Member Profiles: The Residential Landscape Architecture Professional Practice Network—Part 1

This article is the 16th in a series profiling members of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs), based on responses to the 2008 Annual PPN Survey. The summary will be continued in the next edition of LAND Online.

The members of the Residential Landscape Architecture PPN are landscape architects and related professionals who share a common interest in the design of the residential landscape. This PPN, in addition to newsletters and the ASLA Annual Meeting, is where they can share knowledge and experiences about their practices.

Below, members of the PPN provide information about their practices, including recent achievements, activities, and challenges.

Michael S. Buschbacher, ASLA, is senior associate at Norris Design in Phoenix. One of the firm’s areas of focus is master planned communities.

Buschbacher thinks that landscape architects can be leaders in creating a sense of place in suburban communities. They have a responsibility to guide allied professions in making great the areas where people spend most of their time.

Buschbacher believes that the strong focus on key sustainability issues demonstrates that our efforts as a society are being truly realized. Efforts that speak to the landscape architects’ roles as stewards of the land include the strong movement to implement green building techniques, the increase in LEED projects and growth of the LEED ND movement, the national presence of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, and the focus on green roofs in many large cities.

Buschbacher also believes that most like-minded professionals understand the relationships between economy and ecology and the importance of realizing the full cost/impact of everything we do with the land. He considers this an exciting time to be a member of ASLA!

Trent Grantham, ASLA, is associate landscape architect at Jeffrey B. Glander & Associates, PLLC, in Olympia, Washington. The firm does both commercial and residential work.

Grantham notes that he spent most of his early professional career doing residential design/build projects. He remains very interested in residential landscape architecture, which is why he joined the Residential Landscape Architecture PPN.

Grantham believes that we are responsible for the health and welfare of our planet, as well as for our fellow humans. Among his concerns are irrigation design, which needs to incorporate water-saving features and be designed to minimize overspray and runoff; use of drought-tolerant plants to minimize the amount of water the plants need, but still keep the design exciting, colorful, and interesting; and caring for and improving the health of the soil to ensure that plants will thrive.

Charles T. Spinella, ASLA is a project manager at Landscape Design Concepts, LLC in, New York. His recent projects include a presentation of trail alignment proposals to stakeholders and residents of Rome, New York work on the Mohawk River Trail in Rome; and frequent presentations at planning board hearings and on behalf of residential clients. Spinella continues to produce high-end residential concept designs, planting plans, and stormwater management plans for Adirondack clients.

Richard R. Bergmann, ASLA, is both an architect and landscape architect at Richard Bergmann Architects inNew Canaan, Connecticut He prides himself on getting designs right. He enjoys working one on one with clients and incorporating their ideas and visions into a design. He also likes to find just the right native species of plants for a particular site and to understand the horticultural aspects of plants used in his designs.

Bergmann’s work has been featured in several periodicals, including Connecticut Home and Garden, House Beautiful, and Architectural Digest. He has also lectured to several organizations, including the New York Botanical Garden, the Herb Society, and the Silvermine Guild of Artists. In 2007, Bergmann won a Connecticut ASLA honor award in the built works/residential category for “A Woodland Garden.”

Bergmann studies landscape design throughout the world via travel and research and believes it is important to understand design over the thousands of years of history. He highlighted a recent trip to China, including visits to gardens in Bejing and Xi'an He found the gardens in Xi'an to be particularly striking. While they were not intended to be gardens but rather forecourts to the Great Mosque, the plants and hardscaping made them truly lovely gardens in their own right.

Kirsten F. Puskar, ASLA, Is principal and owner of Artichoke Design LLC in Ambler, Pennsylvania Ninety percent of her design business is for residential clients. Puskar notes that before she started the business last year, she worked mostly behind the scenes in offices or on smaller consultant projects while she was also employed as a residential realtor. Since starting the firm, she has been able to create wonderful landscape plans for dozens of clients. She has been interviewed by a few local home magazines regarding her work.

One specialty is designing outdoor kitchens that accommodate large parties and incorporate pergolas, fireplaces, pools, and bar areas. Puskar particularly enjoys projects that need to accommodate 30 to 50 guests. She studies the flow of people from their cars to the front door and out into the garden and creates views from the kitchen/great rooms to invite everyone outside. Another specialty is designing perennial borders with four seasons of color and interest, low- to no-maintenance plans, and green projects that include rain barrels, compost bins, and minimal lawn. She has also designed disguises for septic mounds. She has used a boulder wall that is back-planted with evergreen shrubs and colorful perennials. Finally, Puskar adds that she enjoys creating children’s play areas with bridges over dry creek beds and whimsical “ruins” to explore.

Kevin Shaffer, ASLA, is the founding member of KWS Design LLC and has an office studio in Denver and a home studio in Evergreen, Colorado. KWS Design specializes in residential landscape design, and Shaffer collaborates with other design professionals for a wealth of well-rounded design thought. His firm shows an environmentally conscious, artfully innovative, and cost-effective dedication to design solutions for all project types. Shaffer provides expertise in a wide range of services and specializes in construction detailing with an artful approach to every aspect of a project. He brings enthusiasm to problem solving, the design process, and on-site construction management and focuses on creating meaningful places that enhance the quality of the environment and provide dynamic settings for public and private life, work, and recreation. 

Jeffrey J. Mitchell, ASLA, is the owner of Jeff Mitchell, Landscape Architect inSherman, Illinois. He specializes in residential landscape architectural design and focuses on distinctive and innovative landscape design. He features plants that achieve energy conservation, snow-drifting diversions, and is not commonly found in other landscape designs.

Thomas C. Randall, ASLA, is a landscape architect at Perfect Lawns and Landworks inAustin, Texas. The firm designs master plans for high-end residences.

Randall enjoys keeping abreast of news and design ideas in the residential realm. He finds water features to be challenging and is always dealing with deer issues. He would be happy to learn about effective deterrents to protect landscapes from deer.

Stacilyn Feldman, Associate ASLA,is a landscape architect with Arentz Landscape Architects inWashington, D.C. Having a passion for focused site design, she became a member of the Residential Landscape Architecture PPN prior to working in the field and shortly thereafter pursued a new career to build upon her enthusiasm. Since joining the firm, Feldman has worked to create timeless landscapes with character and distinction in both urban and rural settings throughout theWashington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Richard A. Schneider, ASLA, is a landscape architect and office manager at Goldberg and Rodler Inc., with offices in both Huntington andSt. James, New York. Schneider specializes in the high-end residential market on Long Island where he is able to turn inspiring designs into reality.

The firm’s legacy is to educate the public in sustainable designs, green roofs, and the use of native plants. Schneider also believes that everyone should ask how a project will present itself in the winter months. 

Visit the Residential Landscape Architecture PPN website at http://www.asla.org/residential. For more information on ASLA's professional practice networks, visit the PPN home page at http://www.asla.org/PPNLanding.aspx, or contact Rachel Shaw, ASLA's Manager of Professional Practice, at rshaw@asla.org.