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TLA

Records standards for landscape architectural practices.

Digital infrastructure and records-standards body for landscape architectural practices.

The Landscape Archive Foundation publishes TLA-185 (185 documented elements) under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: field registry, schemas, and conformance criteria for botanical, climate, sustainability, cultural, and synthetic-nature claims in project records.

Adopt Field registry Governance Licence & scope Field dictionary

Foundation Updates

Open specification and draft governance milestones.

  • Tailored swiftly: End-game Vault Version

    Field Note: re-recording a catalogue is custody with teeth. On craft, fans, vault strategy, and a change of power that landscape practice is learning under quieter lights.

  • Save me and save yourself and your company

    Field Note: honest institutions are not a side project to the visible product. On leadership, sole founders, reality, poor planning, ego, and building companies that can be corrected.

  • Autopilot: Death by a thousand automated cuts

    Field Note: small automated loops are not replacing landscape architects. They remove the invisible busywork cuts so judgment can stay where liability belongs.

  • From analogue to digital: collaboration, validation, and the centre twice removed

    Field Note: digital work lengthens the chain of custody for meaning. On contact, stand-ins, belief as craft, and why collaboration is not the same verb as validation.

  • Outsourcing truths: the nail and the agent

    Field Note: a nail extends the hand; agentic software proposes what the hand should mean. On tools, budgets, labour, politics, time, and the line between living nature and digital nature.

  • Creative Commons inheritance

    The Foundation heralds Creative Commons for the future of landscape architecture: keeping the open metadata grammar public so practitioners seventy years from now can still cite and check honest project records. Stewardship succession.

  • Foundation mission and digital twin potential

    The Landscape Archive Foundation centres labour, liability, visibility, and dignity — and explores the potential that, once incorporated, it could help steward a digital twin commons for landscape architecture. EBDA and ELDX remain two distinct institutional instruments.

  • Landscape-native software initiative

    Foundation programme under consultation: innovative in-studio coding knowledge and landscape architectural native software for the future of the industry, with open grammar so records stay citable across practices.

  • What automation replaces in landscape practice

    AI absorbs repetitive hygiene and generic drafting so the profession keeps judgment liability and the open systems that make records trustworthy.

  • Consequential data, time, and the infrastructure we cannot postpone

    Landscape records do not become consequential because they are digital. They become consequential when time, infrastructure, and professional obligation meet, and that meeting is no longer optional.

  • TLA-185 registry integrity (SHA-256)

    Public integrity registry for the open field-dictionary JSON: published SHA-256 digests so anyone can confirm they have the authentic snapshot.

  • Institutional asks: EBDA and ELDX

    The Foundation asks for two proposed instruments beside TLA-185: EBDA (ecological & built-environment data stewardship gravity) and ELDX (cross-border land/landscape interchange).

  • Draft orbit pages (SYN / EVID / ML)

    Public draft HTML for TLA-SYN, TLA-EVID, and TLA-ML with golden JSON examples.

  • Evidence Checker wired to TLA-EVID (upload paused)

    Evidence Checker recognises Draft TLA-EVID audit-pack JSON. Upload remains unavailable while stewardship arrangements are clarified; the open specification remains under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

  • Foundation Approved vs Archive Seal

    Counsel-ready distinction page: open-spec conformance (when criteria publish) is not a commercial Seal. Draft posture stated honestly.

  • Standards constellation (draft orbits)

    TLA-185 remains the published spine. Draft orbits TLA-SYN, TLA-EVID, and TLA-ML are named for consultation.

  • Meaning between data and computation

    Raw records and generative models face opposite directions on the same coin; neither yields consequence without interpretive work. A note on art, overclaim, labour, and the profession landscape architecture must become, not merely automate.

  • Dictionary & schema in plain language

    Short Foundation explainer for practices, students, and procurement: what a term, the field dictionary, and the schema pack are.

  • Dictionary term proposals (no GitHub required)

    Form for TLA-185 dictionary changes: structured rationale and evidence links, steward review only — nothing auto-merges into the field registry.

  • Draft consultation — request a review pack

    Critique invite for the open TLA-185 schema pack: governance and awards CTAs, on-site review-pack form, and Field Notes / Evidence Checker links.

  • Industry & practice education path

    Clear path: open field dictionary → Studio Pilot → Evidence Checker → draft consultation, with thin learning modules for studios and practices.

  • Procurement / RFQ checklist

    Printable one-pager for RFQs and studio briefs citing the open TLA-185 grammar — Evidence Checker, validator, and published procurement sentence.

  • Studio Pilot Kit

    Practice citation loop on the adoption guide: open field dictionary, validator, Evidence Checker, and procurement sentence.

  • Studio Pilot outreach pack

    Copy-paste cohort tracker (3–5 studios) plus invite email for one mandated TLA-185 deliverable.

  • Technical reviewers & registry contributors

    Curated volunteer intake to stress-test field-dictionary corners. Email and pack review welcome while GitHub access remains limited.

  • Foundation downloads & Evidence Checker

    Open artefacts index and a browser inspector for TLA-185 JSON and Archive Audit Packs (.tlaa). Commercial Landscape Archive Packages (.tla) and encrypted .lapkg are out of scope for Foundation tooling.

  • Four things: land, art, technology, data

    A short Field Note on the Foundation’s cultural frame — why land, art, technology, and data hold together.

  • Founding charter consultation

    Draft constitution for The Landscape Archive Foundation (proposed CLG). Consultation draft for founding-alliance review.

  • Institutions, standards, and the infrastructure gap

    Field Note on how governance and endorsement roles relate to sustained botanical and BIM pipelines — and how open definitions plus automation can widen access to citable infrastructure.

  • Open standard adoption guide

    Reference adoption path: download the open pack, cite the registry, and add the procurement sentence to one deliverable (self-serve validators paused). Documents why a mandated pilot deliverable precedes governance outreach.

  • Awards and the data architecture

    Category rubrics now describe how peer assessment references the field registry and published interchange profiles across architectural, civic, and engineering delivery streams.

  • Built environment export profiles

    Interchange bindings for IFC property sets, GeoJSON civic registries, USD metadata sidecars, and spreadsheet crosswalks — JSON schemas and worked examples on the schema portal.

Archive Seal

Open TLA-185 grammar stays free to cite. Where a brief requires Landscape Archive attested deliverables, ask for a licensed Archive package from an authorised organisation, and an Archive Seal when the brief specifies one.

Archive Seal is a renewable commercial attestation from The Landscape Archive Pty Ltd (period-bound marks and manifests). Authenticity checks are performed by Landscape Archive administrators on the commercial Archive site. Foundation Approved and Evidence Checker remain separate from Archive licensing.

  • Purchase Seal and compare plans on the Archive site
  • Authorised organisations directory lists who may deliver licensed packages
  • Founding member applications follow Archive pricing status (currently closed on the commercial site)
  • Seal authenticity is admin-verified by Landscape Archive
Purchase Archive Seal Seal information Authorised directory

Mission

The Landscape Archive Foundation is a digital infrastructure and records-standards body for landscape architectural practices. It does not register, license, or accredit landscape architects.

Draft public purpose: publish a shared field dictionary, Library-facing grammar, TLA-185 tools and packs, and evidence shapes, so living systems, design intent, and provenance remain citable across time.

Mark Norlan Laririt founded this work from studio and research practice: botanical and ecological knowledge given the same documentary care as the drawing; digital methods that can be tested and improved; and educational pathways in which students and practitioners learn to bind representation to claim. The Archive grew from wanting authorship, evidence, and living systems to travel together.

The Foundation is assembling a programme of work toward international expansion and records-standards governance for landscape project data. That programme is intended to serve practices, educators, and agencies, alongside the shared dictionary, Library-facing grammar, and evidence shapes.

Landscape architecture already works at the intersection of land science, design judgement, technology, and public accountability. The draft mission therefore holds several layers at once: a shared dictionary; Library-facing grammar; tools and jurisdiction packs; evidence that can be inspected locally; and twin-ready interchange that improves through documented use.

  • Shared dictionary: one international field grammar that communities can cite without forking national schemas
  • Library-facing grammar: structural definitions for taxon, site context, climate, and provenance; populated inventories stay licensed separately
  • Tools and evidence: public validator, Evidence Checker, and open packs for local inspect
  • Jurisdiction packs: bind the same field IDs to local codes, climate products, and disclosure regimes
  • Digital advancement: testable schemas, integrity digests, and twin-ready interchange that improve through use
  • Education: studio, university, and continuing pathways that teach records as part of design literacy
Full mission (governance) Adopt the standard

About

The Landscape Archive Foundation is a digital infrastructure and records-standards body for landscape architectural practices: a shared dictionary, Library-facing grammar, tools, jurisdiction packs, and evidence. Landscape project records must remain legible across time, including species, site context, evidence, restricted cultural material, and custody of synthetic assets.

The Landscape Vault holds proprietary IP and, in the interim, stewards and powers the Foundation. The Landscape Archive Pty Ltd is the commercial operator (products, subscriptions, support), with landscapearchive.com.au as the Australian commercial hub. The Foundation, still unincorporated, may upon incorporation help steward the open TLA-185 / TLA-169 commons under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. EBDA and ELDX remain two further, separate institutional asks.

Governance Digital twin potential

Truth-telling

Implicit claims such as “native,” “climate resilient,” “sustainable,” and “culturally appropriate” are stated precisely through documented fields: taxon IDs, banded climate context, evidence links, sensitivity classes, and synthetic-asset lineage.

The Foundation defines how disclosure is encoded. Substantive verification remains with project teams and the institutions that govern them.

Truth-telling charter

Specification

TLA-185 documents 185 elements across taxonomy, site context, climate screening, risk, sustainability, cultural sensitivity, and BIM interchange. TLA-169 remains supported for legacy exchange. The open field dictionary is the gravity well: free public grammar under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; populated inventories and client records stay in licensed datasets.

The public validator and Evidence Checker inspect files locally in the browser. They do not issue Archive Seal, Foundation Approved, or government approval. Draft dictionary and registry remain available for citation.

Canonical specification, JSON Schema modules, and examples are on GitHub and the schema portal. GitHub is authoritative.

Canonical specification Repository Open field dictionary Field registry Adopt the standard Licence & scope

Governance and licence

The Landscape Archive Foundation is intended as an independent digital-infrastructure steward that may, upon incorporation, help hold a digital twin commons for landscape architecture. In the interim the open grammar remains published here, stewarded and powered by The Landscape Vault Pty Ltd.

Public specification and schema documentation: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Library, Hub, Landscape Archive Tools desktop apps, Archive Seal, Studio+™, Data API, and populated datasets are licensed separately and are not under Creative Commons.

Governance Digital twin potential Licence & scope

Commercial implementation

The field dictionary stays free to cite. Seats, Library depth, Landscape Archive Tools desktop apps, BIM / Hub delivery, Seal attestation, Evidence and compliance paths, and (when cleared) Data API / OEM redistribution are licensed through The Landscape Archive Pty Ltd under Archive Terms. See Archive Terms for free versus paid posture.

Foundation Approved will denote open-specification conformance when criteria and validators are published. It is not a live self-serve product today. It remains distinct from Archive Certified, a paid vendor credential, and from Archive Seal.

Commercial licensing Licence & scope Responsibility split

Support the standard

The Landscape Archive Foundation is unincorporated. Until an independent entity exists, this work is being sustained with personal funds.

Please assist Mark Norlan Laririt in sustaining the open specification, documentation, hosting, and stewardship that keep the public standard usable. Support is voluntary and not required to reference the open specification under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

This mission is also about unadulterated institutional abuse victims — people whose harm is real and must not be diluted by institutional narrative.

Bank transfer (Australia): expand the bank details below. Include the payment reference so we can reconcile your transfer. Contributions are received into The Landscape Archive Pty Ltd account and are not tax-deductible.

  • Not tax-deductible unless and until an independent Foundation entity is established and any applicable DGR registration is obtained.
  • We only publish these bank details on official Landscape Archive / Foundation pages — never by SMS or from an unverified personal email.
  • For invoicing, recurring support, or amounts over $5,000 AUD, contact us first.
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Account name
The Landscape Archive Pty Ltd
BSB
067-873
Account number
2184 8100
Currency
AUD
Payment reference
FOUNDATION-SUPPORT — your name or organisation
Support page Foundation enquiry

Foundation Standards

Five domains of public reference work. Shared definitions and open governance mark the boundary between the public specification and commercial implementation. The standards constellation (TLA-185 spine plus draft orbits) is listed under Governance.

  1. 01

    Botanical truth and reference standard

    The Foundation stewards the information architecture for precise, auditable taxonomic claims in project interchange. TLA-185 is the spine; plant-form labelling (TLA-ML, draft) is an orbit, not a second grammar.

  2. 02

    Climate and environmental disclosure

    TLA-185 defines the metadata shape for site context, climate screening, and sustainability disclosure in project records. Evidence packaging (TLA-EVID, draft) profiles how claims point at method notes — Archive Seal stays commercial.

  3. 03

    Open research infrastructure

    The Foundation maintains the open specification, schema artefacts, and validation tools for teaching and citation. Named orbits extend the suite without diluting the field registry.

  4. 04

    Public-sector and digital twin interface

    TLA-185 is published as an openly documented reference layer for procurement and digital twin programmes.

  5. 05

    Ethics of synthetic nature and attribution

    The Foundation defines how lineage, sensitivity, and synthetic marking appear in project records. TLA-SYN (draft) is the named provenance orbit for that work.

Full standards text Standards constellation