Michael Van Valkenburgh - Using Plants as a Design Medium

MHG Meetings

Sponsored By: Metro Hort Group

Michael Van Valkenburgh will reflect on using plants as a design medium, specifically focusing on the different collaborations and partnerships required at various stages of the planting design development process. These collaborations include brainstorming design ideas with colleagues at his office, discussing these ideas with clients, consulting nursery professionals when selecting the plant palette, working with the landscape contractor during construction, and finally, coordinating with the gardeners who will oversee the new landscape’s day-to-day maintenance and evolution over time. He will be joined on stage during the talk by someone from each of these stages. The MC for the evening will be T Fleisher, who has worked with Michael on various projects in a variety of capacities since they met during the design phase of Teardrop Park in the late 1990s. Michael will discuss the new Woodland Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Teardrop Park, among other projects.

As the head of Michael Van Valkenburg Associates, Michael is dedicated to the medium of landscape and its robust material expression is evident in MVVA’s diverse body of work, including gardens, museums, parks of all sizes, campuses, and urban design. Michael promotes collaboration, creativity, and the individual talents of his staff through his inclusive working style. He is the Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.