Launch: A Mid-leap Conversation with New Firm Founders2015 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, SUN-B10, NOVEMBER 08, 2:30-4:00 PM

SUMMARY:

The thrills and terrors of launching firms are rarely discussed candidly and are quickly forgotten once firms become more established. This panel assembles founders of three promising partnerships less than five years old for a frank discussion of current challenges and successes in the competitive arena of public-realm design.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. Learn steps practitioners are taking to establish and grow successful new firms.

2. Understand the personal challenges and opportunities within young firms.

3. Gain insight into specific work experiences prior to launch that have proven valuable.

4. Compare and contrast differing strategies for success.

TOPICS:

1. Taking the Plunge - on the initial steps involved in launching the firms.

2. Joining Forces - on the role of partnership in firm establishment.

3. Being the Boss - on adjusting to the roles of boss and owner.

4. Strengthening Your Voice - on articulating firm and personal vision.

5. Building Momentum - on pacing and managing growth.

RAFT partners Matt Donham and Rebecca Hill visiting a recent project.

Oxbow Partners David Gregory and John Young in the Studio.

CMG partners, from left to right : Scott Cataffa, Kevin Conger, Chris Guillard, and Willett Moss.

SITELAB team learning about new projects over lunch.

Launch: A Mid-leap Conversation with New Firm Founders2015 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, SUN-B10, NOVEMBER 08, 2:30-4:00 PM

Matt Donham, ASLAIn 2012, Matt launched Brooklyn-based RAFT, a collaborative partnership that guides clients to discover unexpected ecological, social, and financial value within discreet landscapes. Recent projects include Queens Boulevard with New York City Department of Transportation, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum with Walter Hood and Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, and Heroic Food Farm with Ennead Architects.

Matt has taught at Rhode Island School of Design and lectured widely on his work on the National 9/11 Memorial. Matt holds a Masters of Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Vassar College.

RAFT Landscape Architecture, D.P.CLAUNCHED: May 2012

FIRST PROJECT: Jeff Koons’s Split-Rocker

CURRENT SIZE: 2 Full-time, 1-3 Part-time

IN A NUTSHELL: RAFT builds landscapes that make a difference.

CLIENTS/SUPPORTERS: Architectural League of New York Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Diller, Scofidio + Renfro Ennead Architects Gipsy Trail Club Glenstone Foundation Gagosian Gallery Heroic Food Hood Design Jeff Koons Studio New York City Department of Transportation New York Landmarks Conservancy New York State Council on the Arts New York University Public Art Fund Sandy Ground Historical Society Thomas Phifer and Partners Whitney Museum of American Art 82nd Street Business Improvement District

Opening Day at Glenstone Split-Rocker, June 2013

The oval at Highlands Camp, July 2015

Building the Rockery at the Cooper Hewitt, June 2015

Rendering of the Meadow at Heroic Food Farm

Launch: A Mid-leap Conversation with New Firm Founders2015 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, SUN-B10, NOVEMBER 08, 2:30-4:00 PM

Laura CrescimanoLaura is Principal and cofounder of SITELAB urban studio, a San Francisco-based strategic design firm focused on using research and visualization to create great places through big plans and small interventions. SITELAB’s work operates at the intersection of analysis and inspiration.

Laura’s projects range from the Kendall Square Public Realm Plan for Cambridge, MA to Pier 70, a 28-acre acre mixed-use development on San Francisco’s waterfront. She has written and lectured on temporary urbanism, design entrepreneurism and public space. She currently teaches on Design and Activism at UC Berkeley. Laura earned her Masters of Architecture from Harvard.

SITELAB Urban StudioLAUNCHED: July 2012

FIRST PROJECT: 5M Project

CURRENT SIZE: 6 Full-time

IN A NUTSHELL: SITELAB urban studio is committed to making urban places that tell endless stories.

CLIENTS/SUPPORTERS: AECOM BKF Engineers Community Solutions County of Napa David Baker Architects Destination Home Drexel University EHDD Fehr & Peers Forest City Grimshaw Architects Intersection for the Arts James Corner Field Operations KPF Associates Land Collective Lennar Nelson/Nygaard Consultants Port of San Francisco Portola Urban Greening Committee RAMSA RHAA RWDI Strada Investment Group Tom Leader Studio West 8

Rendering of an active alleyway for the 5M Project

Urban Air Market outreach at Pier 70, Fall 2013

Connect Kendall Square competition, Spring 2015

Portola Green Plan site tour, Fall 2014

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MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE

VASSAR STREET

MEMORIAL DRIVE

BINNEY STREET INFINITE FIELD

CYPRESS GROVE

NEW BINNEY STREET

THE JUNCTION

THE TEMPLE TO THE GALAXY

THE GREAT MARSH

COMMON + CANAL

AMPHITHEATER

PARKLET

VIEWING PLATFORM

BAND BARGE

HARVEST FEAST

PICNIC AREA

FILM FEST

CAMPING

ASTROMONY CLUB

WARMING HUT

BIRDING WALKS

LAND BRIDGE

MARSH CAFE

BOATING DOCK

CYCLE SUNDAYS

BIKE POP-UPFOOD TRUCKS

CONTAINER POP-UP

BOCCE BALL

TETHERBALL

GUEST CHEF CAFEFLOATING POOL

LEARNING LAB

LE CORDON BLEU COLLEGE OF CULINARY ARTS

FOUNDRY BUILDING

COSTA PARK

MIT SLOAN

WATER VIEW

MIT MEDIA LAB

MIT LIST

STATA CENTER

LAND TRUST OFFICE

LOUGHNEY WALKWAY

MIT

FUTURE RAIL

HUNGRY MOTHER

AREA IV CAFEBROAD CANAL

MORGAN PARK

AREA IV YOUTH CENTER

FLETCHER MAYNARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER

MIT MUSEUM

DANTE ALIGHIERI SOCIETY

CAMBRIDGE BREWING

DONNELLY FIELD

NEW DEAL

THE KING OPEN SCHOOL

PORTUGALIA

PUGS

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2ND STREET CAFE

THE GALLERIA

AHEARN FIELDLANDMARK THEATER

MULTI-CULTURAL ARTS CENTER

TOWN x GOWN x TECH

AREA IV CLUB HOUSE

PAVILION

Launch: A Mid-leap Conversation with New Firm Founders2015 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, SUN-B10, NOVEMBER 08, 2:30-4:00 PM

David G. Gregory Jr., ASLA

Founded in 2010 by David Gregory, Oxbow Design Collaborative is a multi-dis-ciplinary design practice located in Denver, Colorado that is focused in the areas of site planning, environmental design, and landscape architecture for a diverse range of clients across the public and private sectors. In 2014, the firm added John Young as a partner following a successful collaboration on a large urban park where a mutual approach to practice and design was discovered.

Our interest is focused on a systems approach to design that engages the community as well as the processes inherent and unique to the site. Current projects include an urban park in downtown San Diego, planning and urban design for a large T.O.D. project in Denver, and design of public plaza on Broad-way in Denver, Colorado.

David is a licensed Landscape Architect in Colorado and holds a Masters of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning from The University of Colora-do’s School of Architecture and Planning.

Oxbow Design CollaborativeLAUNCHED: June 2014

FIRST PROJECT: Boulder Residence

CURRENT SIZE: 2 Full-Time

IN A NUTSHELL: Oxbow loves to design and build beautiful, functional landscapes.

CLIENTS/SUPPORTERS: University of Denver Trailbreak Partners Aurora Water T.O.D. Properties City of Lakewood The Kentro Group John Portman Associates Denver Water Wonderland Homes Collins Engineers

Boulder Residence, August 2014

Boulder Residence Under Construction, July 2015

Lane Field South Park San Diego Context Diagram, September 2015

Sheridan Station Denver T.O.D. Project, October 2015

Launch: A Mid-leap Conversation with New Firm Founders2015 ASLA ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, SUN-B10, NOVEMBER 08, 2:30-4:00 PM

Crack Garden

Treasure Island

Mint Plaza

SFMOMA Rooftfop Sculpture Garden

CMG is a mission oriented studio working to increase social and ecological wellbeing through artful design. CMG works on a wide range of initiatives, project scales and types, with the philosophy that all of our work accrues as the single overarching project of improving communities. With utility and aesthetics as drivers, CMG creates urban landscapes that explore the democracy of public space and ecological function.

MODERATOR:

Kevin Conger, FASLA

Kevin has served as President and CEO of CMG Landscape Architecture, which started initially with 3 partners and over 15 years has grown to a staff of 35 working on a variety of projects. Through that time, the firm and projects have received numerous national awards, weathered recessions, and navigated issues of growth, management, and leadership.

Kevin was recently awarded a Seed Fund Fellowship for his commitment to more vibrant, democratic space in San Francisco, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

CMG Landscape ArchitectureLAUNCHED: 2000

FIRST PROJECT: Crack Garden CURRENT SIZE: 38

IN A NUTSHELL:

CLIENTS/SUPPORTERS: Annenberg Trust at Sunnylands Bay Meadows Land Company City and County of San Francisco City Slicker Farms Facebook Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Lennar Urban Marin Country Day School National Parks Service Neighborhood Parks Council Pfau Long Architecture SPUR Urban Center SMWM Steinberg Architects The Presidio Trust Treasure Island Community Development University of California, Berkeley Wilson Meany Yerba Buena Community Benefit District