David Bartsch

Registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Certified by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards

David Bartsch established Bartsch Landscape Architecture in 1999. David’s project focuses are new and innovative interpretations of space and form through sustainable processes for light environmental impact, lasting user engagement, and ease of use and maintenance. 

The objective is beautiful, well-loved, and durable places. The key ingredients are close, respectful client service, ever-growing knowledge of proven approaches to design and construction , and keeping an open mind to fresh ideas for exceptional results.

David leads projects from program development through design and construction to operations. He manages diverse project teams with a supportive, collaborative approach. Through effective project management, David integrates and controls schedules, budgets, and scopes of work. His close involvement results in high-quality projects, excellent customer service, and measurable cost savings.

Prior to establishing Bartsch Landscape Architecture, David spent a decade working with leading firms in Boston, Seattle, and Paris, on projects including public parks, regional high schools, assisted living facilities, garden-cemeteries, and custom private homes.

See the downloadable CV for David’s education and professional affiliations.

Our Approach

Establishment of trusting partnerships is fundamental to the success of our projects. Through close work with our clients, consultants, and contractors, we deliver excellent design and cost-effective results. This approach allows close attention to detail through each stage of your project from discovery and creation through implementation.

Sustainability informs all of our work. Landscape architects have been a leading force for sustainability and environmental enhancement and protection since the late nineteenth century, and we are proud to continue that tradition of stewardship. No matter the scale or scope of a project, we equip owners and decision makers with the right information to help ensure a successful project.

Bartsch Landscape Architecture provides full-service design and project management from exploring opportunities through to the end of construction. We help to bring out the full potential of your property according to a guiding, individualized program developed with each of our clients.

We coordinate the work of

  • Surveyors
  • Civil engineers
  • Horticultural and wetland consultants
  • Contractors
  • Other team members that contribute to a project’s success

We work in collaboration with

  • Building architects
  • Attorneys
  • Municipal agencies

 

Through our comprehensive site design process, we ensure that diverse elements will coalesce into a unified, beautiful, and functional composition that lasts for generations.

We develop site designs and plans through scaled drawings to specify the location, arrangement, and integration of:

  • Ground surfaces shaped for effective slopes and terrain
  • Sport courts, physical training, and recreation
  • Outdoor kitchens, dining, and entertainment areas
  • Retaining walls, patios, and walkways
  • Pergolas, arbors, decks, fences, and other wood or metal structures
  • Parking areas and drives
  • Gardens and open spaces
  • Grading and drainage design
  • Exterior site lighting
  • Ornamental and functional planting design
  • Water features such as fountains, pools, and spas
  • Management of myriad constraints and opportunities

Drawing on decades of experience, we quickly research and assess what is allowed on a site from the state and local government perspective. We also weigh the existing values and the natural potential a property has and what they could become. This gives our clients a clear start to understand their site’s capacity early in the visioning process. 

Our feasibility studies often include evaluations of

  • Zoning and regulatory constraints
  • The site’s context – both physical and cultural
  • Existing and proposed utilities and structures
  • Resource protection such as wetlands or riverways
  • Vehicular and pedestrian circulation and accessibility
  • Property values and appropriate budgets
  • Visual sightlines, impacts, and opportunities
  • Sun angles and prevailing winds
  • Soil types, topography, vegetation, and other existing site conditions

Long-term land planning for phased projects not only provides a compelling vision for a property’s future, it also aligns project scope and budget with build-out sequence. Illustrative master plan drawings are our primary deliverables for this work. 

They aid in graphically depicting

  • Concept-level planning and design
  • The overlay process, which effectively integrates diverse project factors such as existing and proposed topography, building structures, landscape structures, circulation, vegetation, views, etc.
  • Project segment budgets and rating of importance
  • The order of phased build-out of project parts or areas

We represent projects independently and in collaboration with local experts.

Our coordination typically includes permit acquisition from

  • Planning boards
  • Zoning administrators,
  • Conservation commissions

We assist with project entitlement by meeting general guidelines for more complex projects or when an agency applies a more subjective interpretation of bylaws, such as

  • Historic district commissions
  • Design review boards
  • Accessibility agencies

As an owner’s representative, we help facilitate potential issues that might arise. 

We help ensure the design intent is faithfully executed by observing

  • Site preparation for construction
  • Safeguarding of existing elements to be protected
  • Layout of structures, plantings, and grading prior to installation
  • Installation of improvements including quantity and quality of materials and the methods by which they’re implemented
  • Builders’ contracts, insurance, requisitions, and invoices to ensure alignment of project expectations and final results
  • Close-out procedures and ongoing tasks to ensure establishment of plantings and other sensitive elements

Let's make it all it can be.

We welcome questions about our process and how we might help you to achieve your goals for your home, business, school, or institution.