Discovering the Oasis: Civic Park Unveiled at Hemisfair

August 9, 2024 – Grant Stewart is presenting at the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association EXPO 2024 in San Antonio, Texas this coming Wednesday, August 14.

Grant will be joining Tom Hull, Senior Project Manager at Skanska, Ty Johnson, Superintendent at Skanska, and Andres Andujar, CEO of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation in presenting, “Discovering the Oasis: Civic Park Unveiled at Hemisfair.” This presentation will discuss the initial vision and steps utilized in constructing Hemisfair Civic Park.

Attendees will learn about the Hemisfair Civic Park design, as well as its significance and impact on the urban landscape. The presentation will also dive into the sustainable practices and community input used in the development of Hemisfair Civic Park.

The Texas Nursery & Landscape Association EXPO 2024 is an opportunity for attendees to gain knowledge, build connections, and drive innovation in different green industry segments.

Learn more on the Nursery Landscape Expo website.

Jason KimAugust 2, 2024San Antonio, TX2024

Grounding Conference on Architecture '24

August 1, 2024 – On Friday, August 9, Shannon Nichol is speaking at the 2024 AIA Tennessee Conference on Architecture in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 3-day conference runs from August 7 through August 9. Through the theme of Grounding, the conference will explore both architecture’s physical relationship to material flows and resources within ecological systems as well as architecture’s intangible relationship to history, memory, and lesser-acknowledged cultural contexts.

In her talk, Seeing the Ground – Considering the rich design that comes from sharing and learning about the ground beneath our feet, Shannon will share examples of design-driven efforts to visualize the real ground of each place. GGN’s work is often closely collaborative with architects and clients, so that the process of designing the site is also one of collective learning about the ground itself and its hidden truth and stories.

AIA Tennessee conducted a thoughtful Q&A with each of their upcoming speakers, including Kiel Moe, FAIA, FAAR, Professor of Practice, Auburn University and Visiting Professor, MIT; Eric Höweler, FAIA, LEED AP and J. Meejin Yoon, AIA FAAR, Co-Founders and Partners, Höweler and Yoon; Gabriela Carrillo, Founding Partner, Taller Gabriela Carrillo + Colectivo; Saundra Little, FAIA, LEED AP, NOMA, Quinn Evans. Principal, Director of Diversity & Inclusion; and Sharon Johnston, FAIA, Founder, Partner, Johnston Marklee.

Learn more at the Speaker Spotlight for Shannon Nichol.

Cheryl dos RemediosAugust 1, 2024Knoxville, TN2024

Planting Forward: Conversations on New Naturalism with Global Designers and Gardeners

July 19, 2024 – This coming Tuesday, July 23, Shannon Nichol will participate in Planting Forward: Conversations on New Naturalism with Global Designers and Gardeners. Shannon’s virtual presentation will focus on GGN’s distinct approach to design and collaboration, including the newly launched Meadowshop Initiative in the Pacific Northwest.

The Planting Forward series is hosted by Kelly D. Norris, who founded the Public Horticultural Company and its New Naturalism Academy. One of the leading horticulturists of his generation, Kelly explores the intersections of people, plants, and place through ecological, site-specific design and art. An award-winning author and plantsman, Kelly’s work in gardens has been featured in The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Fine Gardening, Garden Design, and numerous television, radio, and digital media appearances. His latest book Your Natural Garden from Cool Springs Press launches in late 2024.

Planting Forward features designers and creatives presenting work at the intersections of horticulture, ecology, design, and curation. Each conversation showcases working professionals and their methods and practices with the hopes of inspiring other professionals or gardeners to approach design and management differently. The session includes:

90-minute sessions that feel less like webinars and more like spirited talk show conversations
Opportunities for attendees to ask questions
Access to the recording for up to 6 months following the live broadcast

Shannon’s session will be held remotely on July 23 from 4:00-5:30pm Pacific. Registration is open through July 22. Visit the series’ website to purchase tickets.

Cheryl dos RemediosJuly 18, 2024Des Moines, IA2024

Dakota community leads reclamation of land near St. Anthony Falls for traditional use

July 12, 2024 – GGN is honored to have been selected to continue the important work of designing a five-acre property at Owámniyomni (St. Anthony Falls) adjacent to the Upper Lock on the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis.

The project is under the guidance of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi and the Dakota Knowledge Keepers and in partnership with the other experts and consultants involved. Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design will provide project strategy and Tribal engagement. The Dakota Knowledge Keepers include Glenn Wasicuna, Gwen Westerman, Mona Smith, Jewell Arcoren, Ramona Kitto Stately, Travis Bush, Vanessa Goodthunder, Erin Griffin, Samantha Odegard, and Cole Redhorse Taylor. Additional firms and consultants offering design and technical support fo the project include HDR, EOR, John Koepke with Urban Ecosystems, TLAL-LI Collaborative, Loeffler, ETM and Schuler Shook.

“The structure of this design team emphasizes that while transforming the physical land at Owámniyomni will be important, restoring relationships to the land, Dakota culture, and language are at the heart of this work,” said Barry Hand, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi program director.

“This project is rooted in the idea that what is most important about Owámniyomni is already here. Now is the time for the cultural and environmental restoration that have always been one and the same for the Dakota who know this place best,” said David Malda, Design Principal, GGN.

Susan Du reports on the project in the Star Tribune.

Learn more on the Owámniyomni website.

Cheryl dos RemediosJuly 12, 2024Minneapolis, MN2024

David Malda presents Working With: A Relational Practice at 2024 Texas ASLA Conference

April 25, 2024 – David Malda, ASLA, LEED AP, presented at this year’s Texas ASLA Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.

David’s presentation, Working With: A Relational Practice, touched on the expression of GGN’s design approach in its work around the country and explored the potential of connecting people to the land and to each other through the land. David also explained how our work as landscape architects can help support broader initiatives for belonging to a place, rather than simply adding another new thing.

This year’s conference included Nicholas Nelson, RLA, LEED AP, Director of Landscape Architecture at Teague Nall and Perkins; Mikey Goralnik, PLA, AICP, Trails and Transportation Planner at Great Springs Project; Garry Merritt, CEO of Great Springs Project; Scott Parker, Land Transactions Director at Great Springs Project; Vincent Debrock, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist at Shademaker Studio; and Shaney Clemmons, ASLA, PLA, Principal at Shademmaker Studio.

Texas ASLA Conference is a 3-day event held annually and is known as the 2nd largest ASLA conference. The theme of this year’s conference was “PIVOT,” which focused on the importance of pivoting in the direction of “sustainability and climate positivity” amid concerns about the climate crisis.

NewsJason KimApril 25, 2024Austin, TX2024

Rodrigo Abela participates in the 4th annual MICD Just City Mayoral Fellowship

April 18, 2024 – Rodrigo Abela is participating as a Resource Team Member in the 4th Annual Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) Just City Mayoral Fellowship program. The program is in partnership with the Just City Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Over a semester-long program, the Lab’s Just City Index frames dynamic presentations and dialogues with experts in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, art activism, housing, and public policy. Throughout the Fellowship, mayors and their staff identify how injustices manifest in the social, economic, and physical infrastructures of their cities and develop manifestos of action for their communities, applying the language and tactics of racial justice to the neighborhood’s future.

The 2024 MICD Just City Mayoral Fellows are: Allentown, PA Mayor Matthew Tuerk; Dearborn, MI Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud; Lima, OH Mayor Sharetta Smith; Long Beach, CA Mayor Rex Richardson; McMinnville, OR Mayor Remy Drabkin; Racine, WI Mayor Cory Mason; and San Rafael, CA Mayor Kate Colin.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in Partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities.

Rodrigo also participated as an MICD Resource Team Member in 2012 and 2018.

Learn more on the MICD's website.

Cheryl dos RemediosApril 19, 2024Cambridge, MA2024

David Malda presents Working With: A Relational Practice at the University of Calgary

March 13, 2024 – David Malda spoke at Design Matters at the University of Calgary School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape in Alberta, Canada.

David presented Working With: A Relational Practice, where he spoke about his distinct approach and prior work, such as the Hemisfair Civic Park, to students, industry professionals, public officials, and curious members of the public. David’s presentation focused on his approach to connecting the people and the land through landscape and thinking about what is already there.

This year’s Design Matter speakers include Johanna Hurme, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 5468796 Architecture; Ana de Brea, Architecture Professor and Practitioner; Isabel Ochoa, Designer and Faculty Member at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture; Teresa Williamson, Ph. D., Environmentalist and Founding Executive Director of Catalytic Communities; Teddy Cruz, Professor of Public Culture and Urbanization at the University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts; Sara Candiracci, Associate Director in Arup’s Cities, Planning and Design team in Milan, and Global Leader for Social Value and Equity; and Miquel Adria, an Architect from Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona and a Doctor of Architecture from the European School of Madrid.

Design Matters is a lecture series that is organized by the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. These lectures feature a variety of designers and innovators to help initiate meaningful conversations about architecture, landscape architecture, and regional & urban planning. The theme of this year’s lecture series emphasizes “global citizenship and design in conjunction with the launch of the new Bachelor of Design in City Innovation undergraduate degree program.”

View the full video on the UCalgary SAPL YouTube Channel.

NewsJason KimMarch 13, 2024Calgary, Alberta, CANADA2024

David Malda presents Working With: A Relational Practice at 2024 Northern Green Conference

January 23, 2024 – David Malda participated at this year’s Northern Green Conference hosted by Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association and Northern Green trade show in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

David presented Working With: A Relational Practice, where he spoke on the potential of landscape to connect people to the land and to each other through the land and highlighted the development of relationships between people and places through prior work he has completed. He also touched on the idea of “working with” as a process of understanding what is already here, how it came to be the way it is, and how we can craft strategies for the future of this foundation.

This year’s Northern Green Conference speakers included Matt Haber, Landscape Design Director at Western DuPage Landscaping, Inc.; Tony Wasemann, Design Team Manager at Scott Byron & Co., Inc.; Garth Woodruff, Professor at Andrews University and Partner at RootBound; Elizabeth Wynne, CLP, Landscape Designer at Biota Landscapes; Alyson Landmark, Landscape Designer at Southview Design; and Nels Peterson, COLD, Vice President of Bingle Premier Outdoor Lighting, Horsepower Brands.

The Northern Green Conference is known for being the largest green industry trade show and educational conference in the north-central region. Attendees ranging from MNLA members and arborists to landscape designers and architects all come to learn and network with each other.

NewsJason KimJanuary 24, 2024Saint Paul, MN2024

Seattle Residence: Native Gardens wins Design Futurist Award

October 23, 2023 – Pacific Horticulture announced this past week that Seattle Residence: Native Gardens has won the Design Futurist Top Prize. For the inaugural year of this award, the jury was seeking projects that exemplify climate-resilient garden design and embody values such as biodiversity, sustainability, and finding joy in nature.⁣
⁣
We're honored to hear the jury found this space "dreamy" and "stunning" and that "It had all the wildness that you could ever want, just cheerfully tamed. Everything felt like it had migrated into its place and was happy there.”

NewsGuest UserDecember 19, 2023Seattle, WA2024