Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Occupation: Landscape architects.
Instagram: @sdisf
Home Town:
James: Los Angeles, CA / Roderick: San Francisco, CA.
Studio Location: San Francisco, California.
Describe what you make: We design landscapes for private residences, cultural institutions, civic spaces, and the communities where we live and work.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: The most important thing we’ve built is our portfolio. Landscape architecture is a challenging profession for many reasons, one of which is that it takes years for projects to mature to the point where they are photographable, and continue to evolve over time. The early years were focused on working on a remarkable array of projects, including the landscape for the New Zealand International Airport, the Museum of Steel in Monterrey, Mexico, and Land’s End just north of Golden Gate Park. As our team has continued to grow and our portfolio of project types has expanded, it has been incredible to see how our designs have evolved and transformed in subsequent years.
Describe the problem your work solves: Our objective is to design landscapes that are beautiful, surprising, and durable. We are always pushing back against what is possible and the limiting assumptions of the profession through the designs we propose and the forms we craft. We enjoy taking this upon ourselves and demonstrate how beautifully designed landscapes are possible across a wide range of geographies and project types. We strive to find beauty in what might not be traditionally perceived as beautiful, but we believe it’s there.
Share the project you are working on now: We are working on a range of projects in places with extreme climates. We have several projects in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree that are exploring the ecology and beauty of the desert, but through the lens of scarcity of water and climate change. Last year, we taught a studio at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design about fire and its impact on the landscape, so we are always thinking about the uncontrollable elements that impact our work and approach. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we currently have a few projects in Hawaii where our landscapes are responding to the cultural narratives and geographic singularities of these sites
What you absolutely have to have in your studio: The people who comprise our studio. Each team member brings their own special skills, personal interests, and energy to the office and projects, and it’s these singular perspectives and passions that inform our work. We also could not live without our view of the Bay and the sea lions that you can see from the studio, even the bathroom.
What you do when you’re not working: We travel all over the world, primarily to see gardens both new and historic. It’s been an incredible source of inspiration and curiosity for us to explore these sites as designers, but it’s also a great way to orient ourselves in a new city to understand its gardens and public parks. We are also big lovers of art. A few years ago, while we were reading Caravaggio’s biography, we traveled across Italy and Europe to see the works that remain on public view in churches and museums.
Sources of creative envy (dead or alive): Cedric Morris.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Traffic engineers.
Concrete or marble? Both.
High-Rise Or Townhouse? Poolhouse.
Dark Or Light?
James: Dark.
Roderick: Light.
