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The Future of the Public Realm

THUR-C11: Embracing Regionalism: Place-specific Design for Public Landscapes

Thursday, September 17, 2026
2:15 PM - 3:30 PM PT
1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Regionally focused practices are rooted in the places landscape architects call home. This session explores how three firms are putting regionalism into practice through case studies from the Mountain West, West Coast, and Middle America — examining designs shaped by local context, including ecology, materiality, partnerships, and history.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Integrate local and regional references into landscape design—including local culture, values, and history—to establish a regionally committed practice.
  • Demonstrate how a regional approach shows up in a diversity of project types including public gardens and plazas, civic landscapes and publicly accessible privately owned spaces.
  • Evaluate how a regionally situated approach can reduce climate and energy impacts and create more ecologically regenerative, public-facing landscapes.
  • Develop planting and material palettes that reflect the aesthetic vernacular of each region and identify local partners for sourcing, construction, and maintenance.