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Marquis Latimer + Halback, Inc. was named to the University of Florida’s 2019 Gator100 during a ceremony on Feb. 22 at UF’s J. Wayne Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. Sponsored by the UF Alumni Association, in partnership with the UF Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center, the Gator100 recognizes the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by UF alumni in the world.

Advancement within our profession is one of the most satisfying things to announce, so it is a pleasure to share that senior associates Elijah George, asla, pla, and associate Dustin Felix, asla, pla have recently completed the landscape architecture licensure exam, and are now registered as professional landscape architects (pla) by the State of Florida Board of Landscape Architecture.

Northeast Florida has long been the undiscovered gem of the state. Dubbed the “first coast,” it is home to a myriad of historical sites, towering pines and grand southern live oaks that create a landscape more akin to the Deep South than tropical South Florida. This “Old Florida” ambiance, coupled with a growing economy and a desirable climate, has resulted in a building boom that makes Duval and St. Johns counties the 13th and 14th fastest-growing in the country.

In addition to the normal site inventory landscape architects perform, there must be a specific methodology for those using ethnobotany as a layer in their design. Using ethnobotany to design a landscape requires a specific process for site inventory and analysis that goes further than climate, hydrology, soils, plant life, and wild life. There should also be an inventory of non-landscape site inventory which includes cultural features, written resources, library holdings, and museum exhibits.

Landscape architects are often involved in designing and programming botanical gardens and arboretums. But how many have designed, or even heard of, an ethnobotanical garden? Forgoing the minutia often attached to the definition, ethnobotany is simply the study of the interaction of plants and people within a certain context, generally within a certain place in history and time.

Employing ‘complete streets’ techniques within the heart of the Nation’s Oldest City, a $3 million dollar rehabilitation of the historic streets, dating from the 1573 Town Plan, has created renewed life, vibrancy, and accessibility. Locally referred to as the “Downtown Improvements District” and comprising multiple blocks of Hypolita Street, Treasury Street, and Spanish Street, the design fully integrates the historically appropriate streetscape with a full building-line-to-building-line replacement of underground infrastructure.

The entry stair is the introduction to the story that your home or building tells. Paying the proper attention to this feature will help visitors to better understand your own personal narrative. The steps you ascend to reach the front porch or stoop may be seen as an obstacle by some, but we see them as an opportunity to create a meaningful connection between architecture and landscape.

Telling a community’s story is often about creating places and landscapes that are authentic historic or contemporary interpretations for each unique place. These experiences compel us to engage in the surroundings. These stories make us want to come back often to the place. Our recent work for the University of West Florida Historic Trust’s Museum Plaza in downtown Pensacola and Market Square Park in downtown High Springs are great illustrations of creative community storytelling.

Our team was challenged with determining the types of materials that would last decades while also creating a feature that showcased the artistry of rainbows, simulated clouds, flashes of lightning, and fun rain droplets and spray. Another challenge was overcoming the adjacent, problematic noise of cars and trucks just a few feet away on Orange Avenue.

Combining the Art of African Craftsman with wild game viewing, storytelling around the campfire, and the simplicity of a tented camp, the Animal Kingdom Lodge was designed to evoke the profound adventure of the epic of life… dawn, dusk, the edge of light, an elegant journey, to the pristine wilderness, ancient civilizations and vast landscapes.

Every place has a story, whether latent or apparent. Sometimes that story is revealed through the landscape, while others are subtle, only seen and understood by the most discerning eyes. But often times, the story that we’re seeing and experiencing is only conveyed from one viewpoint. In a way, we’re understanding a place through one lens, unable to fully know the broader impacts, characters, and events of that story.

Encompassing 160 acres, the Swan and Dolphin Resorts were actually one of the first projects Fred Halback worked on within Disney, but it was not the first they worked on with the Tishman Realty & Construction Company and Alan Lapidus.

In the summer of June 1964, the Civil Rights Act was lagging in the US Senate, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was working diligently to maintain civility in the unrest across the South. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with his senior aide Andrew Young, were concerned that any violence would be used by Southern politicians as reason to defeat the bill.

thnobotany can be used in two ways when designing a landscape. First and foremost, it can be used to create a public ethnobotanical garden. Jones and Hoversten (2004) have identified 5 attributes to creating a successful ethnobotanical garden.

Coming off a banner year in 2018 in terms of growth was no surprise for our firm based on the pace set by our vice president, Fremont Latimer, asla, pla. So it was with gratitude that Fremont was not just recognized as one of the best 40 Under 40 members of our region in 2018, but also was the recipient of Small Business Young Professional Award.