Hardscape Materials & Structures

“My father was a welder,” says Jared, “so I grew up holding a TIG torch.

And in high school, I was the kid taking carpentry classes. I love to build things. I grew up building things. So college was about getting the design skills, the landscape architecture skills.”

This unique background gives Jared a unique perspective when a client comes to Oldetowne. Most people arrive having thought a lot about structure, some form they want in their outdoor space. They’ll have ideas about certain types of hardscape materials, maybe flagstone for a pathway, or landscaping bricks like clay pavers for a patio.

But whether it’s a structure or a paver, it’s all hardscaping, all landscape materials in the eyes of a landscape architect. And because he’s been doing the design and the build side since Oldetowne opened its doors 20 years ago, you’ll never find Jared designing something that can’t be built. Jared: “I’m far more versed in how to build something than most landscape architects are. It’s a real advantage for the client. If you’ve done the build work, you’re not limited in the design work. I see it happen all the time: a contractor talking the architect out of doing something. That won’t happen with Oldetowne.”

Getting back to the Oldetowne Landscape Architecture design philosophy of “people first.”

It’s important for every client to know that—while there may be a style of landscaping bricks they love, or hardscaping materials ideas they have in mind—Jared and his team will always start with the space and then move on to the hardscape materials: “We focus first on how people move through the space, what the circulation is. Then we start to decorate. The decoration is important, but it’s not the architecture.”