In an effort to be the only national landscape company to provide its commercial clients with a full portfolio of services encompassing design, build and maintenance, ValleyCrest Companies announced the launch of its new landscape architecture practice, ValleyCrest Design Group.
ValleyCrest Design Group will enhance the company's service offering which, since its inception in 1949, has consisted of landscape development and maintenance. Today, however, clients are increasingly demanding a seamless sequence of professional landscape services, or more specifically, integrated landscape design-build offered by a single source. ValleyCrest Design Group has been established to respond to this growing need.
"The establishment of ValleyCrest Design Group is significant because it substantiates our belief that the future of the landscape industry lies in integrated design-build," says Richard Sperber, president, ValleyCrest Companies. "We have found this opinion is shared by many others, including the prominent landscape architects who have all joined our company to form ValleyCrest Design Group in the last six months as well as the customers who have already engaged us to perform integrated design-build services.
"Customers who take advantage of ValleyCrest Companies' integrated design-build services can expect shorter project timelines, heightened accountability, fewer administrative burdens, greater efficiencies, and more accurate estimating," he adds. "If you look at any other business on the planet, the bottom line is all about efficiency. Following that logic, we are offering our clients a holistic and streamlined approach, should they choose this option."
While integrated design-build services are now available to ValleyCrest customers, landscape architecture, landscape installation, as well as landscape maintenance services will continue to be sold separately, as well.
INTRODUCING VALLEYCREST DESIGN GROUP STUDIOS
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Composed of four specialized landscape design studios, ValleyCrest Design Group marries boutique-style concentrations of expertise with the resources and support of a large and diverse firm. The studios -- Comstock Studio, JamesHyatt Studio, HRP Studio, and SiteWorks Studio -- each have their own areas of specialization as well as geographic concentrations. ValleyCrest Design Group and its studios will be adopting a brand identity system to reflect the more design-centric focus of the business.
Comstock Studio
Headed by Paul Comstock, member of American Society of Landscape Architects and former director of landscape for Walt Disney Imagineering, Comstock Studio will concentrate on a variety of landscape architecture projects leveraging his expertise as one of the world's most renowned horticultural experts. With more than 20 years of experience re-creating natural habitats as planned themed environments for Disney, Comstock brings deep botanical and horticultural knowledge to ValleyCrest Design Group gained through two decades of traveling the globe and visiting more than 63 countries in pursuit of unique plant varietals for his landscapes. These plants were used to bring his landscape designs to life at Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla. and EuroDisney in Paris, France.
"For me, each project is like a love affair and one becomes married to a certain vision," explains Comstock. "Ultimately, I am excited to be part of the ValleyCrest Design Group because I feel that the firm is as committed to the 'relationship,' the overall profession and the future of integrated landscape design-build as I am. With ValleyCrest Design Group's resources, Comstock Studio will be able to explore many new projects and I look forward to realizing these visions together."
JamesHyatt Studio
Formerly a Vice President at EDAW, a California-based planning and design firm, Jim Hyatt, ASLA, will lead JamesHyatt Studio, focusing primarily on the planning and design of luxury resorts, resort communities and private residential estates, both nationally and internationally. Established only four months ago when Hyatt joined ValleyCrest, JamesHyatt Studio is busy at work on its first major project -- the Saguaro Ranch Resort community in Tucson, Ariz. Based in Denver, Colo., Hyatt has been a recognized leader in the industry for more than 20 years and is known for integrating big picture functionality and economic factors with highly detailed design. Notable past projects completed while Hyatt was with EDAW include the Peninsula Hotel (Beverly Hills, Calif.), the Hualalai Resort (Big Island, Hawaii, Kierland Commons (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and the Four Seasons Santa Barbara Biltmore (Santa Barbara, Calif.).
"I joined ValleyCrest Design Group to form JamesHyatt Studio because I believe that clients will greatly benefit from the depth of resources only available at ValleyCrest," Hyatt says. "Throughout the course of my career, a project's transition from design studio to landscape contractor has too often been fractured, leaving the job open for interpretation. On the other hand, when these two parties create a collaborative dialogue, projects are completed more efficiently and expediently. Ultimately, that is the goal of ValleyCrest Design Group."
HRP Studio
HRP Studio, formerly HRP LanDesign, joined ValleyCrest in March 2006. Founded by Jim Hogan, ASLA, in 1974, HRP Studio is a landscape architecture and planning firm serving the Western U.S. The studios' list of projects includes many of the well-known master planned communities in Southern California, as well as regional and community parks, town centers, destination resorts, golf courses and multifamily complexes. Notable projects include: Crystal Cove master- planned community (Newport Beach, Calif.), Valencia Town Center (Valencia, Calif.), Newport Coast Marriott (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Summerlin Centre (Las Vegas, Nev.). Hogan continues to lead HRP Studio, overseeing a staff of approximately 50 employees based at its Santa Ana, Calif. offices.
"ValleyCrest Design Group and HRP Studio share a common vision -- to deliver superior client service, provide high-quality landscape design and follow an integrated design-build model when it makes sense to do so. By uniting we can do this better than individually," Hogan says. "In fact, in only a few months since joining ValleyCrest, our clients are already thanking us for the increased value we can offer."
SiteWorks Studio
In its 25-year history prior to joining ValleyCrest in March 2006, SiteWorks Studio built a reputation in the Southeast U.S. Led by Lois Shindelbower, ASLA, SiteWorks Studio specializes in corporate office projects, retail, college campuses, healthcare facilities, parks and condominium/apartment complexes. Some of the studio's most prestigious landscape architecture projects include the Mercedes Plant (Alabama), The Civil Rights District (Alabama), Lenox Square (Georgia) and Lake Sumter Landing in The Villages (Florida).
"We're excited to be part of the ValleyCrest Design Group and in the company of such illustrious landscape designers," Shindelbower says. "As we continue to pursue projects in the Southeast region, the ability to provide our clients with outstanding design services backed by the national resources of such a well-respected landscape contractor makes us stand out. ValleyCrest Design Group is truly taking a step forward and setting a trend for the industry as a whole."
A GROWING NEED FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN-BUILD
In a traditional design-bid-build process, a client hires a landscape architect to develop a design and a separate contractor to build the project according to specifications. The steps happen independently of each other and communication can often be disjointed. The nature of the process tends to separate the various parties: client, designer and builder. In contrast, the design-build process brings one company versed in both design and construction into the process at the same time, improving communication, productivity, and efficiency.