Chris Flagg is the vice president and director of planning and landscape architecture at Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc.
AN ARTISTIC FAMILY
“My great-grandfather was a blacksmith, my grandfather a violin maker and my father a musician,” said Flagg, explaining his natural gravitation towards the creative field of landscape architecture. Flagg’s most famous relative is 20th Century illustrator James Montgomery Flagg, who created the World War I poster, “Uncle Sam Wants You for the U.S. Army.”
BEING A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
“I decided when I was 17 and a freshman in college to do this, and looking back, I don’t think I would want to choose anything else,” said Flagg, adding that he enjoys the variety his job has to offer. “Every day you’re presented with a different set of problems and there are many different approaches to each one. I’ve had a number of opportunities to learn from different offices. There is a diverse number of choices in the field. The levels of detail are different, even if the approach is the same.”
CAMPUS PLANNING
Flagg is part of the institutional program at RS&H, which involves campus planning. “Campus planning involves urban design, housing, parking. It is always hard to keep parking from consuming the entire process,” Flagg says of projects they’ve done. Flagg and members of the campus planning team work to develop master plans for the campuses. “Dynamic change and campuses are constantly growing. We’ve been working on a master plan with Florida A&M University since 1987.” RS&H is also involved in planning for University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville and Episcopal High School, among others.
ARE THERE ANY TRENDS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE?
“I think the trend right now is that people are more educated on what landscape architecture is. They are beginning to value the aesthetics of design and are learning to appreciate the landscape architect’s capabilities in a holistic approach.”
MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTION
“People assume I know everything about plants. I’m still fighting the yellow azalea leaf syndrome. Landscape architecture isn’t just about plants. We deal with everything from the ground up.”
STEADY PROGRESSION
Now that Flagg is a manager, he enjoys mentoring to young people new to the occupation. “I think in your 20s you want to absorb and learn as much as possible. In your 30s you’re trying to implement what you’ve learned and then in your 40s and up, you want to teach others what you’ve learned. I get great satisfaction in teaching about the approaches and methodology of this job.”
FACING CHALLENGES
“Anyone can be creative out of the box. I think it is a lot more interesting to be creative in the box, to use all the constraints to find a good, workable design. It forces you to be an aggressive thinker.”
FAR FROM HOME
Flagg is from New Orleans, and took his first job as a landscape architect at a two-person firm in West Hartford, Conn. “In the winter we basically had to shut down.” After two years there, Flagg worked at the Baton Rouge Office of State Parks until coming to Jacksonville in 1984.
EDUCATION
Flagg graduated from Louisiana State University in a five-year landscape architecture program in 1976. “The beauty of landscape architecture is that you can diversify the course work for yourself.” He earned his license after coming to Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE AS HOME
“Jacksonville has seen a lot of changes since I’ve been here. The last decade has been good and there have been strides made towards being a vibrant city.” Coming from another “river city,” Flagg has seen the “tremendous opportunity” a river can bring “I would really like to see Jacksonville as a destination city. We have a highway, we’re getting downtown housing. We need to create an intensity and attractions to bring people here.”
OTHER INTERESTS
Most of Flagg’s non-work activities are somehow related to his job. “I love the outdoors. I don’t get to play enough golf.” Flagg writes, and paints with watercolors. One painting was awarded a prize by the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. “I like that with watercolor you don’t always know what it is going to look like. I am designing the company’s Christmas card.” Regarding his passion for landscape architecture, Flagg says, “my vocation is also my avocation. I do enjoy my work, possibly to a fault.”
— by Bailey White