Kicking off 2023 with Purpose and Inspiration

One of the greatest joys of working in a landscape architecture studio is coming to work everyday with people who are curious explorers. People who see the world through a creative lens and are driven to make a difference. Because we design the fabric of our shared outdoor spaces, we are “wired” to be highly observant of the world around us. Whether we are out in nature, within the walls of a museum, or at a communal event, it is hard not to walk away with insights that inspire new ideas.

As we enter 2023, excited about what lays ahead, we wanted to share what is currently inspiring us, energizing us, and making us reflect on the world we live in and the work we do.

Ramsey Silberberg

“Winter is my favorite time of year because it is when I get to take my skate skis out of storage. The snow-blanketed landscape delivers a wealth of inspiration as I glide through the forests of our beloved Sierra Mountains. With almost 800 km of groomed nordic trails in the Tahoe region, the adventures are endless. You are guaranteed (whether you ski 5 or 50 km) to end the day fulfilled. While I am always excited to find new terrain, there are a handful of trails that are my favorites and I make sure to ski them every year. By returning year after year, I am struck by the changes to the landscape — both subtle and significant, slow and abrupt — that have occurred over the past two decades. Unfortunately, I have observed over the past few years a notable and more sudden decline in the health of the forests I ski through. Each ski reinvigorates my commitment to work harder to do my part to work towards a more ecologically sustainable future.”

Clockwise from top left: snow crystals and long shadows take center stage in Sterling Canyon, the rising solstice sun glows on Red Mountain from the Euer Valley, majestic views of the Royal Gorge from Point Mariah

Yufeng Xu

“Wandering around cities is my recent joy. It is now not surprising to see beautiful high-rises, gorgeous art features, and glamorous lighting in the streetscape. However, it is always fun to see how people are living with these new modern elements with their own wisdom of life. Farming can go beyond the planting boxes, and fences can be taken away for livestock. Beautiful streetscapes provides the bones, but it is the people that make the city alive. This keeps me thinking of the role of a landscape architect in providing city life with the needed activity spaces and how much intervention we should bring in.”

Scenes from Yufeng’s wanderings around Ji’nan and Shenzhen.

Katy Taylor

“For me the New Year means heading to the beach! Winter is one of my favorite times to be at the beach and my family has adopted the ritual of spending January 1 at the shoreline. Regardless of weather, the seashore is always a special place to be and provides something for everyone in our multi-generational group. Our most oft visited locale is Limantour Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Limantour offers up dramatic views and to be sure I enjoy those, but my favorite activity is what I think of as ‘treasure hunting’. I love finding the usual sorts of natural gems - crab shells and smooth rocks and the fun and funky bull kelp. I’ve also been known to lie face down sorting grains of sand by color, sinking into a micro world full of the same beauty and magic more obviously spotted in the grandeur of the horizon.

Sometimes our winter beach visits are blessed with bright sunshine and sometimes blessed with a strong buffeting from the wind - either way, it cleanses my spirit. I try to leave my treasures behind, but a remarkable amount of sand always makes its way into my pockets, a good reminder later about the wild lands out there and the next adventure that awaits.”

Views big and small from Katy’s New Years visit to Limantour Beach.

Hannah Chako

“I spent the holidays at my grandma’s house in the Santa Cruz mountains. A retired art professor and tireless gardener, she knows how to spin beauty out of anything – discarded objects, thrift store trinkets, even mass-produced junk from Amazon. Her home, called the “Naked Lady Ranch” for the bands of Amaryllis that wind through the backyard, is an intricate expression of her creative energy and has enchanted me for as long as I can remember. The garden has been neglected recently due to an injury, but is no less stunning. I love this picture from Christmas day of found objects with the mature cactus and a blanket Oxalis covering everything.”

Sarita Govani

“I love sponging up trends and culture in our ever-changing world through shards of media as well simply stepping out and watching and engaging with strangers. One of the current cultural trends that I’m appreciating is the exposure and commentary of our classist society. With series/movies like White Lotus or The Menu we see expressions of resentment, rebellion, humiliation, and maybe hints of reconciliation around the line between “us and them.” As we attempt to erode this line, we have become less formal, whether in food, fashion, media, home decor, etc. The hope is that the more we strip away layers of elitism, the more we can get to an equitable social realm, which is inspiring as we design for public (or semi-public) spaces.”

Chengyu Ke

“I have been fascinated by the view of the landscape during plane take-off and landing. It gives me a feeling of the sublime: tiny and huge at once - we're subtle in front of the big nature. I always think about the relationships between us and nature and how as landscape architects, we design the built environment to reshape that relationship.”