OLIN PLACEMAKING

OLIN PLACEMAKING With increased attention to sustainability andenvironmental concerns, landscape architects now lead teams of urbanplanners and architects in developing new outdoor space and reconfiguringexisting designs. As the preeminent landscape architecture firm in theUnited States, Olin is at the forefront of this movement with completedprojects across the country and in Europe. The firm was awarded the goldmedal of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the profession'shighest honor, in 2006. Well-known for the restorations of Bryant Parkbehind the New York Public Library and the landscape of the WashingtonMonument, Olin is also recognized for the dramatic transformation of aderelict, brownfield site into the vibrant Canary Wharf, now the financialcenter for all Europe, and for the landscape design of the J. Paul GettyCenter in Los Angeles and Columbus Circle in New York. The firm has alsodesigned sculpture gardens for the National Gallery of Art in Washington,D.C., and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. In dialogues withnoted colleagues and collaborators, each of the partners articulates apersonal vision and philosophy of landscape and design. Laurie Olin,founding partner, speaks with the poet Michael Palmer, while Susan Weilerreflects on her collaboration with artist Jenny Holzer. Other dialogueparticipants are Kim Tripp, former director of the New York BotanicalGarden; Niall Kirkwood, chair of the landscape architecture department atHarvard; Sean Timmons, founder of Simmons Design Engineering; and CharlesWaldheim, a leading proponent of landscape urbanism. Taken together, theseconversations provide a unique window into the creative process.