- Design Workshop
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Design Workshop is an international landscape architecture, land planning, urban design and strategic services firm that began in 1969.[1] The firm was named ASLA's Firm of the Year[2] in 2008 for its work in new communities, urban centers, resorts, public parks, golf courses and residences. The firm's philosophy challenges staff and their clients to equally merge artistic vision, environmental sensitivity, community values and sound economics to create unique places that stand the test of time. They refer to this approach as DW Legacy Design.[3] The firm has offices in Asheville, North Carolina; Aspen, Colorado; Austin, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Salt Lake City, Utah.[4]
Design Worksop has collaborated with Utah State University to be the first landscape architecture firm to offer a collection of its project records for use by students, landscape architects, environmental planners and anyone studying the history and development of the 20th-Century West.[5]
Contents
History
Design Workshop was founded in 1969 by Don Ensign and Joe A. Porter - friends and college professors who resolved to someday start their own landscape architecture firm. They assisted private-sector clients, often engaging colleagues and students in a collaborative process they labeled “design workshops.”
Their early assignments, marrying the idealism of academia with development realities, started their small professional practice. A few years later the founders relocated the firm to Aspen[6] and quickly became known for solving the complex problems found in fragile ecosystems and the development challenges of the western landscape.[7]
Over 40 years later, Design Workshop's services have expanded to include master plans for counties, planned communities, urban centers and resorts as well as detailed design for public parks, residences and roadways. It is known for its collaborative dynamics of the workshops and the pursuit of the ideas and ideals that result in the best solutions for every assignment. This approach remains the hallmark of the firm.[8]
Philosophy and Process
One of the defining characteristics of its practice is DW Legacy Design, which is a collaborative and comprehensive approach that balances the traditional elements of landscape architecture (art and environment) with economics and community.[9] These four values broaden the more traditional concept of triple bottom-line accounting by including art or aesthetics as essential to human meaning.
The firm's philosophy acknowledges the temporal character of design and the idea that such work should endure and sustain itself over a long period of time. The idea is symbolized by four overlapping circles, one for each element. The center of these rings, where the four are in balance, is the ideal profile for a project. If the work begins with a heavy emphasis on one element, the process seeks to move it as close to the center as possible. They believe that projects that achieve this harmony are enduring places that make a difference for clients, society and the well being of the planet and leave a legacy for future generations.[10]
Mission
Design Workshop's mission is to design landscapes of extraordinary quality that create a legacy for future generations.[11]
Notable Projects
Some of Design Workshop's most note-worthy projects include:
Aspen Downtown Enhancement and Pedestrian Plan - Aspen, Colorado
Daybreak Community - South Jordan, Utah
The Glacier Club at Tamarron [12]- Durango, Colorado
Kananaskis Village - Alberta, Canada
Kierland Commons - Phoenix, Arizona
Rancho Viejo - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Riverfront Park [13] - Denver, Colorado
Whistler Blackcomb - Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Whistler Comprehensive Sustainability Plan - Whistler, British ColumbiaSources
- ^ http://www.thecoveatcelomountain.com/community/team/
- ^ http://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=14564
- ^ http://www.designworkshop.com/dw-legacy-design.html
- ^ http://www.e-architect.co.uk/america/utah_museum_natural_history.htm
- ^ http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=43179
- ^ http://www.asla.org/awards/2008/medals/nominees/DesignWorkshop/History.pdf
- ^ Toward Legacy, Grayson Publishing ISBN 0974963267
- ^ Toward Legacy, Grayson Publishing ISBN 0974963267
- ^ http://www.e-architect.co.uk/america/utah_museum_natural_history.htm
- ^ http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek08/0314/0314p_legacy.cfm
- ^ http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek08/0314/0314p_legacy.cfm
- ^ "Golf - Courses". Glacier Club. 1999-01-01. http://theglacierclub.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=37. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ http://www.designworkshop.com/documents/RiverfrontPark_Korea_March202008sm.pdf
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