The Failures and Feats of a Leading Landscape Architect

Recent recipient of the ASLA's Gold Medal, landscape architect Laurie Olin shares some interesting opinions on his distinguished career, landscape urbanism, and the state of public space.

2 minute read

June 21, 2012, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


In a conversation with AN West Coast editor Sam Lubell, Olin shares his insights on the changing role of landscape architects in the creation of urban environments:

"In the last decade or so, many architects have become deeply engaged in ecology and energy and systems-the way landscape architects have always been, which is good and healthy and proper. And so we now realize cities aren't just architecture. For a long time people tried to solve something called urban design. Some people tried to make urban design a discipline. We in landscape architecture would argue that urban design isn't a discipline, it's an activity that lots of disciplines do together. It's ensemble work. None of us can control it and none of us can do it all."

On the importance of cities and streets:

"...learning how to make cities rich and fecund and great places to be so we're comfortable and healthy and happy is the biggest problem we face. The only way we'll not go crazy is to build beautiful, rich, life-enhancing cities....The majority of open spaces in cities are streets. That means the street system is too important to leave to transportation engineers. They're way too important to leave to just moving traffic. So I'm interested in cities because they are the design problem for a habitable planet."

On the failure of Pershing Square in Los Angeles:

"When Ricardo Legorretta and I did Pershing Square, which everybody hates now, we gambled on the fact that Anglos would come down from the towers and Hispanics would come over, and of course they haven't. The citizens group that was the client collapsed and went away. One of the biggest disappointments of my life was our thinking that we knew what we were doing in that situation and we didn't."

Friday, June 15, 2012 in The Architect's Newspaper

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Man sitting on bench sillhouetted against golden hour trees in tranquil park.

‘Smart Surfaces’ Policy Guide Offers Advice for Building and Maintaining Urban Tree Canopies

Healthy, robust tree canopies can reduce the impacts of extreme heat and improve air quality.

30 minutes ago - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial view of gold-covered New Jersey state capitol dome in Trenton, New Jersey at dusk.

New Jersey Lawsuit Targets Rent-Setting Algorithms

The state of New Jersey is taking legal action against landlords and companies that engage in what the state’s Attorney General alleges is illegal rent fixing.

1 hour ago - New Jersey Monitor

View of Washington state capitol dome in Olympia, Washington at golden hour.

Washington Legislature Passes Rent Increase Cap

A bill that caps rent increases at 7 percent plus inflation is headed to the governor’s desk.

April 29 - Washington State Standard