Plan, design, present and promote outdoor spaces
Accurate existing conditions before you draw, a 3D model your client can understand, and photographs of the finished work from angles no ladder reaches.
Four moments in a landscape project where a drone earns its place
Plan. A landscape design starts with what is already there: grades, drainage, trees, hardscape, structures and the edges of the property. A drone flight produces an orthomosaic, an elevation model and contours of the whole site in one visit, which you can bring straight into CAD as a base.
Design. A 3D model of the existing site lets you test grading, walls, planting and sightlines against the real terrain rather than a flat plan. For larger sites, cut and fill between the existing and proposed surfaces gives a first estimate of earthworks.
Present. Clients rarely read plans well. An aerial view of their own property, with the design placed into it, shows them what they are buying. The same view helps at a public meeting or a design panel.
Promote. The finished project, photographed from above and at eye level in good light, is the best marketing a design firm has. The ability to show your work well can be the difference between winning and losing the next contract.
Deliverables that fit a design workflow
- Orthomosaic (GeoTIFF) scaled to the site, for a base plan
- Contours (DXF) at the interval your design needs
- Elevation model and a textured 3D mesh of the existing site
- Tree canopy and hardscape visible in one georeferenced image
- Aerial and ground photographs of the completed work, edited for print and web
- Short aerial video of the finished space for your website and social media
Photogrammetry or LiDAR for a landscape site
| Site | Better method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Open lot, lawn, hardscape | Photogrammetry | Gives an orthomosaic and a surface in one flight; the ground is visible. |
| Mature trees, dense shrubs | LiDAR | Laser returns reach the ground under canopy, where cameras only see leaves. See LiDAR. |
| Steep ravine or shoreline | Often both | LiDAR for the ground, photogrammetry for the image your client recognizes. |
| Finished project photos | Camera drone and ground camera | Planned for light, season and the angles that show the design intent. |
From the first site visit to the portfolio
Tell us the site and the purpose
Boundary, what you need to draw and the accuracy you need. For a planning base, ground control ties the map to the surveyor's coordinates.
Existing conditions flight
One visit, with surveyed control where accuracy matters.
Files into your software
Orthomosaic, contours and surface in your coordinate system, delivered on one project record.
Presentation views
Aerial views from the angles your client will care about, ready for the design to be placed in. See aerial panoramas and renderings.
Completion shoot
Photographs and video once the planting has settled, often a season after handover.
Who else touches the site data
Land surveyor
- They need from you
- Their legal boundary and control respected.
- You need from them
- A detailed topographic base without paying for a full ground survey of every tree.
- On the DroneLink record
- The flight is tied to the surveyor's control points; legal boundaries stay the surveyor's work. See surveyors and engineers.
Civil engineer
- They need from you
- Grades and drainage they can check.
- You need from them
- Their comments on the same base you design on.
- On the DroneLink record
- Everyone works from one elevation model on one record.
Client
- They need from you
- To understand the design and trust the budget.
- You need from them
- A quick yes.
- On the DroneLink record
- Aerial views of their own property with the design shown in place.
Architect
- They need from you
- The building and the landscape to fit.
- You need from them
- Their model placed on the same terrain.
- On the DroneLink record
- See architects and designers.
Questions
Is a drone map accurate enough to design on?
For design, yes, when it is tied to surveyed ground control: results are typically within a few centimetres. Legal boundaries and anything that needs a surveyor's stamp remain the surveyor's work.
Can you see the ground under trees?
With LiDAR, largely yes. With photogrammetry, only where the ground is visible from above. We recommend the method once we see the site.
When is the best time to photograph a finished landscape?
Usually a growing season after completion, in soft morning or evening light. We plan the shoot around the planting, not just the handover date.
Keep reading
Tell us about your Vancouver site.
An address and what you need is enough to start. We reply with the price, who will fly it and when.