two concept plan alternatives have been developed for the Laskin Road Corridor. The plans illustrate visions of what the corridor can become within the right-of-way and where these improvements may be extended with willing private property involvement. The plans differ in the number of driveway closures, landscape design, pedestrian-scaled lighting, the location of the sidewalk along the south side of Laskin Road, and the location of the existing overhead utility lines. Both plan concepts encourage framed views of businesses along the corridor, and provide visible locations for signs.
Sandston Commercial Area Study Henrico County, Virginia Lardner/Klein served as lead consultant to Henrico County on the Sandston Commercial Area Study, a community-based effort to examine the Williamsburg Road corridor between Early Avenue to the west and Nine Mile/Beulah Road to the east. The study effort resulted in recommendations for actions that will assist the community in achieving long-term stability and a cohesive appearance in the area. The study covered land use, landscaping and design, facade improvements, market analysis, public infrastructure/ facilities, community character, traffic circulation and public safety. In the Plan, each action step identifies the responsible party and a timetable for accomplishment. Photo simulation (above) illustrates proposed facade and landscape improvements for the Shake Shop on Williamsburg Road (left). Example Sites As a means of testing the planning ideas proposed within the study, the consultant team explored real sites along Williamsburg Road, using photography and drawings to determine what impact various design proposals would have on the property and the corridor as a whole. On several sites, the property and business owners asked to be involved in the design process. The proposals ranged from facade enhancements, to streetscape and landscape concepts, parking lot and site plan reconfigurations, driveway consolidation, and sign suggestions. Essentially free design advice, there was no requirements that the recommendations ever be built. Looking ahead, successfully implementing such projects will require a local organization that can serve as convener, advocator, grant-finder/administrator, and facilitator of shared-use agreements, to move these projects along and to replicate this voluntary approach at other sites.
Community Appearance Manual and Highway Beautification Plan City of Cary, North Carolina Lardner/Klein is assisting the Town of Cary in the development of a clear, jargon-free, graphic Community Appearance Manual. The Manual is a collection of illustrated implementation and installation standards that articulate the Town s high standards for new landscaping and lighting, with additional guidance related to architectural compatibility. As a related subtask, Lardner/Klein is also developing one to three design prototypes for gateways and one to six typical cross-sections of streetscape improvements for the main corridors entering Cary. These are two separate tasks, but one must nest within the other. The Gateway Beautification Plan will serve as a means to test, both within the planning team and also with the local citizens and development community, the potential contents of the Community Appearance Manual. Policy and rules have already been written in the Standard Appearance Specification Manual adopted in 1988, with the Appearance Ordinance revised in 1999. The updated Manual will complement the updated Appearance Ordinance with currant specifications, details, and examples of what is expected in the design of a project. For this effort to succeed, the project must satisfy all players - the development community, the Town staff and officials, local citizens, and the implementers of the standards in their schemes - architects, landscape architects, building industry representatives, and engineers.