Landscape architects shape the places where we live, work and play, from parks and neighborhoods to campuses and streetscapes, with a goal of strengthening communities through improved environmental and human health. The 31st annual Landscape Architecture Days lecture series, hosted by the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, will feature six presenters at the top of their field and explore a broad spectrum of current practices in landscape architecture.
“These lectures always have something of interest for everyone,” said Landscape Architecture Assistant Professor Scott Carman. “The profession is a unique blend of science, engineering, art, and sociology, and the presentations reflect that.”
Topics featured in past LA Days lectures include ecological restoration, finding inspiration in the creative design process, impacts of the built environment on global climate change, urban design, legacies of social and environmental injustice, and usage of AI technology in the design professions, to name just a few.
“I hope students will come away from these lectures with a better understanding of the breadth and depth of landscape architectural practice and the elements that make it such a remarkable profession,” Carman said.
Among the speakers featured is Kona Gray, a seasoned professional with over three decades of project experience spread across more than 30 countries. Gray is the President-elect of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a Principal of EDSA, a leading design firm with projects spanning six continents. In addition to his broad perspective of the profession’s momentum at the national and global scales, Gray is known for blending sensitivity with innovative design solutions to unite a client’s vision with his own vanguard designs to produce environments with emotional purpose and presence.
All lectures are held at 6 p.m. in either Natural Resources 113 or Behavioral Sciences Building A101. Find more information on the LA days lecture series webpage.
Dan Runzel & Nora Jacobs, Design Workshop
April 4 | 6 p.m. | Natural Resources 113
Dan Runzel: An alum of CSU, Dan Runzel’s passion for landscape architecture and planning stems from his influential life experiences in major cityscapes and the outdoors. Whether it is through analysis, drawing or detailing, Dan sees the beauty in all phases of a project. Read more.
Nora Jacobs: Nora’s passion for landscape architecture stems from a love of maps, ecological restoration, and all things play. Growing up with a family farm galvanized a strong connection to the land and a fascination with the way the spaces we inhabit shape us. Nora appreciates her work across different regions of the country and gaining familiarity with a new place through it’s landscape.
Chip Sullivan, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of California Berkely
April 11 | 6 p.m. | Natural Resources 113
Chip Sullivan is a landscape architect and artist who maintains a lifelong commitment to exploring the garden as a sustainable environment. He devotes his career to promoting landscape architecture as an art form. Chip has expounded on the meaning and perception of landscape through innovative forms of pedagogy, representational techniques, and writing. Read more.
Kona Gray, Principal of EDSA, President-elect of American Society of Landscape Architects
April 16 | 6 p.m. | Behavioral Sciences Building A101
Strong leadership and a sense of purpose are part of Kona Gray’s DNA. With experience in 30+ countries, his global management sense has positively shaped the outcomes of many award-winning assignments. He successfully integrates creativity and regional resources into functional environments that invigorate the imagination. Read more.
Jim Burnett, President, Office of James Burnett
April 23 | 6 p.m. | Behavioral Sciences Building A101
From the beginning of his professional practice, Jim Burnett has been keenly interested in the intersection of landscape and wellness, and the power of nature to profoundly change the way we experience the world. Jim was instrumental in using landscape to heighten the healthcare industry’s awareness of its critical importance in patient comfort and advancing patient rehabilitation and expediting patient recovery schedules. Read More.
Shane Coen, Founder and CEO, Coen+Partners
April 30 | 6 p.m. | Behavioral Sciences Building A101
Shane loves the moment an idea is formed. It may come from research, experience, visiting spaces or instinct. It is in that moment that Shane feels the magic of design. The rigorous and iterative process that follows is what he describes as the science of design. This unique individual and collaborative process has inspired Shane for the past 30 years. Read more.
The LA Days lecture series is co-organized by the CSU Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, ASCSU, and the American Society of Landscape Architects Colorado.
