J o n a t h a n F i n e

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for Landscaping ProfessionalsL e h r b u c h f ü r d e n G a L a B a u

PATZER VERLAGB e r l i n - H a n n o v e r

About the authorJonathan was born in Kingston-Upon-Thames in1974. He spent his early years growing up in variouslocations in Wales and southern England, the mostformative of which were on the Isle of Wight. In1994, Jonathan travelled to Germany where he waseventually to lay down roots. Following his tertiary education at the University ofApplied Sciences in Osnabrück, Jonathan teachingEnglish as a foreign language and became especiallyinterested in task-based learning, of which this bookis the first example. Jonathan is a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences and has other teachingpositions in Osnabrück.

978-3-87617-132-6

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Content

Abbreviations .........................................................................................................13

Unit 1: The Landscaping Business ........................................................................151.1 General Information .....................................................................................151.2 The people involved .....................................................................................161.2.1 Client ............................................................................................................161.2.2 Landscape Architect .....................................................................................161.2.3 Contractor /Landscaper.................................................................................161.2.4 Consultant.....................................................................................................171.2.5 Quantity Surveyor ........................................................................................171.2.6 Site Agent .....................................................................................................171.2.7 Clerk of Works .............................................................................................171.2.8 Subcontractor................................................................................................171.2.9 Supplier ........................................................................................................181.3 Exercises.......................................................................................................181.4 Over to you...................................................................................................191.5 Unit 1 Vocabulary.........................................................................................19

Unit 2: Companies & Co. ......................................................................................222.1 Company forms ............................................................................................222.1.1 Sole Trader ...................................................................................................222.1.2 Partnership....................................................................................................222.1.3 Private limited company (Ltd.) ....................................................................232.1.4 Public limited company (PLC).....................................................................242.2 Exercises.......................................................................................................252.3 Over to you...................................................................................................272.4 Appointing a landscape architect .................................................................272.5 Fee structures................................................................................................282.5.1 Time Charged Fee basis ...............................................................................292.5.2 Lump Sum Fee Basis....................................................................................292.5.3 Percentage Fee Basis ....................................................................................29

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2.5.4 Retainer Fee Basis ........................................................................................292.6 Work stages ..................................................................................................292.6.1 (A) Inception ................................................................................................302.6.2 (B) Feasibility...............................................................................................302.6.3 (C) Outline Proposals ...................................................................................312.6.4 (D) Scheme Design ......................................................................................312.6.5 (E) Detail Design..........................................................................................312.6.6 (F) Production Information ..........................................................................312.6.7 (G) Bills of Quantities ..................................................................................312.1.1 (H) Tender Action.........................................................................................312.1.2 (J) Project Planning ......................................................................................312.1.3 (K) Operations on Site..................................................................................322.6.8 (L) Completion .............................................................................................322.7 Exercises.......................................................................................................322.8 Unit 2 Vocabulary.........................................................................................33

Unit 3: A Site Visit ................................................................................................363.1 Activating knowledge...................................................................................36

Add some more adjectives to the lists. See which group can think of the most ........................................................36

3.2 Talking to the client ......................................................................................383.3 Exercises.......................................................................................................393.4 Over to you...................................................................................................403.5 Unit 3 Vocabulary.........................................................................................40

Unit 4: Business communication..........................................................................414.1 How do we communicate? ...........................................................................414.2 Register of communication ..........................................................................424.3 Writing e-mails .............................................................................................424.4 Writing business letters ................................................................................454.4.1 A letterhead...................................................................................................454.4.2 The salutation: ..............................................................................................454.4.3 An introduction.............................................................................................46

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4.4.4 The body.......................................................................................................464.4.5 The ending....................................................................................................464.4.6 A closure.......................................................................................................464.5 Exercises.......................................................................................................474.6 Write a letter .................................................................................................494.7 Unit 4 Vocabulary.........................................................................................50

Unit 5: Architectural drawings.............................................................................515.1 Architectural drawings .................................................................................515.1.1 General Arrangement (GA) ..........................................................................515.1.2 Detail drawings.............................................................................................515.1.3 2D-drawings .................................................................................................515.1.4 3D-drawings .................................................................................................515.2 Stages in the design process .........................................................................525.3 Project inception...........................................................................................535.4 Exercises.......................................................................................................545.5 Presentations.................................................................................................545.6 Prepare the introduction to a presentation. ...................................................545.7 Presentation ..................................................................................................565.8 Language for presentations ..........................................................................575.9 Over to you...................................................................................................585.10 Unit 5 Vocabulary.........................................................................................58

Unit 6: Materials ..................................................................................................616.1 Common materials in landscaping ...............................................................616.1.1 Natural stone.................................................................................................616.1.2 Concrete........................................................................................................626.1.3 Bulk materials...............................................................................................636.1.4 Sand ..............................................................................................................636.1.5 Soils ..............................................................................................................636.1.6 Wood.............................................................................................................656.1.7 Metal.............................................................................................................666.1.8 Fencing .........................................................................................................66

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6.1.9 Other materials .............................................................................................666.2 Exercises.......................................................................................................686.3 Unit 6 Vocabulary.........................................................................................69

Unit 7: Meetings ..................................................................................................727.1 Office meeting ..............................................................................................727.2 Exercises.......................................................................................................747.3 Language for meetings .................................................................................757.4 Grammar: conditional sentences ..................................................................767.5 Exercises.......................................................................................................777.6 Over to you...................................................................................................787.7 Unit 7 Vocabulary.........................................................................................78

Unit 8: Design Documentation.............................................................................808.1 The specified bill of quantities .....................................................................808.2 Common Arrangement of Work Sections.....................................................818.3 Work sections in detail .................................................................................828.3.1 Masonry........................................................................................................828.3.2 Contingency items........................................................................................838.3.3 Alternative items ..........................................................................................838.4 Language in tender documents.....................................................................838.4.1 Grammar: active and passive .......................................................................838.5 Exercises.......................................................................................................848.6 Over to you...................................................................................................858.7 Unit 8 Vocabulary.........................................................................................86

Unit 9: Tendering .................................................................................................879.1 The tendering process...................................................................................879.1.1 Open tender ..................................................................................................879.1.2 Restricted tender...........................................................................................879.1.3 Negotiated tender .........................................................................................889.1.4 Selective tender ............................................................................................889.2 Comparing offers..........................................................................................88

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9.3 Estimating and Pricing .................................................................................889.3.1 Analyse and evaluate the “conditions” of a project .....................................899.3.2 Pricing. .........................................................................................................899.3.3 Price adjustment ...........................................................................................899.4 Tender Action ...............................................................................................909.5 The e-tendering process................................................................................909.6 The opening of tenders .................................................................................909.7 Exercises.......................................................................................................909.8 Phone calls....................................................................................................929.9 Exercises.......................................................................................................929.10 Phone call to a supplier ................................................................................929.11 Language for phone calls .............................................................................949.12 Over to you...................................................................................................959.13 Unit 9 Vocabulary.........................................................................................96

Unit 10: Negotiation ..............................................................................................9810.1 Negotiation ...................................................................................................9910.2 Preparation..................................................................................................10010.3 Language of negotiations ...........................................................................10110.4 Exercises.....................................................................................................10410.5 Over to you.................................................................................................10510.6 Unit 10 Vocabulary.....................................................................................105

Unit 11: Writing contracts ...................................................................................10711.1 What is a contract? .....................................................................................10711.2 Why do we need contracts?........................................................................10711.3 The contract................................................................................................10811.3.1 Basis of Contract ........................................................................................10811.3.2 Scope of Performance ................................................................................10911.3.3 Scope of Consideration ..............................................................................10911.3.4 Role of Architect (privity) ..........................................................................10911.3.5 Period of Performance................................................................................10911.3.6 Penalty Clause ............................................................................................109

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11.3.7 Official Acceptance ....................................................................................11011.3.8 Warranty Period..........................................................................................11011.3.9 Securities ....................................................................................................11011.3.10 Declaration .................................................................................................11011.3.11 Miscellaneous Provisions ...........................................................................11011.3.12 Salvatorius Clause ......................................................................................11111.4 Excerpts from a contract.............................................................................11111.5 Structure of a construction contract............................................................11211.6 Over to you .................................................................................................11311.7 Unit 11 Vocabulary .....................................................................................113

Unit 12: On Site....................................................................................................11612.1 Site set-up ...................................................................................................11612.2 Managing the site .......................................................................................11712.3 Site meetings ..............................................................................................11712.4 Site inspections...........................................................................................11812.5 Paperwork...................................................................................................11812.5.1 Project diary................................................................................................11812.5.2 Field report .................................................................................................11812.5.3 Daywork sheet ............................................................................................11812.5.4 Delivery note ..............................................................................................11912.6 Exercises.....................................................................................................11912.6.1 Machines ....................................................................................................12012.7 Over to you.................................................................................................12312.8 Unit 12 Vocabulary.....................................................................................123

Unit 13: Alterations and Variations .....................................................................12613.1 Alterations and variations...........................................................................12713.1.1 Alterations ..................................................................................................12713.1.2 Variations....................................................................................................12713.2 Exercises.....................................................................................................12813.3 Grammar: cause and effect.........................................................................12813.4 Exercises.....................................................................................................128

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13.5 Unit 13 Vocabulary.....................................................................................129

Unit 14: Planting Design ......................................................................................13214.1 Planting Design Fundamentals1.................................................................13214.1.1 The Design Roles of Plants ........................................................................13214.1.2 Functional Uses of Plants ...........................................................................13314.1.3 Plant Design Characteristics.......................................................................13214.2 Exercises.....................................................................................................13514.3 Facing problems .........................................................................................13714.4 Exercises.....................................................................................................13814.5 Problem solving..........................................................................................14014.6 Exercises.....................................................................................................14114.7 Over to you.................................................................................................14214.8 Unit 14 Vocabulary.....................................................................................142

Unit 15: Completion.............................................................................................14415.1 Acceptance .................................................................................................14415.2 Payment ......................................................................................................14515.3 Remedial work ...........................................................................................14515.4 Exercises.....................................................................................................14615.5 Delays/Extension of time...........................................................................14715.6 Exercise ......................................................................................................14715.7 Over to you:................................................................................................14815.8 Unit 15 Vocabulary.....................................................................................148

Unit 16: Extra Material ........................................................................................14816.1 Meeting (Unit 7.6)......................................................................................14916.2 Negotiation (Unit 10.5) ..............................................................................16116.3 Letter of Complaint ....................................................................................163

Unit 17: Answer Key ............................................................................................16517.1 Unit 1:.........................................................................................................16517.2 Unit 2:.........................................................................................................165

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17.3 Unit 3:.........................................................................................................16517.4 Unit 4:.........................................................................................................16517.5 Unit 5:.........................................................................................................16817.6 Unit 6:.........................................................................................................16917.7 Unit 7..........................................................................................................17017.8 Unit 8..........................................................................................................17117.9 Unit 9..........................................................................................................17217.10 Unit 10:.......................................................................................................17217.11 Unit 12........................................................................................................17317.12 Unit 13........................................................................................................17417.13 Unit 14:.......................................................................................................17417.14 Unit 15:.......................................................................................................175

Bibliography .........................................................................................................176

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Unit 1

The Landscaping Business

1.1 General Information

Landscape architecture in Great Britain has a long tradition in garden design. Britishgardens and public parks are legendary – Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, Kew Gar-dens in Richmond or Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckinghamshire, to name just a few.British landscape architects are represented by the Landscape Institute, a royal char-

tered body that has about 6,000 members. Half of them are chartered, which means theyare practitioners approved by the Institute. About 60 % of the registered landscape ar-chitects are private practitioners, 40 % work for governmental institutions like local au-thorities. The aim of the Landscape Institute is to maintain a high quality standard forthe profession and to prevent problems arising between landscape architects and theircustomers.Landscape architects usually work as a consultant for the client or a contractor. Their

main area of responsibility is the design of a project. These projects can cover a widerange from private gardens to public parks, urban spaces or rural landscapes. Designcompetitions are also a part of the landscape architect’s business.The landscaping industry (sometimes also known as amenity horticulture) has a broad

variety of operating fields that range from hard, soft and interior landscaping to sportsturf and green keeping. Hard landscaping includes everything that is constructed andbuilt, whereas soft landscaping deals with living materials. Private gardens and exter-nal works (the area surrounding a building, normally associated with commercial proj-ects) are also part of the landscaping business.Landscape contractors are represented by the British Association of Landscape In-

dustries (BALI), an organization that gives technical and promotional support to itsmembers and works to protect and advance their members’ interests. It also requires ahigh industrial standard from its members. There are about 16,650 landscaping compa-nies in Great Britain. About 80 % of them are small companies with fewer than ten em-ployees.A landscaping project begins with a client’s desire to develop or change a plot of land

and the decision to involve a consultant. At this early stage, a landscape architect ap-

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praises options and gives advice as to the feasibility of the project. The objectives of theproject, the timescale, the budget and the physical resources available need to be con-sidered. There might also be the need for planning permission or an Environmental Im-pact Assessment (EIA).The outcome of the initial meetings between the client and landscape architect is writ-

ten down in a document called a brief. The brief should clearly set out what the con-sultant is expected to do. This includes the client’s intentions for the commission as wellas all services to be provided by the landscape architect. It defines the working basis forthe landscape architect.

1.2 The people involvedA typical landscaping project involves many people with specialist skills:

1.2.1 Client The client commissions the project. A client can be a private person, a company or a

public institution and usually owns the premises on which the project is to be realised.The client also finances the work and has the final word about the design and work tobe carried out.

1.2.2 Landscape ArchitectThe landscape architect is commissioned by the client to develop ideas for the proj-

ect. These ideas are usually presented as drawings and are developed until they are ap-proved by the client. At a later stage, the landscape architect is involved in finding theright contractor for the work and - depending on his commission – supervising the work-manship on site.

1.2.3 Contractor / LandscaperThe contractor implements the landscape architect´s designs, but has a contractual re-

lationship directly with the client. In small projects without a landscape architect, a con-tractor also develops ideas for the garden. Subcontractors can be hired to execute tasksthe commissioned landscaping company cannot accomplish itself. E.g. work laying as-phalt or building complex structures etc.

T h e L a n d s c a p i n g B u s i n e s sUnit 1

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1.2.4 ConsultantConsultants are experts who offer advice within special fields of expertise. Landscape

architects often work for the client as a consultant, but other consultants might be in-volved, too. In a landscaping project, this could be experts for building structures, watermanagement or tree preservation.

1.2.5 Quantity SurveyorIn the UK, a quantity surveyor may also be included in the project team, especially on

big projects. A quantity surveyor’s job is to advise on cost matters, to assist with theprocurement procedure and to prepare the final accounts. Quantity surveyors might alsohelp to settle contractual disputes.

1.2.6 Site AgentA site agent is the representative of the contractor on site. The agent manages every-

thing the company or its subcontractors are doing on site and coordinates all the work.A site agent communicates with the landscape architect about all matters concerningthe project on site.

1.2.7 Clerk of WorksIn big projects, a clerk of works might also be hired by the client to supervise the work

progress and the quality of the workmanship. A clerk of works also ensures that theworkmanship and materials conform to the drawings and the contractual details. If aclerk of works is not involved in a project, these tasks are usually part of the landscapearchitect’s commission.

1.2.8 SubcontractorA subcontractor is hired by the contractor to carry out works the commissioned com-

pany cannot accomplish itself or which the subcontractor can offer more economicallyor faster. The contractor remains liable to the client, for all works. Typical work done bysubcontractors in the landscaping industry is masonry, woodwork, electrical work andirrigation.

Unit 1Unit 1T h e L a n d s c a p i n g B u s i n e s s

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1.2.9 SupplierSuppliers deliver the necessary material for the project. Suppliers are usually com-

missioned by the contractor, but can also be commissioned directly by the client. Com-mon suppliers in the landscaping industry are nurseries or builders’ merchants.

1.3 ExercisesA.Who is who?1) They provide plants or paving stones. __________________2) A person coordinating the work on site. __________________3) They offer advice in areas of special expertise. __________________4) A project cannot exist without him/her. __________________5) This person represents the client on site. __________________6) They assist with the preparation of the final accounts. __________________7) This person turns the design ideas into drawings. __________________8) They are hired by the contractor. __________________9) They implement the designs. __________________

B.Complete the diagram. Use your answers from exercise 1.

T h e L a n d s c a p i n g B u s i n e s sUnit 1

Contractual relationship

Functional link

Authorities