KINGSTON, Sept. 14, 2017鈥擳wenty-five years ago, the 溏心vlog免费B站 launched a lecture series featuring landscape architects from the region.
Back then, speakers talked mostly about community design projects. The profession has evolved over the years, and so have the lectures.
Themes today involve issues with global reach鈥攃limate change, urbanism, environmental degradation, habitat loss and sustainability. And speakers live and work throughout the world.
鈥淭he role of landscape architects has changed dramatically,鈥� says William Green, creator of the series and a professor in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Landscape Architecture Department. 鈥淟andscape architects are solving the world鈥檚 problems. They understand engineering, architecture and planning, and are skilled at working with social scientists. Now their projects are big and complex.鈥�
The annual series will continue next month with a lecture Oct. 5 by Jared Sell, a 2012 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate who will discuss how he helps design Walt Disney theme parks, including Avatar World and Star Wars.
Free and open to the public, 鈥淲alt Disney Imagineering: Bringing Designs to Life鈥� will start at 7 p.m. in the Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences Center,聽140 Flagg Road on 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Kingston campus.
“The lecture series was a staple of my time at 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� says Sell. 鈥淚t has always been on the cutting edge, bringing in industry leaders and innovators. The series exposed me to the endless opportunities of landscape architecture. Having the chance now to be a part of the series allows alumni, such as myself, to show our pride and gratitude for 溏心vlog免费B站.”
Inspired by lectures he attended at Harvard when he was living in Cambridge, Mass., Green says he started the 溏心vlog免费B站 series to expose students to creative ideas from renowned landscape architects and alumni who鈥檝e made a mark in their profession.
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical,鈥� says Green, 鈥渇or students to see what is being planned and built by designers at the top of their field.鈥�
In the beginning, speakers focused on topics like how to create a Japanese garden or what to plant along highways. As worries mounted about climate change, the environment and a population shift to cities, the topics took on greater urgency, focusing instead on the revival of urban landscapes, connecting people to nature and preserving historic landscapes.
Green says his list of speakers is a 鈥渨ho鈥檚-who鈥� of landscape architects.
Speakers, some from as far away as Mexico and South Africa, have included Charles Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation; Brad McKee, editor of 鈥淟andscape Architecture Magazine;鈥� Patricia O鈥橠onnell, an expert in landscape preservation and founder and principal of Heritage Landscapes; Laurie Olin, whose Philadelphia firm designed the landscape at the Washington Monument; Julius Fabos, professor emeritus of the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of Massachusetts; and the late Ian McHarg, a world-famous landscape architect from Scotland.
溏心vlog免费B站 alumni have given talks, and speakers from colleges鈥擟ornell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, among others鈥攈ave also shared their expertise.
Speakers have enlightened audience members about everything from green urbanism and rooftop gardens to storm water control and landscape designs in hospitals that promote healing.
One speaker talked about the aesthetics of wind farms; another about how to manage and preserve cultural landscapes like public parks, farms, historic sites and cemeteries.
Controlling water quality during construction, designing landscapes for athletic facilities, helping small towns with sustainable design and smart growth, and preserving iconic cultural landscapes, like cemeteries, have also been popular.
Attendance has been excellent, says Green. Anywhere from 50 to 100 people鈥攕tudents, faculty and community members鈥攈ave attended each session. Students and the speaker often meet for dinner before the talk, giving students a chance to share their ideas and projects.
鈥淭his has been a 25-year labor of love for me,鈥� says Green. 鈥淭he series has evolved to address the important issues of our time. Landscape architecture has become an environmental profession that is about protecting and visualizing the future, here and throughout the world.鈥�
Other speakers in this year鈥檚 lecture series will be:
Oct. 26, John Amodeo, principal CRJA-IBI Group, Boston, Mass., on 鈥淭he Christian Science Plaza: Bringing an Iconic Mid-Century Urban Plaza into the Present.鈥�
Nov. 9, Eric Kramer, principal, Reed Hilderbrand, Watertown, Mass., on 鈥淚nnovation and Tradition in an Increasingly Complex World.鈥�
Nov. 30, Barbara Wilks, principal, W Architecture, New York, N.Y.
Dec. 7, Stephen Stimson, principal, Stimson Associates, Boston, Mass., on 鈥淲ildness.鈥�
March 8, Peter Trowbridge, principal, TWM, Ithaca, N.Y.
April 5, Signe Nielsen, principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, on 鈥淲aterproofing New York.鈥�
April 19, Mario Schjetnan, principal, Grupo Urbano, Mexico City, on 鈥淲orld Trends and Landscape Architecture.鈥�
April 26, Jamie Maslyn Larson, principal, Wagner Hodgson, Burlington, N.Y.
The series is co-sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts, the Rhode Island chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Gaetano and Pasqualina Faella Endowment, 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Business Administration, and 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design. Sell鈥檚 lecture is co-sponsored by 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Harrington School of Communication and Media, and Eric Kramer鈥檚 talk is co-sponsored by Victor Stanley, a landscape furnishing company.
For more information about the series, contact the 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Landscape Architecture at 401-874-2983 or Professor Green at wagre@uri.edu.