Archives

Alumnus Kinder Baumgardner (BLA 1987) was named president of SWA Group in July 2014, after leading the SWA Houston office as managing principal since 2010. His recent work includes re-envisioning downtown Houston’s Interstate 45 corridor as a new public space, the urban design for Fort Wayne’s River District, and a city-scale waterfront in Dubai that will become the region’s new financial hub. Baumgardner is active in the Landscape Architecture Foundation and is a regular speaker at ASLA conferences.

Danos is the director of landscape architecture for Duplantis Design Group, PC, a multidisciplinary firm with four offices in Louisiana and offices in Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta. Previously, Danos worked in several alternative practices, including city government and a mid-size landscape architectural firm. He launched a micro-landscape architecture practice that evolved into a partnership practice, and he has taught as an adjunct instructor. He is a CLARB certified landscape architect, licensed in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. As an advocate for the advancement of landscape architecture, Danos has served on local committees to strengthen landscape and storm-water codes and is currently the landscape architect representative on Louisiana’s licensing board. In this role, he continues to educate and defend landscape architects’ right to practice. As ASLA vice president of government affairs, he was a speaker at state conferences on advocating for the profession at federal, state, and local levels.

Danos was elected as the 2016 president-elect by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Jim Burnett founded the Office of James Burnett in 1989 and has dedicated his career to creating meaningful spaces that challenge the conventional boundaries of landscape architecture. To date, Jim has garnered more than 50 state and national design awards for projects consistently cited for innovative design solutions.

Jim has taken a multi-disciplinary approach to his practice, often working closely with design teams of well-known architects, planners, artists, and other professionals, including doctors, scientists, and a diverse range of clients. In his work, ranging from corporate and educational campuses, park planning, resorts, healthcare campuses, and visionary projects, there has been a particularly strong focus on designing landscapes that promote healthy living.

His work and writings in healthcare design have been widely published and have changed the approach to creating healing environments, bringing the needs of the patients to the forefront of projects. Jim has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture LSU and has been a member of the LSU Design Circle since 2000. In 2004, Jim was named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the highest form of honorary recognition that the professional association can bestow upon one of its members.

Evan Mather is an independent filmmaker and landscape architect based in Los Angeles. His films explore issues of landscape, place, and memory and span multiple genres including animation, documentary, essay, music video, and film title design. A Graham Foundation recipient, Mather’s works have screened at Sundance, SXSW, the National Building Museum, and the McMurdo Station (Antarctica).

Barbara Austin, MLA ’86, is celebrating more than 20 years of tenure at RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, where she leads the firm’s Park Planning & Design practice and is a principal and vice president. Barbara was also recently honored with the Texas A&M University Leslie M. Reid Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding alumni who have gone on to achieve professional excellence. Barbara earned her Bachelor of Science in recreation and parks from Texas A&M in 1976 before going on to earn her MLA from LSU.

Robb Williamson (BLA 1992) is an Arizona-based commercial and editorial location photographer specializing in aviation, architecture and design, industry, panoramas, environmental portraits, and landscapes.

His work has appeared in numerous publications including Time Magazine, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Sierra, Colorado Architect, Land Development, Landscape Architect & Specifier News, USA Today, the Denver Post, and the Advocate. His commercial and advertising clients include Airport Terminal Services, AECOM, Chevo Studios, National Park Service, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, StandardAero, City of Aspen, Urban Farmer, McDugald Steele, and Gensler.

Robb produces panoramic images of the most unique landscapes in the world. He is sought-after to tie architecture with the land, provide life to outdoor spaces, document a day in the life of industry, and to show people in their natural environments. He is known for his skill as a storyteller through series of images and is particularly helpful with award submittals and annual reports.

Robb is celebrating three successful years in Arizona after two decades in Colorado and growing up under the bright lights of Houston, Texas. He joined the US Army while still in high school and served honorably in a combat engineering company. Following his graduation from LSU in 1992, he began dual careers in photojournalism and landscape architecture. Later, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and continued work with UPI and Reuters Newspictures before focusing his business on commercial location and advertising work. He lives in Mesa, Arizona.

Robb’s Portfolio