HOCKER in Dallas by Andrew English

 Hello fellow Landscape (working) scholars,

I hope you all are doing well and I am looking forward to seeing some of y'alls experiences. I have been interning for Hocker Design Group for over a month now and I am getting well adjusted. I am helping round up tasks in all phases of projects from concept development in office to construction administration on site. I have visited a few of our projects and am very satisfied to see we have a lot of great work with greenways, churches, schools, urban plazas, and some very nice residential gardens. Originally, I did not want to do any residential work but as I come to find out there seems to be a lot more fun and experimental design features you can pull off on private property. 

 This seems to be the kind of workflow I expected when thinking about my future career in landscape architecture. I have time to eat breakfast and exercise before work, bring a lunch or find some nearby, head home with time to prepare for the next day. I don't have much time for extra curricular on weekdays but my weekends are easily filled with skating or disc golf.

Other than that, it has been nice doing work for decent enough pay to sustainably afford myself. Never imagined myself in Dallas (or Texas in general) and it is even more wrenching that all the Denver firms I applied to are just now responding with interest but it all works out. 

On my first site visit we completed a punch list of all the corrections needed.

One of Hocker's signature features is the infinite edge water feature.

Wonderful office space and library featuring a "Southern Plants" by Neil Odenwald.


Disc golf courses provide a nice breathe of fresh air in the local forestry.

Cool pedestrian Bridge walk able from the office!

Wonderful lakeview with Ivy at Cedar Hill State Park.

Some very cool site visits.

The Dallas skyline reflecting the sunset on my route home from work.


I'll give a more in depth update on what I am doing and what projects I am working on in the office in a couple weeks. 

Till then,
Andrew

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