Design Idol | Thomas Woltz

Thomas Woltz and the Orongo Station Wetlands
The career of American landscape architect Thomas Woltz is coming into full bloom. He was recently named a Society of Landscape Architects fellow and has become highly recognized for his innovative ideas within the industry.

Woltz completed Masters degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia where he has also been a part-time faculty member since 2000. Woltz began working with Warren Byrd in 1997 and on 2004 became a full partner in what is now Nelson Byrd Woltz, a 30-person design practice with offices in NYC and Charlottesville, VA.

Woltz's projects range from private gardens and farmlands to urban landscapes and corporate campuses. One unique element of Woltz' work is his commitment to honoring people and place while creating forward-thinking environments. A passion for sustainability led him to launch the Conservation Agriculture Studio within his firm that connects design with sustainable agriculture, wildlife conservation, native plants, and systems thinking. Thomas serves on the Board of Directors of The Cultural Landscape Foundation and has been named to the 2011 ASLA Council of Fellows.

Design Idol - Landscape Architect Kongjian Yu

Internationally acclaimed landscape architect Dr. Kongjian Yu continues to set new standards for his industry by infusing his agrarian roots and culture into his breathtaking projects that combine the best of sustainable design with cutting-edge engineering. Yu's projects with his firm, Turenscape, range from small gardens to regional planning but they all include aspects of nature, man, and spirits as one. The Qinhuangdao Red Ribbon Park (pictured above) is just one such example which created a modern urban recreation opportunity while maintaining the ecological system that existed there prior to the project. Dr. Yu now teaches at Peking University and Harvard so we expect to see many more inspiring works from Dr. Yu, as well as his students for many generations to come.