Hough Beck & Baird
Specialty: Landscape architecture, urban design, planning
Management: Colie Hough-Beck, president; Juliet Vong, vice president
Founded: 1990Headquarters: Seattle
Projects: Pedestrian streetscape in downtown Yakima; master plan and construction documents for renovation of Log Boom Park in Kenmore
For some time, architecture and engineering professionals have advocated the idea of going green. Now more public agencies are embracing it, said Juliet Vong, vice president of Hough Beck & Baird.
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Traditionally, it’s been the landscape architects, architects and engineers that have promoted sustainability, but in the last couple of years more public agencies are seeing its merit, she said.
“I think there’s a public perception of its importance now,’’ Vong said.
Flexible spaces
As time goes on and more green facilities get built, people who own and manage them have a better sense of how well they are working or not working, she said.
“Clients can see the results and have a little more confidence in the cost savings and some of the more technical aspects,” Vong said.
She also said that as more people take up urban living, recreation facilities have had to adapt.
An outdoor space, for instance, must be flexible enough to be used by a number of generations hoping to participate in various activities, she said.
For example, it might have a plaza that can be a place for lunch concerts and it might also have an in-ground water feature that can be used by kids during the summer, Vong said.
Early community involvement
Another thing Vong has noted is that public agencies are getting the community involved in projects earlier on, even before consultants are hired.
“It gets the community excited about it and it also gives them the opportunity to have their opinions without having any preconceived ideas from consultants or other sources,” she said.
Hough Beck & Baird doesn’t specialize, as some firms do, in specific areas, such as parks and recreation, schools or golf courses, Vong said. It does everything from waterfront boardwalks to multifamily housing landscape design to municipal building landscape and urban design, she said.
Rising materials costs
One issue it and other firms in the industry face is the escalating costs of materials, Vong said. Those materials, especially concrete and steel, have skyrocketed, she said. To address that, it’s best to hold discussions with contractors before a project goes out to bid so that cost estimates are firmer, she said.