Archinect - News

Harriet Pattison, landscape architect and longtime Louis Kahn collaborator, dies at 94

2023-10-10T18:47:00-04:00

Harriet Pattison, a noted American landscape architect who worked closely with her romantic partner Louis Kahn, passed away in Philadelphia last week, according to their son, filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn. She was 94.

Pattison enjoyed a career that spanned more than thirty years, working predominantly in Maine and Pennsylvania before she pursued her own path following the death of Kahn in 1974. Pattison studied landscape architecture at the University of Pennsylvania after working briefly in Dan Kiley’s Vermont-based practice. She would later go on to work alongside Kahn on the Kimbell Art Museum and Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park projects through a position with George Erwin Patton. Pattison was also inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2016.

Pattison was instrumental in creating the landscape architecture at Louis Kahn's design for the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress (Public Domain)

Patti...

Acclaimed Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier has died aged 63

2023-09-18T20:10:00-04:00

Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier, a deeply admired figure within the country’s design community, passed away on September 15th at the age of 63 following a battle with cancer, the CBC and other outlets reported over the weekend.

The founder of CCxA was behind many of the country’s most beloved public spaces, parks, and memorial designs, including Toronto’s Berczy Park, downtown Montreal’s new The Ring installation, and the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. A statement from the firm credited him as being a “great visionary who influenced us in surprising and powerful ways, thanks to the creative force and joie de vivre he brought to all our lives.”

The RIng, Montreal. Photo: David Boyer Photographe Inc.

Born and raised in Quebec, Cormier studied at the University of Toronto and Harvard GSD before entering practice in Montreal in 1993. Over the years, Cormier’s work received more than 100 separate awards and honors, including being named to the prestigious Ordre Natio...

Oberlander Prize winner Julie Bargmann's work and life featured in 'Pioneers of American Landscape Design' series

2023-05-30T18:06:00-04:00

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has just released the latest episode of their ongoing Pioneers of American Landscape Design series featuring an oral history and overview of the work of the 2021 inaugural Oberlander Prize winner Julie Bargmann.

The D.I.R.T. founder and University of Virginia professor emerita profiles her career in landscape architecture beginning with her graduation from the Harvard GSD in 1987. From there, Bargmann went on to become a Fellow in Landscape Architecture at the American Academy in Rome before establishing the studio in Minnesota in 1992. Bargmann has since gone on to win the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award and is elsewhere recognized as the "Queen of Slag" for her work outside of academia, which focuses heavily on post-industrial sites and the public realm.

The Turtle Creek Water Works in Dallas, Texas. Photo: © Charles A. Birnbaum, courtesy of The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Adriaan Geuze and Michael Van Valkenburgh are also ...

Featured landscape architecture jobs in New York City

2022-12-16T08:00:00-05:00

Searching for exciting landscape architecture career opportunities in New York City? Peruse this week's curated employment highlight from Archinect Jobs, with a selection of openings for landscape architects and designers in the Big Apple.

To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Nantucket Harbor Compound by Workshop/APD.

Workshop/APD seeks a Director of Landscape Architecture
"Workshop/APD is an award-winning New York City-based multidisciplinary design and architecture firm. [...] We are currently seeking a full-time Director with at least 10-15 years of design experience on landscape architectural design projects where he/she can be the leader of the creative process."

Workshop/APD is also currently looking to fill a number of other design positions at their...

Oberlander Prize winner Julie Bargmann on how she got her grimy informal title

2022-06-02T12:47:00-04:00

I am obsessed with resourcefulness. Maybe it’s because I’m from a big family. So when construction business as usual sends debris off to Maine because landfills are closed in Massachusetts, I call that out. I still can’t stand the word “sustainability” — it’s just common sensibility. I’m especially in love with concrete. One person sees it as debris. I see this wonderful patina. I picture who stood on that, I see the work on that surface and think, how beautiful is that?

Bargmann cited Robert Smithson and Eva Hesse as influences and pointed to a road trip as an early turning point in her career, saying that afterward she “launched into a holistic approach to my work.”

The University of Virginia School of Architecture professor and D.I.R.T. (Dump It Right There) Studio founder described her reaction to winning the Oberlander Prize in October, defending its namesake as a paragon of the same causes she herself has pursued within the world of landscape architecture and academia.

“The prize has really made me feel proud, pretty profoundly,” Bargmann told the Times for its new Visionaries series. “It kind of said, ‘Please do this.’ I think the jury did a pretty amazing job looking not necessarily at the number of built works but the impact that someone’s work has had, also in design education, and how willing someone is to take risks. Cornelia Oberlander was a pioneer. She was a risk-taker. It doesn’t happen enough in our discipline.”

...

12 featured jobs for established (and aspiring) landscape architects

2022-04-08T20:09:00-04:00

It's April, and that means: Happy World Landscape Architecture Month! In celebration of the many achievements and tremendous value of this profession, we're dedicating this week's curated job picks to select design firms and academic institutions currently offering exciting career opportunities to landscape designers/architects and interns on Archinect Jobs. For even more landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, and architecture openings, visit Archinect's job board.

ASI Reisen HQ by Snøhetta. Photo: Christian Flatscher.

Snøhetta seeks a Project Designer/Landscape Architect in New York City
"The PLA works on project teams to advance the successful completion of projects, tasks, and initiatives. This is an...

Landscape architect Lisa E. Delplace has been appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

2022-03-24T13:30:00-04:00

Landscape architect Lisa E. Delplace, FASLA has been announced by President Biden as the latest member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Delplace is the CEO and Principal of D.C.-based landscape architecture practice Oehme, van Sweden (OvS), where she is in charge of overseeing the firm’s institutional, commercial, and residential projects.

Delplace steps into a proud tradition of landscape architects serving on the prestigious body, beginning with the appointment of ASLA founder Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., who served on the commission from 1910 to 1918.

ASLA President Eugenia Martin spoke highly of the new appointee, saying: “We are incredibly pleased with Lisa’s appointment to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, where she will provide advice to executive departments of the Federal Government on how to best preserve and enhance the visual and cultural character of the District of Columbia. The Commission and our nation will benefit tremen...

Prolific landscape architect Julie Bargmann wins inaugural Oberlander Prize

2021-10-14T13:54:00-04:00

Pioneering landscape architect Julie Bargmann has been announced as the inaugural winner of the newly-formed Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.

Known for her work in regenerative landscapes, the University of Virginia faculty member now has the honor of being named as the first-ever recipient of the Prize, which includes a $100,000 cash award.

The award celebrates landscape architects working at the intersection of design and social justice causes. Critic Paul Goldberger said it was about the “importance of the public realm” at a 2019 keynote address announcing the prize, adding that, in his view, attempting to improve public building itself constitutes “a testament to belief in the social good.”

Introducing Julie Bargmann, the 2021 Oberlander Prize Laureate. Video via The Cultural Landscape Foundation on YouTube.

Bargmann has been a leader in urban reclamation projects since founding her D.I.R.T. (Dump It Right There) Studio in Minnesota in 1992....

Landscape architect Robert Wright selected as interim dean of Toronto's Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

2020-05-26T20:14:00-04:00

Robert Wright, a landscape architect and former Dean of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry, has been selected as the interim dean for the school's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Wright is set to take over for Richard M. Sommer, the current dean who has held the position since 2009.

Wright is tasked with leading the department through the coming school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the university reports. In taking up the interim dean position, Wright will also facilitate the department's efforts restart the selection process for a replacement for Sommer. The search for Sommer's replacement had to be paused, the school reports, due to the COVID-19 situation.

Previously published on Archinect: "A 'soft utopia' takes shape in University of Toronto's experimental gallery." A new installation space at the University of Toronto explores sleepy environments. Photo by Scott Norsworthy.

Wright has been a member of the Daniels Faculty since 198...

Calling all landscape architects and designers! Check out these 7 firms currently hiring on Archinect Jobs

2019-11-20T16:35:00-05:00

A profession that balances art, design, science, and environmental stewardship, landscape architecture allows designers and architects to create environments that can facilitate positive and regenerative environmental and social outcomes within the built environment.

If you're passionate about planning, managing, and analyzing landscapes through design, check out these 7 firms seeking to hire the right candidates to join their team.

Image courtesy of Studio AKA.

Studio AKA seeks a Landscape Designer/Architect
Location: Washington, D.C.
Studio AKA is a small but nimble design practice located in Capitol Hill. They are seeking a self-motivated entry-level landscape designer or part-time mid-level landscape designer with a passion for imagining creative, sustainable solutions to tough urban problems. Qualifications include a Bachelor's degree or master's degree in landscape architecture, civil engineering, horticulture, or urban planning as well as proficiency with Adobe suite, CAD, rhino...

Xeriscaping stirs tension (and inspires hope) in Fresno

2019-01-04T14:20:00-05:00

It’s not necessarily that conservatives rip out their lawns for economic reasons and liberals do so for environmental ones. Fresno is located in one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, so living here brings a consciousness of water issues, as well as a pride in the region’s miles of fields. “My Job Depends on Ag” is a common bumper sticker about town.

The EPA estimates that a third of the water used by American households goes to watering lawns and gardens, and Californians have long made up a significant portion of that statistic. State-wide aridity lends California a unique thirst for water, especially after several droughts within the last decade.

Many Californians have responded by replacing their grass lawns with artificial turf, wood chips, Century plants, or plain dirt, while others still have held to their love of the traditional lawn.

When interviewed by City Lab, Fresno-based landscaper Bill Anderson estimated that he has converted at least 500 Fresno-area lawns over the last three years, as the city recently began to offer rebates for turf removal. When Anderson transforms the first lawn on a block, he makes sure to make it attractive enough to inspire envy among its neighbors that might otherwise have reservations against drought-tolerant landscapes.

“Not in a million years did I think that people here would give u...

Inside BIG's twisted, twin-towered Grove at Grand Bay

2016-12-14T13:53:00-05:00

At each elevation from the third through 17th floors, the floor plates in Bjarke Ingels Group's new Grove at Grand Bay rotate three feet, creating a twisting set of luxury residential towers that from the ground resemble the splayed bellows of dueling concrete accordions. Indeed, these 20-story sustainable towers, which are expected to attain LEED Gold status, seem to be designed as much for the entertainment value of sweeping aerial flyover shots as actual inhabitation.

The interiors do possess a kind of upbeat brutalist vibe; slanted concrete pillars face off against vibrant murals and landscape architect Raymond Jungles' gardens in the common areas, while the residences themselves take in views of the arts community in which it is sited, Coconut Grove.

“Coconut Grove is a special place with a well-defined soul, so it was important that Grove at Grand Bay respond to its community through a design that was respectful and distinctive,” Bjarke Ingels is quoted as saying in a press rel...

Diana Balmori, revered landscape architect, has died at age 84

2016-11-15T14:33:00-05:00

Landscape architect and innovative urbanist Diana Balmori has died at age 84, as announced by her firm's website. The Spanish-born Balmori, who founded her own firm in New York City at age 58, was known for her site-defining and inventive landscape architecture works, including the Abandoibarra District in Bilbao, Spain, the Prairie Waterway Stormwater Park in Minnesota, and numerous green roofs in Manhattan. In addition to their striking aesthetic beauty, Balmori's projects integrated sustainable practices, resulting in a holistic pairing of nature and architecture.

Abandoibarra Masterplan, Bilbao, Spain

Balmori, who graduated from high school at age 16, started her career in academia, taking a teaching position at the State University of New York shortly after receiving her Ph.D in urban history from UCLA. Eventually, she became a partner at Cesar Pelli Associates (now known as Pelli, Clarke, Pelli, Architects), creating the firm's in-house Landscape Architecture department. Her dea...

Landscape architect Takeo Uesugi has died at age 75

2016-02-18T17:58:00-05:00

As a designer, Uesugi created serene landscapes that adapted the elements of a Japanese garden — rock, plants and water — to the climate and lifestyle of Southern California. Among his most significant projects are the restoration of the Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Pine Wind Garden at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center and the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego's Balboa Park.

In memorium, a few photos of Uesugi's landscape work at the Japanese Garden of The Huntington Library:

L.A. landscape architect Mia Lehrer on what makes a successful park

2014-08-14T14:30:00-04:00

It relates to scale, who's going to be there, what reflects the culture and interests of the community. People's first notion about a park is Central Park — big, grassy, lush. So adjusting expectations about that aesthetic, we have a hard row to hoe in L.A. This is the era for our city to think about parks and the river and the urban forest as all one thing.