BSLA Fieldbook Issue 8 | Page 23

The technical aspects of many of the design elements ... were more conducive to resolving together , on-site , fullscale , through some trial and error and design refinement .
With a Lot of Help from Our Friends
From time to time , projects come along in which a Contractor and a Landscape Architect form a unique working relationship during the installation of a project . In the summer of 2015 , the public bid was awarded to Mountain View Landscapes out of Chicopee , MA .
When Mountain View started the job , SSA had a kick-off meeting on site , announcing that this project was to be exemplary and a gamechanger for public parks in the region . We set the bar high , and the level of excitement and understanding of our expectations was understood immediately . The Mountain View team shared our history of having been Northampton residents . This put us on a level playing field from day one , and we regarded each other as equal contributors to the success of the project . The technical aspects of many of the design elements were difficult to resolve in construction drawings and were more conducive to resolving together , on-site , fullscale , through some trial and error and design refinement . Constant communication , flexibility and innovation — with a lot of time on-site together — occurred throughout the two seasons of construction .
Sourcing Local Materials
As with many of SSA ’ s projects , we lean toward sourcing locally and being clever with common materials as much as possible . This ethic has
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
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