Our Expertise

BENCH is involved in the planning, design and management of land; we are problem-solvers. We have professional and technical skills in the areas of landscape architecture, site planning, urban design, ecological design, public consultation and graphic communication.

We remain with a project from start to finish – from pre-design through construction administration – and provide timely, site-responsive, sustainable solutions to the clients with whom we collaborate. Our deliberately small size and single-discipline focus allow for agility and flexibility, and enables us to provide high-value consulting services.

We are committed to keeping abreast of advancements in research and technology in the field of landscape architecture and applying these in our work.

Process & Services

At BENCH, landscape architecture is more than just planting plans.

We tailor a distinctive combination of processes and services to meet the unique needs of each project, whether a small design or a regional master planning exercise, fine detailing or project management.

Plan

Convene

Assembling and leading diverse and accomplished consultant teams to meet the unique needs of each project.

Explore

Compiling research and data collection; examining client needs and requirements; conducting public consultations and facilitating group design charettes.

Synthesize

Interpreting stakeholder feedback; comparing historical, social, and environmental site data.

Refine

Organizing information in a clear and compelling manner; presenting options and approaches for client response.

Deliver

Preparing reports and design guidelines; formulating development, park, and recreation master plans.

Design

Explore

Revealing a site’s unique history, characteristics, and uses; inventorying a site’s assets and constraints; performing bylaw and regulatory reviews.

Collaborate

Working with a design team to integrate exterior and interior design elements; determining appropriate building siting; collaborating on green infrastructure solutions.

Create

Designing conceptual landscape designs to meet functional and aesthetic requirements; developing beautiful design solutions for public, commercial, and residential landscapes.

Represent

Creating clear and engaging graphics and plans for rezoning applications, public engagement, and development and building permit applications.

Quantify

Providing cost estimation for bonding, internal review, and budgeting purposes.

Manage

Assemble

Bringing together teams of contractors and craftspeople; managing custom fabrication and unique design elements; collaborating on public art conception and selection.

Deliver

Assembling complete tender drawings and specifications in MMCD or CCDC formats.

Guide

Recommending established and professional contractors and fabricators; offering tender evaluation services to achieve competitive pricing and value.

Administer

Providing field services and contract administration throughout construction.

Document

Completing warranty and performance reviews; producing and reviewing record drawings.

How We Do It

Our firm’s name references Okanagan landform, and is an acknowledgement of the profoundly unique region in which we live and do business.

It also reflects our fundamental belief in the importance of place-based design. We believe that beauty and functionality are of equal importance, and that good design must possess both.

BENCH employs a design process that prioritizes site-appropriate place-making and ecological infrastructure, and aims to achieve design solutions that improve human health and ecological function. We design with the land and the natural systems that shape it, with the objective of minimizing the development impact and ecological footprint of our projects.

We use a collaborative, integrated design process with clients, stakeholders and project consulting teams to create places that respond to their context, celebrate the unique characteristics of a project site, incorporate green infrastructure, and utilize durable, high-quality construction materials.

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