Synopses & Reviews
With increased attention to sustainability and environmental concerns, landscape architects now lead teams of urban planners and architects in developing new outdoor space and reconfiguring existing designs. As the preeminent landscape architecture firm in the United States, Olin is at the forefront of this movement with completed projects across the country and in Europe. The firm was awarded the gold medal of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the profession's highest honor, in 2006.
Well-known for the restorations of Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library and the landscape of the Washington Monument, Olin is also recognized for the dramatic transformation of a derelict, brownfield site into the vibrant Canary Wharf, now the financial center for all Europe, and for the landscape design of the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles and Columbus Circle in New York. The firm has also designed sculpture gardens for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio.
In dialogues with noted colleagues and collaborators, each of the partners articulates a personal vision and philosophy of landscape and design. Laurie Olin, founding partner, speaks with the poet Michael Palmer, while Susan Weiler reflects on her collaboration with artist Jenny Holzer. Other dialogue participants are Kim Tripp, former director of the New York Botanical Garden; Niall Kirkwood, chair of the landscape architecture department at Harvard; Sean Timmons, founder of Simmons Design Engineering; and Charles Waldheim, a leading proponent of landscape urbanism. Taken together, these conversations provide a unique window into the creative process.
Synopsis
Olin is the preeminent American landscape architecture firm, and this monograph on the firm will attract not only those in the field but anyone with an interest in public landscapes and gardens.
With increased attention to sustainability and environmental concerns, landscape architects now lead teams of urban planners and architects in developing new outdoor space and reconfiguring existing designs. As the preeminent landscape architecture firm in the United States, Olin is at the forefront of this movement with completed projects across the country and in Europe.
The firm was awarded the gold medal of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the profession's highest honor, in 2006. Well-known for the restorations of Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library and the landscape of the Washington Monument, Olin is also recognized for the dramatic transformation of a derelict, brownfield site into the vibrant Canary Wharf, now the financial center for all Europe, and for the landscape design of the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles and Columbus Circle in New York.
The firm has also designed sculpture gardens for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. In dialogues with noted colleagues and collaborators, each of the partners articulates a personal vision and philosophy of landscape and design. Laurie Olin, founding partner, speaks with the poet Michael Palmer, while Susan Weiler reflects on her collaboration with artist Jenny Holzer. Other dialogue participants are Kim Tripp, former director of the New York Botanical Garden; Niall Kirkwood, chair of the landscape architecture department at Harvard; Sean Timmons, founder of Simmons Design Engineering; and Charles Waldheim, a leading proponent of landscape urbanism. Taken together, these conversations provide a unique window into the creative process.
About the Author
Olin was founded by
Laurie Olin in 1976. In addition to Olin, the firm has five partners:
Dennis C. McGlade,
Robert J. Bedell,
Lucinda R. Sanders,
Susan K. Weiler, and
David A. Rubin. The Olin office is in the historic Public Ledger Building, overlooking Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
John R. Stilgoe, Robert and Lois Orchard Professor in the History of Landscape at Harvard University, is the author of numerous books, including Train Time, Outside Lies Magic, Lifeboat, and Landscapes and Images. The author lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Table of Contents
IntroductionJohn R. Stilgoe
THE UNSTATED GOAL
Laurie D. Olin and Michael Palmer
Bryant Park
New York
Bishopsgate
London
Vila Olimpica
Barcelona, Spain
Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park
New York
THE NEW GARDEN
Dennis C. McGlade and Kim Tripp
J. Paul Getty Center
Los Angeles, California
Mission Bay Master Plan
San Francisco, California
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
Washington, D.C.
Midway Plaisance
Chicago, Illinois
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints Conference Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
ART AND LANDSCAPE
Susan K. Weiler and Jenny Holzer
Canary Wharf
London
Welles Sculpture Garden, Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo, Ohio
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Gap Headquarters
San Francisco, California
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A MATERIAL REALIZATION
Robert J. Bedell and Niall Kirkwood
Brancusi Ensemble
Târgu-Jiu, Romania
Washington Monument
Washington, D.C.
Columbus Circle
New York
University of British Columbia, University Boulevard Competition
Vancouver, Canada
Syracuse Connective Corridor Competition
Syracuse, New York
THE SPARK OF INGENUITY
David A. Rubin and Sean Timmons
United States Air Force Memorial
Arlington, Virginia
Camana Bay
Grand Cayman Island, British West Indies
United States Embassy
Berlin, Germany
University of California Berkeley, California
The Presidio San Francisco, California
Comcast Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
REPOSITIONING
Lucinda R. Sanders and Charles Waldheim
Project Credits
Biographies