Landscape Design and Planning
What the exam tests
The Landscape Design and Planning domain checks whether you can translate a client program into a buildable, site-responsive plan. Expect questions on site analysis, functional diagrams, design principles, planting composition, circulation, sustainability, and Hawaii-specific context such as trade winds, salt exposure, viewsheds, and cultural landscapes. You are not being asked to be a licensed architect; you are being asked to recognize when a design decision creates a code, maintenance, or constructability problem.
Core rules
- Start with inventory and analysis before concept: sun paths, prevailing trade winds, noise, views, slope, soils, utilities, easements, setbacks, and flood/coastal zones.
- Use a bubble/functional diagram to test adjacencies before drawing hardscape.
- Apply design principles deliberately: unity, balance, scale, proportion, rhythm, emphasis. A repeated paving module or plant drift creates rhythm; a single specimen creates emphasis.
- Design hydrozones and maintenance zones early. Group plants by water, sun, wind, and salt tolerance.
- In Hawaii, preserve view corridors and use wind-tolerant, salt-tolerant planting on exposed coasts; respect shoreline setbacks and Special Management Area rules.
Worked example
A 5,000 sq ft leeward Oahu lot slopes 8% toward the ocean, with a desired view and strong afternoon sun. The client wants a lawn and a lanai. Reasoning: put the lanai on the uphill side with a low seat wall so the view stays open; use a 4-ft planted buffer on the windward side for privacy without blocking the view; place the lawn in the flattest hydrozone and keep it small; use a dry streambed or bioswale along the low edge to carry runoff; specify drought-tolerant groundcover on the slope to control erosion. Check setbacks and grading permits before finalizing.
Traps
- Jumping to a concept plan before checking easements, setbacks, and utilities.
- Placing high-water lawn on a steep, erodible slope.
- Blocking trade-wind ventilation with solid walls.
- Confusing design development (materials, dimensions) with construction documents (details, specifications, dimensions for bid).
- Ignoring shoreline/coastal permits because the project is 'just landscaping'.