Landscaping may not typically be a top priority when planning a commercial development. The focus is often on what’s contained within the four walls. However, the way a space works and looks outside matters just as much as what’s inside. The many benefits of well-planned landscaping include attracting tenants, improving foot traffic, and making your property more valuable overall.
Landscaping isn’t just about planting a few trees. It covers everything from access points and walkways to lighting and drainage, making it integral to the overall site’s functionality. Which is exactly why it should be factored into the planning process from the beginning.
Landscaping Should Start at the Planning Phase
The most successful commercial development projects include detailed landscaping in the foundation of the plan. For instance, early design discussions should include things like how people will flow through the space and where seating makes the most sense. It’s also important to consider how the outdoor environment complements the architecture, and vice versa.
Ultimately, following landscaping best practices for commercial properties means planning architecture and landscaping in tandem. It could save you from potentially expensive changes later on. For example, let’s say you leave landscaping until after construction, but the new building has blocked access for trucks to unload. You might be facing some time and money-consuming workarounds to get materials and machinery into place.
Key Elements for Early Plans
Initial plans don’t need to be super detailed, but there are some key elements you should consider:
Hardscaping: Coordinate walkways with building entry and exit points and consider the placement of steps, patios, and other ‘hard’ features.
Plants: Where possible, choose native plants that support the local ecosystem and cope better with regional weather and soil conditions.
Lighting: Think about lighting placed at different levels for ambience, visibility, safety, and security.
Drainage and irrigation: Poor drainage can spell disaster for the outdoor space and damage building foundations, so it’s critical to plan well.
Accessibility: Consider the needs of differently abled people; make paths wide, include ramps, and check your local codes and requirements.
Planning these essential components upfront improves usability. It makes long-term maintenance and management easier, too.
Working With Professionals
A professional landscape architect will be an invaluable member of your team. They’ll catch small oversights that could snowball into major design problems further down the road. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an architect, developer, project manager, or part of the design team. Choosing to collaborate with a landscaping expert from the outset can help make your work smoother, more unified, and efficient.
Endnote
The outdoor landscape is the first part of a commercial property you see, but when it comes to planning, it’s all too often left to last. Including landscaping in initial development stages improves a property’s functionality, aesthetics, and even sustainability. Aside from that, it saves money by reducing the risk of late-stage changes.
Finding alternative design solutions can be costly, but more importantly, it can delay completion and result in astronomical penalty fees. Overall, thinking about landscaping from the start of your project means you’ll end with a more usable, beautiful, and valuable property.
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