Who are we?
About us
In the spring of 1980, Liz Williams earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Landscape Architecture, from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She was the first woman to receive this degree.
In 1981, Liz began her career at the City of Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, where she became Design Director. Her creativity can be seen in the many public spaces she designed, such as Riverfront Park, MacArthur Park, Allsopp Park Promenade and the Decorative Arts Museum.
From 1984 through 2008, she served the Arkansas State Board of Landscape Architects. She chaired the Board for over 10 years, and was Vice Chair for over 5 years. In her years as Chair, she led a successful campaign to change the State Act for landscape architects, and was instrumental in the writing of the legislation and the rules for the Act.
In 1988, she was asked by the Council of Landscape Architect’s Registration Boards (CLARB) to grade the international Landscape Architect’s Registration Examination (LARE). For the next 30 years, she continued to serve as a grader and eventually became a writer of the LARE.
In 1988, Liz began LA Design Company. Her Outside-the-Box thinking combines her client’s needs with some pretty darn creative solutions.
She designed several projects at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some of these projects include the Garden of the Pine Wind, Hixson Family Nature Preserve, Millsap Canopy Bridge and Daffodil Hill.
She was hired to work on the planning and detailed design for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute (WRI) on Petit Jean Mountain. The WRI is an educational institute and conference center that provides a place for group meetings and conferences. Liz’s job description was to “Design everything outside the drip line of the buildings”. This property has 188 acres, and years were spent designing all aspects of the exterior spaces.
Throughout all her years of creating, Liz is most proud of the work she has completed for her many private clients. She is so grateful for the trust that has been placed in her. They are her heart. They are her greatest joy.
The Way We Work With You
First things first: This is your property – your own piece of the planet. So, you are the most important piece of the design puzzle. You may have a challenging situation that you need help figuring out, or you may just want to make the land suit your needs, and maybe just become more beautiful.
When the project is built, it must serve you – it must be a space you enjoy being in or using. The textures, the shapes, the elements, the colors, the style all has to reflect your tastes and needs. I’m asked frequently what my “style” is. My style is what is going to suit my client best.
To begin, we meet to see if we want to work together. Then, we talk about your ideas for the project. What issues do you want to solve? What do you desire your piece of the planet to be? Do you need help placing elements on your property, such as buildings, driveways, retaining walls, pools, water features, patios, pergolas and other outdoor use areas? Do you have drainage problems? Do you want to open up a view? There is a slope so steep you don’t know what to do with it?
Maybe you simply want to beautify what you already have. Whatever wishes you have for your land, LA Design Company probably has the experience.
Now that we’ve met each other and talked about your ideas, we need to discuss available base maps, future preliminary plans, meetings, final plans and details. And how long the process might take. And then we discuss if you might need us to be there when construction is going on.
Fees normally run $150 per hour. Larger projects may be eligible for a percentage of construction cost.
