Several GSD alumni have been inducted into the 2012 ASLA Council of Fellows:
Gerdo P. Aquino (MLA ’96)
SWA, Los Angeles
Gerdo P. Aquino was nominated by the Southern California Chapter in the Works Category. He is an accomplished lecturer, professor, and author and has successfully revitalized many wetlands and vacant and unusable urban spaces throughout the world. He strives to elevate the social well-being and health of communities through landscapes that conserve and filter water to maintain ecological balance. Since the establishment of the SWA Los Angeles office in 2005, he has expanded the practice into Asia. Gerdo has a continuous involvement in the firm’s projects beginning at their inception through final completion, and a long list of national and regional awards as a testament to his close stewardship. He holds a BLA from the University of Florida and an MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Kongjian Yu (DDesS ‘ 95)
Peking University College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Beijing, China
Kongjian Yu was nominated by the ASLA Council of Fellows Executive Committee in the Works Category. He has a profound intellectual influence as a landscape architect in China in the midst of its hypergrowth through a range of exceptional projects. Kongjian helped to create and establish landscape architecture as a recognized discipline at Peking University. Also embodying the design philosophy of a harmonious living world, Kongjian’s practice Turenscape embraces nature, people, and spirits. The firm also functions as a school that links theory with execution and provides financial support for research and education at the university. He has a BLA and MLA from Beijing Forestry University and earned a Doctor of Design from the Harvard GSD.
Julia Badenhope (MLA ’92)
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Julia Badenhope was nominated by the Iowa Chapter in the Knowledge Category. As an associate professor and director of Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program, Julia integrates teaching, research and outreach in the statewide community design assistance program she directs. She integrates poly-disciplinary collaboration and grassroots design even as she publishes, mentors, and advises. Julia has been able to bring both funds and design talent to the state’s smaller, often-underserved communities and has been recognized by the American Planning Association and Federal Highways Administration with their highest national awards. She earned her BS in agriculture from the University of Tennessee and MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Ken Smith (MLA ’86)
WORKSHOP: Ken Smith Landscape Architect
New York City
Ken Smith was nominated by the New York Chapter in the Works Category. Ken creates compelling landscape experiences through transformative designs characterized by formal inventiveness and conceptual boldness. His lectures focus on the importance of establishing continuums of scale from waterfronts to back yards and he advocates both increased conceptual clarity in contemporary landscape architecture with more refined attention to the details of craft. In contrast to the top-down approach commonly taught in schools, Ken likes to utilize a bottom-up inductive approach to produce the most salient ideas. He earned his BSLA at Iowa State University and MLA from the Harvard GSD.
David Berkson (MLA ’85)
SWA Group
Laguna Beach, California
David Berkson was nominated by the Southern California Chapter in the Works Category. One of the many legacies that David has bestowed on Southern California is his decade long effort to plan the replenishment of Beverly Hills trees. His passion for making special places in the public realm is demonstrated though the interplay of contextual forces and his ability to design projects that have meaning and function as strong accessible experiences. David is an intellectual, a consummate collaborator, and a master disciplinary team organizer. He demonstrates that the quality of our surroundings has influence over the quality of our lives. He received his BFA from Tufts and an MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Richard C. Burck Jr. (MLA ’85)
Richard Burck Associates
Somerville, Massachusetts
Richard Burck was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in the Works Category. Bringing public attention to the abilities of landscape architects to shape civic environment, he organized a symposium in Boston that initiated the city’s street planting plan and drove the Innovation District on the South Boston waterfront. In 1981 he was awarded the Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture and named a finalist in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Competition. He earned his BS in landscape architecture from Michigan State University, was a merit scholar at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and received his MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Cynthia Smith (MLAUD ’84)
Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Cynthia Smith was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in the Works Category. Widely admired for her commitment to the creative potential of collaborations with allied design professions, artists, and community groups, Cynthia is a talented mentor of exemplary urban and academic settings. She successfully dominates inside/outside relationships which are demonstrated through her projects such as the MIT Sloan School campus. She is highly recognized in the Boston and Cambridge areas for her waterfronts, over-deck landscapes, campuses, multi-model plans, and art collaborations. Cynthia has created an influential New England based practice and holds a BLA from the University of Oregon and an MLAUD from the Harvard GSD.
Henry White III (MLA ’82)
HM White Site Architects
New York City
Henry White III was nominated by the New York Chapter in the Works Category. He has shaped the current direction of landscape architecture through his influential voice and distinguished international collaborations. Henry was instrumental in the redevelopment of the New York City waterfront, streetscapes, parks, and other open spaces. Serving his region on a number of influential boards, Henry shares his knowledge sophistication, innovation, and tenacity in cityscapes around the globe. He received his BA from Bucknell University and MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Samuel Coplon (MLA ’80)
Coplon Associates, Inc.
Bar Harbor, Maine
Samuel Coplon was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in the Works Category. He has had a regional and national influence on large-scale, affordable land conservation through his reinterpretation of the Gilded Age tradition of coastal Maine. Samuel’s talents scope intimate residential landscapes as well as public, institutional, and historically significant projects. He has created and facilitated the considerable visibility of land protection and landscape architecture through community plans. He transforms prosaic land forms into extraordinary landscape designs which have made his firm instrumental to clients worldwide. He received his BS in engineering from Tufts University and MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Jennifer Jones (MLA ’79)
Carol R. Johnson Associates, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Jennifer Jones was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in the Service Category. She is a frequent worldwide volunteer and lecturer including her own hometown, Boston, and has an equally significant public role through her design firm. Her extensive accomplishments through volunteer activities and professional practice have significantly advanced the public’s appreciation of how the landscape architects enhance the greater good of communities everywhere. In 2012 on a volunteer mission in Haiti, she successfully contributed to stabilizing the steep slope of a site for a locally operated clinic. In addition, on her site visit to Rwanda, her plans included demonstration gardens. She received her BS in environmental design from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Mary Myers (MLA ’79)
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mary Myers was nominated by the Pennsylvania/Delaware Chapter in the Knowledge Category. She has successfully increased the professional knowledge of the landscape architecture practice through her contributions to scholarly research, teaching, and forward-looking leadership. Her comprehensive focus on applied research and the linkage of aesthetic and scientific theory has lent itself to the advancement of the field in parkway design, human perception of landscapes, and sustainability. In 2011 Mary became one of ten Landscape Architecture Foundation research fellows selected to study landscape performance. Her varied collection of data resulted in specific and defensible findings in keeping with her focus on validity and usefulness. She received her BSLA from the University of Wisconsin, MLA from the Harvard GSD, and PhD from Heriot-Watt University.
Robert N. Pine (MLA ’79)
Pine & Swallow Environmental
Groton, Massachusetts
Robert N. Pine was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in the Knowledge Category. Scientist, engineer, and landscape architect, he is an exceptionally open minded and creative problem solver of international recognition. Robert has expanded the body of knowledge in regional ecosystems analysis through his deep understanding and interest in modern soil, horticultural, and hydrologic design. He has developed many breakthrough quality-control procedures to ensure blending, installation, and maintenance of optimally effective landscape soils, drainage, and planting. Robert skillfully educates others on the development of comprehensive ecological plans and protection of major tracts of environmentally vital land. He holds a BS in civil engineering and MS in geotechnical engineering from Cornell University and his MLA from the Harvard GSD.
Barbara Deutch (LF ’06)
Landscape Architecture Foundation
Washington, D.C.
Barbara Deutsch was nominated by the Potomac Chapter in the Leadership/Management Category. She has put the profession front and center of collaborative sustainability, showcasing the value of the industry to hundreds of students, allied professionals, nonprofit organizations, and the general public. With her strong business background, Barbara has provided considerable credibility to the value of landscape architecture through easily grasped and clearly valid measurements of landscape performance. She has put the Landscape Architecture Foundation in a financial position that allows it to carry out vital efforts such as the Landscape Performance Series and Case Study Investigation research collaboration. She holds a BS in commerce from the University of Virginia, an MLA from the University of Washington, and was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard GSD.