Chicago, IL
Trustees of Graceland Cemetery
Wolff Landscape Architecture
As a landscape designer under the supervision of Ted Wolff of Wolff Landscape Architecture, I prepared restoration plans and plant materials lists for the Ridgeland Section O and Kranz lot at Graceland Cemetery. These are historic areas of the cemetery which were originally designed under the supervision of landscape architect Ossian Simonds who championed the use of native Midwest plant communities and was a predecessor of the Prairie School. To accomplish this restoration, we relied on site surveys, the overlaying of historic planting plans from the Cemetery’s archives, and research on plant materials to construct plans which would restructure the plantings to reflect the dynamic interactions originally envisioned. The project was completed on time and within budget in 1996. Graceland Cemetery received an Illinois Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award in 2001.
Chicago, IL
Chicago Department of Transportation
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Wolff Landscape Architecture
As a landscape designer under the supervision of Ted Wolff at Wolff Landscape Architecture, I prepared conceptual plans, working drawings, and planting material lists for the raised planters with metal railings mounted on granite curbs. These planters were strategically sited along the sidewalks of the former pedestrian mall which was reopened to vehicular traffic. The planting concept was to provide long beds of soil to sustain large, six-inch caliper shade trees with a mix of salt tolerant shrubs, perennials, and colorful annuals planted below. The project was completed on time and within budget in 1996.
Chicago, IL
Chicago Gateway Green Committee
City of Chicago
Illinois Department of Transportation
Wolff Landscape Architecture
As a landscape designer under the supervision of Ted Wolff of Wolff Landscape Architecture, I prepared the conceptual plans as well as the working drawings, and assisted in overseeing the installation of the Don Deporter Gateway Project at the intersection of Ohio, Ontario, and Orleans streets where the entry ramps for the Kennedy Expressway enter the city. The design program included safely relocating the sculpture “Being Born” by Chicago artist, Virginio Ferrari. Around the sculpture, concentric circles of different plantings were designed to complement the circular forms of the sculpture and the intended function of the site to act as a visual gateway to the city. The bands of plantings include junipers at the base of the sculpture, backed by a large swathe of mixed perennials, including daylilies, black-eyed Susan, Shasta daisies, coreopsis, and yarrow. The perennials are edged with another ring of junipers; backed by a planting of Meidiland roses. Existing Austrian pines were filled out with additional large-scale specimens to create a strong, arcing backdrop for the sculpture and the three flagpoles which were added behind it. The planting was irrigated and has withstood well the environmental extremes to which is subjected as a small oasis at a busy traffic intersection. The project was able to be conceived and completed in an extremely tight time frame in order to be ready for the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago. In 1997 a memorial was added to honor Mr. DePorter who was the founder of the Chicago Gateway Green Committee.
Downers Grove, IL
In 2015, I was asked to prepare a landscape plan for the Mitchell Family who reside in Downers Grove, IL. The home is sited on hilltop land that once comprised the farm of Pierce Downer for whom the town is named and whose home, a block away, was a stop on the Underground Railroad. On the southern edge of the property are several mature swamp oaks and shagbark hickory trees and along the eastern edge of the property is a low-lying area where a stream once ran. The family wished to have a plan developed which emphasizes the use of sustainable design. Some of the ideas proposed included permeable pavement, a compost tumbling court, and a plant palette which emphasizes native perennials tailored to the differing light and soil moisture conditions across the site. The plan remains unrealized.
Downers Grove, IL
Chicago, IL
Lincolnshire, IL