Pragmatic Visions

In this time of constant change, we understand that the needs of our employees, clients, and collaborative partners are evolving. Heth Kendrick, PLA believes that in order to be the best leader we can be, we must first listen and then adapt. He is a champion for embracing change, regardless of how challenging it may seem at first, and that change will ultimately increase innovation in our practice, uncover forward-thinking solutions for our clients, and elevate the way we work together. Listen in as Heth shares his futuristic outlook on the positive impact the pandemic will have on our culture, practice, and client experience.

The impact of design reaches far beyond the built environment, deeply affecting the emotional and physical well-being of communities, especially those that have experienced discrimination and disinvestment. Stephanie Pankiewicz, PLA believes it is the responsibility of designers to educate themselves on policy and development patterns that have embedded inequality in our communities. Following that education is the ability to listen so that design may serve the ultimate purpose of unifying people and celebrating culture. Listen in as Stephanie shares her experience working on projects where she leads by listening and how designers can integrate this approach into every project they work on.

There’s immense value in understanding what has been done in the past to make better design decisions for the future. Jason Granado and Paula Narvaez are brainstorming a way to capture projects, from LandDesign’s portfolio and projects nationally, to create a database that would allow designers to search for precedent projects or get deep into the design details. Listen in as Jason and Paula share their MatterLab experience and how each of their projects create an easier, efficient way to find places that matter.

Increased demand for multi-family development in urban settings is challenging designers to push the envelope of amenity design. With resort-style pools and dog parks setting the standard, Nataliya Gurina believes there is a way to better connect residents with their natural environment and researched the value of community gardens in urban multi-family developments. Listen in as Nataliya shares her MatterLab experience and the value of communal gardens in creating community.

Resiliency has quickly become an industry buzzword, even more so since the start of COVID-19, challenging designers to take a close look at the impact of the places we create. Motivated by her dedication to resilient design, Megan Schultz turned her passion into practice by creating an accessible resource library for LandDesigners looking to learn about resiliency and sustainability. Listen in as Megan shares her MatterLab and her mission to engineer a positive impact on our environment.