Landscape Architect & Specifier News

JAN 2018

LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.

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Above: Santa Fe Plaza: The historic plaza in Santa Fe is one of America's oldest public spaces. The renovation included pavement refurbishment, a new irrigation system, new tree plantings that supplement the existing specimens and provide for the long-term maintenance of the canopy, and electrical upgrades to meet code. The design carefully implemented system upgrades while maintaining the plaza's historic character. January 2018 29 his design goal is to help clients know what they like and don't like, and how all the pieces of a project fit together. "Landscape architecture is the art and science of designing the physical open space in a way that creates meaningful connections," Miller says. "And so the discipline of landscape architecture has a whole lot of things that overlap. There's this sort of McHargian model of layering of ecological influences. But there are so many more things that come with that. There's history and culture, social sciences, the evolving way that we interact with people in our communities, changes to the environment that are happening on an accelerated scale—all of those things come together. And what I learned in college was just the tip of the iceberg of what it takes to be a successful landscape architect." Miller said that in successful landscape design, there are three key connections. The first is connecting people to people. The second is connecting people to nature. The third is connecting natural systems. "There are many things that can clutter the process, so to simplify it to those three key connections helps you get through some of the noise that may be out there," he asserts. To stay inspired, Miller reads books about history, science, physics, culture and philosophy. A Love of Parks and Public Spaces Over his busy career, the projects that have meant the most to Miller have involved people, especially parks.

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