Contract - July 2009 - (Page 42)

essay cohesive spaces in public places Is collaboration overrated? Absolutely not, says renowned landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson Photo by Charles Hopkinson By John Gilmore, Senior Writer, HOK “A Monarch-sized butterfly just flew past me,” says Kathryn Gustafson, momentarily interrupting our phone interview to share her delight. “In your office?” “No, I’m outside,” she says. “Why would I sit inside to talk on such a beautiful day?” It turns out that when she’s not traveling to work on another high-profile landscape commission in North America, Europe, or Asia, one of the world’s most acclaimed designers of public spaces recharges by working in a completely private space—her home studio on Vashon Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. As she talks, Gustafson is looking at Salix Alba (Silver Willow) trees blowing in the wind. Just beyond the terrace cascading down the hill is Covos Passage, part of Seattle’s Puget Sound. In the distance she can still see a bit of June snow atop the majestic Olympic Mountains. It is from this magnificent outdoor room with a view that Gustafson, a Washington native, leads two prominent landscape architecture practices: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol in Seattle and Gustafson Porter in London. Gustafson has designed some of our society’s most spectacular outdoor community spaces. Her works include projects at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park, the interior of the Great Glass House at National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne, and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London. Scenario Planning: a strategic planning method that some organizations use to make flexible long-term plans. The original method was generating simulation games combining known facts about the future with plausible trends. The types of spaces she designs add meaning to our built environment by triggering different physical, psychological, and social feelings that combine to create a powerful cultural experience. “If a space is truly communal,” explains Gustafson, “you can take possession of it and gain another space that becomes part of your life. You are no longer cornered between your own four walls or picket fence gardens. The space where you feel comfortable in life is 42 contract july 2009 www.contractmagazine.com http://www.contractmagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - July 2009

Contract - July 2009
Contents
Editorial
Guest Editorial
Resources: Alpha Workshops
Green Building Goes Global
The Collaborative Workplace
All For Fun
Group Practice
Caring Collaborator
Life is a Circus
Cohesive Spaces in Public Places
On the Landscape
Castles in the Sand
Face to Face
Heart and Soul
Project Management
Dream Team
Critique
Ad Index

Contract - July 2009