Professor Walter Hood is set to become chair of UC Berkeley's Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP) for a two-year term beginning this fall. Berkeley describes Hood as “one of the pre-eminent American landscape designers working today,” whose projects “combine architectural and public art approaches with a concern for ecological sustainability.”
As our 2021 interview explored, Hood's education began at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design (CED), where he obtained both his Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Architecture in 1989, followed by an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013. Joining CED's faculty in 1993, Hood has previously held the position of LAEP department chair, serving one term, and was honored with the Woo Chair for Design Excellence from 2012 to 2022.
Meanwhile, Hood's literary contributions include authoring Urban Diaries and Blues & Jazz Landscape Improvisations and co-editing Black Landscapes Matter, which was awarded the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize from the Foundation for Landscape Studies.
Beyond academia, Hood operates the practice Hood Design Studio in Oakland, which seeks to create “meaningful public spaces that empower marginalized communities and pay homage to the communal histories of sites.” Recent projects include the African Ancestors Memorial Garden at the International African American Museum in Charleston and an installation titled Native(s) displayed at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale.
“The hybridity of the department is a strength,” Hood said in a statement ahead of his new post. “Both design and ecology are at the forefront of human-centered planning. By bringing these fields together more closely, we are well-positioned to confront issues facing us today.”
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Berkeley describes Hood as “one of the pre-eminent American landscape designers working today,” whose projects “combine architectural and public art approaches with a concern for ecological sustainability.” (italics mine)
Seriously, you hire him to lead your Landscape Architecture department and then call him a landscape designer?
Question, is he licensed?
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