GGN: Landscapes 1999-2018
GGN: Landscapes 1999-2018

October 18, 2018 - GGN: Landscapes 1999-2018, published by Timber Press, is the first book devoted to GGN’s work. Dr. Thaisa Way surveys several of our projects with an eye towards addressing practical design questions, with a foreword by Dr. Scott Stewart. Many of our favorite photographers have contributed their work, including new photos by Catherine Tighe.

The monograph will be available at booksellers on November 27. Two pre-release events are planned. The first will take place at the ASLA Bookstore on Saturday, October 20 from 4:30-5:30 in conjunction with the ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo in Philadelphia. The second will take place at the University of Washington’s Gould Gallery on Friday, October 26 from 6:00-8:00, as part of the reception for the exhibit Paper to Place.

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosSeattle, WA2018
Michael Bierut Kicks-Off the Drawing in Design Lecture Series
Michael Bierut Kicks-Off the Drawing in Design Lecture Series

October 2, 2018 – Michael Bierut of Pentagram will present "Graphic Design and the Third Dimension" on Thursday, October 4 at Kane Hall at the University of Washington campus at 7:00pm. The world of the graphic designer is often confined to the flat realms of paper and screens. Michael Bierut will discuss what happens when the discipline engages with architecture, both as a subject, as a context, and as a challenge.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is part of the year-long "Drawing in Design: Exploring the Hand" lecture and workshop series that GGN launched and sponsors at the University of Washington College of Built Environments. The lecture is followed by a weekend workshop with registered UW architecture and landscape architecture students and design professionals that includes opportunities for discussions, exercises, and crits to explore the role of hand-drawing in design and development.

 “We’ve enjoyed working with the College of Built Environments and Dr. Thaisa Way to create a special workshop and lecture series at the University of Washington that focuses completely on drawing – not as rendering or an art form but as an essential design tool,” said Shannon Nichol. “The series’ guest designers come from a diverse range of fields but all use drawing – for most of them, hand-drawing – to create their design strategies and to thoroughly refine their work through to the fine detail. We are not focused in this series on renderings or on field sketching – not on those drawings that record things, however beautiful those recordings can be. We are focused on the internal, working drawings that make the new things that you can’t see yet but are charged with designing.”

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosSeattle, WA2018
GGN to design landscape for a 22-acre development in Osaka, Japan
GGN to design landscape for a 22-acre development in Osaka, Japan

September 10, 2018 – Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura has confirmed that the team led by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (MEC) will design the Umekita Second Development Zone, considered the last prime real estate in Osaka. Osaka is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan, and the 59-acre (24 ha) Umekita site is located in front of the Osaka rail station, part of a five-station major transit hub, adjacent to the internationally known Umeda Sky Building by Hiroshi Hara. The team, led by MEC, is composed of nine developers and six design and operation firms, including Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN). The team was selected after a six-month long competition run by the Urban Renaissance Agency with a jury that included Tadao Ando.

In speaking to the media, Mayor Yoshimura noted, “This site has been described as the last prime real estate at the center of Osaka and the Kansai region. The Umekita Second Phase Development is an extremely important project for City of Osaka.”

Shannon Nichol, a founding principal of GGN, said:

“We are honored to have the opportunity to work on such an important site for the City of Osaka and Japan – and with an exceptionally talented team of collaborators and clients. The Osaka Midori Life concept inspires us to imagine a new kind of park and vibrant neighborhood, where life is centered around an immersion in nature while also benefiting from the cultural energy of the exceptional passenger-rail systems that converge within this central site.

“Osaka – as both an innovative, world-leading city and a place distinguished with important history, creative culture, and style – is an exciting place to be designing within and to be designing for.

Kathryn Gustafson, a founding principal of GGN added:

“We took inspiration from the history of the Japanese garden, the history of Osaka, and the natural environment. We’re impressed by the decision to put this large open space at the very hub of the city – this is key to this space contributing to a healthy, urban environment for the future.

“We are creating a range of unique landscape spaces within the site. Some will be very tranquil, reflective, and contemplative – while others will be very active, interactive, and social. An open east-west spine will be the connector between the two neighborhoods with different vendors who will offer daily amenities. We will also design the adjacent streets with characteristics that will further brings the landscape park into the neighborhoods to create a large environmental impact throughout the area.”

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosOsaka, Japan2018
GGN receives the top two awards for general design from VA ASLA
GGN receives the top two awards for general design from VA ASLA

August 24, 2018 - GGN received the General Design Presidential Award for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture from the Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. GGN also received a General Design Honor Award for The Park at CityCenter. Both projects are located in Washington, DC. Rodrigo Abela accepted the awards at the VA ASLA Annual Conference in Natural Bridge State Park.

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosWashington, DC2018
River Cities, City Rivers
River Cities, City Rivers

June 15, 2018 - River Cities, City Rivers edited by Dr. Thaisa Way, is the latest volume in the Dumbarton Oaks Colloquia on the History of Landscape Architecture published by Harvard Press. David Malda contributed the essay “Landscape Narratives and the San Antonio River,” based on the research and design process for GGN’s Civic Park at Hemisfair. The essay explores the value of a landscape narrative in shaping and communicating an alternative way to see a well-known place.

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosSan Antonio, TX2018
GGN SELECTED AS DESIGNER FOR FIRST PUBLIC PLAZA AT HAZELWOOD GREEN
GGN SELECTED AS DESIGNER FOR FIRST PUBLIC PLAZA AT HAZELWOOD GREEN

June 6, 2018 -- Hazelwood Green, a former steel mill site that is the City of Pittsburgh’s largest riverfront redevelopment project, today announced GGN has been selected to create the first public plaza at the 178-acre site. The plaza is envisioned as an adaptable and innovative gathering and event space for those who work, reside in, or visit Hazelwood Green and its neighborhood of Hazelwood.  Elements of the new Hazelwood Green Plaza may include benches and seating, green space and native plantings, lighting, public art, and space for seasonal events

“We received an outstanding mix of proposals, but were most impressed by GGN and their understanding of the role of this first public space in shaping Hazelwood Green as a place and for its important role within a larger system of well-loved civic centers in the City of Pittsburgh,” says Hazelwood Green Project Director Rebecca Flora.  “GGN’s portfolio reflects a high quality of design and aesthetic, as well as sensitivity and experience in the integration of sustainability with design elements, all of which align with the vision for Hazelwood Green. These attributes, together with their demonstrated ability and commitment to working within the constraints of the project’s budget and schedule, made GGN the clear choice among a team of highly qualified contenders.”

Design for the plaza will commence in June, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2019, with a late summer or early fall completion date.

“Hazelwood Green is regenerative land. It is land that has changed so much over time and its most recent transition is a big one – from a privately held steel mill to a publicly accessible gathering place for the community of Pittsburgh,” says GGN Founding Principal Jennifer Guthrie, FASLA, PLA. “It’s a big change. This whole group – client and design team – is ‘all in’ to create a civic heart for Hazelwood Green that is welcoming for everyone and nourishes the bigger landscape.”

Kathryn Gustafson, FASLA, PLA, and Founding Principal, GGN, adds, “It’s an incredible site–the wooded green hills drop down to a flat land plain, and from there you see green mountains, river, and sky from one direction,  and green mountain, sky, and the city view from the other. These are the two views that characterize this wonderful place that we are honored to help shape.”

Read the full press release here. 


Read More
Alex McCayPittsburgh, PA2018
GGN Designs the Landscape for the Miramar Santa Monica
GGN Designs the Landscape for the Miramar Santa Monica

April 11, 2018 – Today, the proposed new design for the Miramar Santa Monica was revealed to the public.  The project will create a bold landmark for Downtown Santa Monica, with stunning contemporary architecture and magnificent new open spaces that both respect and celebrate the Miramar’s two local landmarks: the historic Palisades Building and the spectacular Moreton Bay Fig Tree. The new design embraces the historic tree, making it the true focal point of the project.

“We looked at elements of the Miramar such as its natural and cultural history and how it has changed over time to get the soul of the site. Our goal is that when you walk into it, you feel it is real and stable; that the landscape emerges from the site itself,” said Kathryn Gustafson, Founding Principal at GGN. 

Following an international design competition, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects was selected to lead the design of the project. GGN joined the design team along with historic preservation consultant Chattel Inc. “The Miramar hotel has been a beloved part of the Santa Monica community for nearly 100 years.  This new plan allows us to honor the hotel’s past while moving it towards the future,” said Ellis O’Connor of MSD Hospitality.  “We are excited to be working with a brilliant design team, including world-class architects, landscape architects and historic preservation consultants, to rejuvenate this extraordinary community asset consistent with the values of Santa Monica.”

“Some of the most compelling features of the new design are the stunning new open spaces,” said Dustin Peterson of the Athens Group, the Owner’s Representative. “When the Miramar Hotel originally opened in 1920, guests were drawn to its breathtaking gardens and open spaces.  Over time, the gardens and public space became greatly restricted, with building additions and tall walls surrounding the property.  The new Miramar Santa Monica seeks to restore and enhance the garden identity to the property.”

Image Credit: PCPA, Atchain, GGN

Read More
Cheryl dos RemediosSanta Monica, CA2018
DRAWING IN DESIGN WORKSHOP: RON HENDERSON OF L+A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
DRAWING IN DESIGN WORKSHOP: RON HENDERSON OF L+A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

April 6, 2018 – “Drawing is the Entrance of Thought” with Ron Henderson of L+A Landscape Architecture is the third installment in the year-long “Drawing in Design: Exploring the Hand” lecture and workshop series that GGN launched and sponsors at the University of Washington College of Built Environments.  The lecture is at 5:30pm, April 6 at the University of Washington’s Gould Hall 322, Seattle, WA.  The lecture is followed by a weekend workshop with registered UW architecture and landscape architecture students and design professionals that includes opportunities for discussions, exercises, and crits to explore the role of hand-drawing in design and development. 

Ron is currently the Director of the Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program and professor at IIT in Chicago and also practices through his studio L+A Landscape Architecture.  In addition, Ron for many years taught landscape architecture in China and in 2011 was the recipient of the Creative Artist Exchange Fellowship with Japan.

Read More
Alex McCaySeattle, WA2018
SHANNON NICHOL PRESENTS THE 2018 ELWOOD LECTURE AT IOWA STATE
SHANNON NICHOL PRESENTS THE 2018 ELWOOD LECTURE AT IOWA STATE

March 26, 2018 – Shannon Nichol will present “Drawing and Building Landscape” as the 2018 P.H. Elwood Lecture in Landscape Architecture at Iowa State University at 6pm Monday, March 26 in 2055 Hoover Hall. 

The lecture will provide insight into GGN’s design process and culture that emphasizes “creating and retaining a distinct concept and a congruent detailing rationale, from concept through construction.”  Shannon will highlight GGN’s use of hand drawings for collaborative communication, critique, and design development by sharing the informal, internal working drawings behind some of the firm’s most prominent projects.

Shannon will also discuss the importance and challenge of customized detailing, with examples from projects such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation campus in Seattle and the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

The P.H. Elwood Lecture in Landscape Architecture was established in 1997 to honor the legacy of Professor Philip H. Elwood, who is credited with developing the ISU Department of Landscape Architecture at Iowa State University.  The lecture series brings renowned professional practitioners to the Iowa State campus as guest lecturers each year.

Read More
Alex McCaySeattle, WA2018
JENNIFER GUTHRIE AND DAVID MALDA PRESENT AT WASLA
JENNIFER GUTHRIE AND DAVID MALDA PRESENT AT WASLA

March 16, 2018 - Jennifer Guthrie and David Malda presented "Resonate and Respond: How the New Landscape Declaration has Influenced Practice, Research, and Scholarship" with Dorothy Faris and Debra Guenther of Mithun and Peg Staeheli of MIG/SVR. The panel of former and current Landscape Architecture Foundation board members spoke Friday, March 16 as part of the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (WASLA) conference. 

The discussion is a "celebration of our profession's political, cultural and environmental resonance... [exploring the LAF's] New Landscape Declaration and its impact on the practice of landscape architecture." Learn more here. 

Read More
Alex McCaySeattle, WA2018
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE FEATURES A GGN PORTFOLIO
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE FEATURES A GGN PORTFOLIO

March 1, 2018 - The March 2018 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine features a portfolio of articles on GGN, in recognition of receiving the 2017 Landscape Architecture Firm Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.

“Drawn Together” by Jane Margolies discusses how “the pursuit of excellence is embedded in the culture of GGN. “

“The Streets Are Back” by Kim O’Connell explains how “CityCenterDC restores a historic downtown grid that had vanished for years beneath a convention center.”

“Promised Land” by Jennifer Reut explores how “GGN’s landscape for the National Museum of African American History and Culture is both leveling and welcoming.”

“Extended View” by Randy Gragg describes how “For the University of Washington’s Lower Rainier Vista, GGN finishes a job that John Charles Olmsted started.”

The cover image by photographer Kyle Johnson zooms in on the marked-up model of the Civic Park at Hemisfair.

 

Read More
Alex McCaySeattle, WA2018
GGN WINS TWO 2018 TUCKER DESIGN AWARDS
GGN WINS TWO 2018 TUCKER DESIGN AWARDS

March 9, 2018 - GGN is honored to have received two 2018 Tucker Design Awards, for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Park at CityCenterDC. The Building Stone Institute awards this recognition for “excellence in design through the incorporation and use of natural stone in building or landscape projects.”

GGN collaborated with two key partners to achieve this level of excellence, sourcing stone for the Museum’s north wall and benches from Coldspring and working with Rugo Stone on the installation at both projects. “Without their dedication, skill, and expertise we wouldn’t have anything to celebrate,” says Rodrigo Abela.

Read More
Alex McCaySan Antonio, TX2018
KATHRYN GUSTAFSON FEATURED LECTURER AT VASHON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
KATHRYN GUSTAFSON FEATURED LECTURER AT VASHON CENTER FOR THE ARTS

December 21, 2017 –  On December 17, Kathryn Gustafson presented “Shaping the Earth” as the featured lecturer for the 2017-2018 Arts and Humanities Lecture Series, at Vashon Center for the Arts, on Vashon Island, WA. Kathryn shared her early influences in art and design as well as inspiration and ideas behind many of her projects from her work with GGN and Gustafson Porter + Bowman.

Read More
Jillian StrobelVashon Island, WA2018
DRAWING IN DESIGN KICKOFF LECTURE AND WORKSHOP
DRAWING IN DESIGN KICKOFF LECTURE AND WORKSHOP

November 10, 2017 – "Drawing What You Can't See," with Shannon Nichol, Keith McPeters, and David Malda, kicks off the year-long "Drawing in Design: Exploring the Hand" lecture and workshop series that GGN launched and sponsors at the University of Washington College of Built Environments. The opening night lecture is at 5:30pm, November 17 at the University of Washington’s Gould Hall 322, Seattle, WA. The lecture is followed by a weekend workshop with registered UW architecture and landscape architecture students and design professionals that includes opportunities for discussions, exercises, and crits to explore the role of hand-drawing in design and development.

 “We’ve enjoyed working with the College of Built Environments and Dr. Thaisa Way to create a special workshop and lecture series at the University of Washington that focuses completely on drawing – not as rendering or an art form but as an essential design tool,” said Shannon Nichol. “The series’ guest designers come from a diverse range of fields but all use drawing – for most of them, hand-drawing – to create their design strategies and to thoroughly refine their work through to the fine detail. We are not focused in this series on renderings or on field sketching – not on those drawings that record things, however beautiful those recordings can be. We are focused on the internal, working drawings that make the new things that you can’t see yet but are charged with designing.”

Read More
Jillian StrobelSeattle, WA2018
RIKERRIOUS GETER ADDRESSED THE COUNCIL OF FELLOWS AT THE 2017 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING
RIKERRIOUS GETER ADDRESSED THE COUNCIL OF FELLOWS AT THE 2017 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING

October 30, 2017 – Rikerrious Geter of GGN addressed the Council of Fellows last week at the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo in Los Angeles. He spoke about the impact of receiving the Council of Fellows Scholarship and the effects it has had on his college and professional career. Rikerrious was a 2014 scholarship recipient.

The Council of Fellows Scholarship was established by the ASLA Council of Fellows in 2004 to aid outstanding students who would not otherwise have an opportunity to continue a professional degree program due to financial need; to increase the interest and participation of economically disadvantaged and under-represented populations in the study of landscape architecture; and enrich the profession of landscape architecture through a more diverse population. In addition to receiving $5,000, each recipient received a one-year student ASLA membership, general registration fees for the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO, and a travel stipend to attend the meeting.

Photo credit: EPNAC

Read More
Jillian StrobelLos Angeles, CA2017
SARA ZEWDE PRESENTS AT DUMBARTON OAKS
SARA ZEWDE PRESENTS AT DUMBARTON OAKS

October 27, 2017 – Sara Zewde presents “Ecologies of Memory” at “How Designers Think,” a colloquium held by the Garden and Landscape Studies program at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections. The colloquium will take place on November 3, 2017, 9:00am – 5:30pm, with the goal of bringing landscape architects and historians together to explore how urban environments got to be the way they are, and how best to manage them today. The colloquium provides the opportunity for our scholarly community to hear from a range of contemporary designers who are active in imagining better futures for our cities, and for the designers to engage with a historically informed audience.

Read More
Jillian StrobelWashington, DC2017
JENNIFER GUTHRIE CELEBRATES HER YEAR AS LAF PRESIDENT AND LAF’S NEW BOOK
JENNIFER GUTHRIE CELEBRATES HER YEAR AS LAF PRESIDENT AND LAF’S NEW BOOK

October 20, 2017 – Jennifer Guthrie celebrated the completion of her year as President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation with Barbara Deutsch (Executive Director), Adam Greenspan (President Elect), and over 600 LAF supporters. There, they rolled out LAF’s new book, “The New Landscape Declaration: A Call to Action for the Twenty-First Century,” which includes pivotal ideas and experiences from many of our world’s most pre-eminent practitioners, educators, innovators, and thinkers about landscape architecture and its role with issues of climate change, urbanization, management of vital resources, and global inequities.

Read More
Jillian StrobelLos Angeles, CA
GGN RECEIVES THE 2017 ASLA FIRM AWARD
GGN RECEIVES THE 2017 ASLA FIRM AWARD

October 23, 2017 – The American Society of Landscape Architects presented GGN with the Landscape Architecture Firm Award. This award is the highest honor the ASLA may bestow upon a landscape architecture firm in recognition of distinguished and influential work. The award was presented in Los Angeles.

The ASLA stated that "GGN was founded in 1999 by Jennifer Guthrie, FASLA, Shannon Nichol, FASLA, and Kathryn Gustafson, FASLA. As a collaborative firm deeply committed to the creation of landscapes that are beautiful, responsible, functional and innovative, GGN has produced a body of work that defines the best of the landscape architecture profession."

Speaking on behalf of the firm, Shannon Nichol said, “We are honored to receive the 2017 ASLA Landscape Architecture Firm Award. We are grateful to all of our clients, GGN team members, and collaborators who have helped us over the last 18 years to earn this special recognition.”  

Read More
Jillian StrobelSeattle, WA2017
GGN ANNOUNCES PROMOTION
GGN ANNOUNCES PROMOTION

October 11, 2017 – GGN is pleased to announce the promotion of Makie Suzuki from Associate to Senior Associate.

With her cross-cultural and multidisciplinary background, Makie Suzuki brings her strong commitment to a holistic approach and collaboration to the design process. She enjoys working on a variety of projects scales and creating cohesive, sustainable, and elegant design solutions.

Her continued involvement in academia contributes to creating progressive projects. At the University of Washington she instructs a seminar in Asian Urbanism.

Read More
Jillian StrobelSeattle, WA2017