Joni Hammons Named the 2024-25 Marie Bickham Chair
Joni Hammons, PLA, has been named the 2024-25 Marie Bickham Chair in Landscape Architecture of the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. She is currently the undergraduate coordinator of the school, teaching and working with landscape architecture students.
Hammons is a landscape architect whose practice centers on making quality planning and design services accessible to under-resourced communities. Her work is rooted in the American South and seeks to generate environmental, social, and economic benefits through landscape interventions. A focus on resilience planning and climate adaptation is woven throughout her work, and she has led the development of climate adaptation resources and decision support tools at the community and state scales. She has previously held positions in the private and non-profit sectors and brings a collaborative spirit to her role as faculty.
“I enjoy the creative license of the design studio–guiding the students through projects that stretch their understanding of landscape architecture and ask them to think critically about their impact as designers,” she said. “It has also been a pleasure getting to know current and prospective students in my role as Undergraduate Coordinator!”
This semester she is teaching a third year undergraduate (BLA) landscape architecture studio that’s focused on community design. The students are developing a master plan to transform a 13-acre vacant rice mill property in Abbeville, Louisiana into a vibrant community hub. This project introduces the students to complex design challenges like meeting current and future community needs, interpreting historic resources, and building connections to regional assets, she said.
“I am also co-teaching a capstone studio for our fifth year undergraduate landscape architecture students—the final studio in the curriculum that allows students to pursue a project of their own design. The capstone studio has been a fun challenge as there is such a wide range in the scope, scale, and interest of the projects selected by the students.”
Hammons holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy and a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from Louisiana State University, where she received an ASLA Certificate of Honor, was named a University Olmsted Scholar, was awarded the Dean’s Medal, and was the inaugural Chair of the National Student Advisory Committee to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
Learn more about the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.