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Women in the Dirt
Project Statement Women in the Dirt: Landscape Architects Shaping California is a documentary film based on interviews with seven of the most talented female designers in California today. The purpose of the film is to promote the profession of landscape architecture while demonstrating the wide variety of work done by these women; from private gardens and large public projects, to political involvement resulting in changes of public policy, these women are shaping California.
The Concept Seven of the most talented female designers in California will be introduced in this film. They are all award winning landscape architects with remarkable reputations. Examples of their work will show that beyond the square of lawn and concrete in the suburban sprawl, a new landscape approach being adopted. It is graceful, elegant and smart. When landscape designers create gardens that are beautiful, as well as sustainable, the result is a general sense of well-being for all those who experience such work. This film has three intended purposes. The first is to examine the role of women in landscape architecture in California; the second is to promote the profession of landscape architecture through film and to show design methods that are not only beautiful, but sustainable; the third is to educate the general public about alternatives in landscape design. The role of Women in Landscape architecture has changed many times throughout history, and in fact dates back to the 1800’s. Women have gone back and forth between the forefront and the background of the profession. In California in particular, Beatrix Farrand ( the only woman among 10 men
who began the American Society of Landscape Architects), contributed a substantial amount of money to Berkeley’s landscape architecture program making it the university with largest endowment for that field in the country. Women have affected this profession in many different ways, though their contributions have not always been so widely accepted, or easily visible as they are today.
When it comes to explaining what a landscape architect does, nobody says it better than Peter Walker. “You take the land, and you take the things on it, and the spaces they form, and you rearrange them, and you make them healthy, efficient, beautiful, and that’s your purpose. You are essentially dealing with all of those things, and the thing that makes them a little weird is that they are outdoors, and they are rained on, and snowed on, so you can’t fix them the way you can fix a piece of architecture. And then the other side which is even more weird, and that is that things are growing..… so you’re trying to compose this stuff which is in-flight and you have to think about that, and to some extent abstract that, because you have to say okay, what’s it going to look like when it’s three(3) years old, what’s it going to look like when it’s five (5) years old, what’s it going to look like when it’s twenty-five (25) years old, what’s it going to look like when it’s fifty (50) years old.”
The California landscape comes with a history of man’s intervention. People from all corners of the globe have moved to California bringing with them cultural traditions, food, agricultural methods, plant materials and landscape styles. This climate is vastly different from the rest of North America and the native plants have adapted to California’s conditions. They blossom green with winter rains and conserve their energy by hunkering down for the long hot, dry season, because of this, in the spring, California becomes color.
Landscape Architects Shaping California
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Women in the Dirt
The irony then becomes people, many moving from the East Coast with rainy summers wanting the plants and planting styles they were familiar with. They want green turf around their home, foundation plantings, bedding flowers and a specimen tree which completes the ‘three piece suit’ of residential landscape design. However, landscapes with indigenous plants and serene natural settings are becoming more popular. Areas designed with plants native to their location are more easily sustained and therefore are easier to enjoy.
The Story The seven women interviewed were chosen from a list of 22 women whose work was studied through books, magazine articles, awards and web sites. The women chosen were those with a significant body of work in California who have practiced in landscape architecture for 25-40 years. Their work was examined for its significant impact on private gardens, corporate properties, public parks, street improvements and master plans. Some of their work has been seen by the public because of magazine publications, however, this documentary is the first of its kind to bring their collective works to an audience. Letters of intent were written to nine women and seven accepted the invitation to be interviewed by this student group. After an in depth study of each woman’s work and expertise, a list of questions was sent in advance of the film date. The women were interviewed in their offices and gardens. Each woman’s office also provided still photography to supplement the video footage.
The Technique This documentary is a unique approach to promote the profession. It is both interesting and visually stimulating. It was recorded with broadcast quality video and sound equipment and utilized modern editing techniques. It appeals to a wide range of knowledgeable professionals, homeowners and young students. It not only showcases an extensive collection of works from experienced landscape designers, but it also highlights women’s involvement in a growing field and has the potential of attracting prospective students to this major. It is filled with beautiful video and still photography that captures a wonderful variety of cultural landscape designs. The film highlights the amazingly unique shapes and colors of California, the compelling stories and works of these women and the distinctive ways they have affected the California landscapes. Women in the Dirt: Landscape Architects Shaping California leaves you with new found knowledge of the exceedingly natural approach these women are taking to create these serene and calming spaces.
The Outreach This film’s primary audience consists of students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, art, horticulture, women’s studies and professionals in those fields. Our extended audience will be the general public. It has already been screened several times to mixed audiences. We are hoping to distribute this to high schools, colleges and universities, and are also looking into showing the film at public forums like museums and arboretums. We will be creating a website where we will show the trailer of the film and make copies available. Ultimately our goal is to make it accessible to the general public through television.
Landscape Architects Shaping California
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Isabelle Greene Santa Barbara, California
“Well you know I’m glad the lesson is being taught. I’m glad that we’re here so we have to listen. But again, really, it’s more pleasant than that. You don’t really have to do it because you have to do it, you do it because it’s nicer. It works better. It makes things flow. It makes you happy.” - Isabelle Greene Isabelle Greene’s passion for enduring results is apparent in her landscapes, which age well and flow with the land and climate naturally, conserving water, energy, and materials.
The renowned pool at the Lovelace Garden
Santa Barbara, CA
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Pamela Palmer Venice, California
“There have been studies done that show how your brain is affected, your respiratory system is affected by the shearing of water particles…” - Pamela Palmer Pamela Palmer creates designs in which the relationships between buildings and their exterior spaces are well thought out and integrated. With an understanding and implementation of sustainable design principles, she brings her designs to life with an imaginative and probative use of materials.
View from a private residence overlooking the Blue Oak Hills
Sonoma, CA
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Andrea Cochran San Francisco, California
“…you can tweak people’s movement through space, you can also tweak their perception…” - Andrea Cochran Andrea Cochran sculpts and navigates space through a seamless integration of landscape, art, and architecture. Her work draws boundaries with a controlled palette of materials, creating permeable edges that blur the line between the natural and built environment. Spare geometry applied to vibrant plant life results in sharp compositional order. This exercise in restraint heightens a sense of the elements - texture, light and movement.
Perry Residence from above (left) San Francisco, CA The simple and elegant design at the Perry Residence (right)
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Mia Lehrer Los Angeles, California
“That when you were done they would say I never thought it would be or imagined that this would be what I would get out of this experience.” - Mia Lehrer Landscape has the power to enhance the livability of a city and heal the environment. This power is evident in Mia Lehrer’s work from natural system master planning to inspired outdoor living design. She is working towards satisfying a shift in public attitude that supports and demands high quality open spaces such as healthy parks, schools and waterways, as well as vibrant streets and neighborhoods.
The Orange County Great Park (left) Irvine, CA The Los Angeles River project rendering (right) Los Angeles, CA
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Lauren Melendrez Los Angeles, California
“I find it real challenging to see how far you can go with a project, how far you can take it with all the constraints politically…. influencing people who have control over spaces...” - Lauren Melendrez Lauren Melendrez is keenly aware of and connected into the regulatory and political contexts within the communities in which she designs. Her enduring firm values include the site context, people, and the impact on those people. She aspires to create memorable places that are timeless and precious assets to the communities in which they exist.
The Staples Center on the ground (left) Los Angeles, CA The new High School for the arts in Downtown Los Angeles (right)
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Katherine Spitz Marina Del Rey, California
“I have to go back that very intuitive place, I have to shut down the intellectual part of me. I have to ignore the people standing around waiting for me to draw. And get to that place that is the same person who was painting the same move on canvas.” - Katherine Spitz Katherine Spitz addresses the conceptual issues of identity in landscape, producing places that reflect the client’s mission. Her landscape approach embraces a sustainable component that respects the Southern California ecology, placing it in a cultural framework.
Corporate Headquarters in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
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Cheryl Barton San Francisco, California
“…we are masters of the obvious…we’re going to tell you that water flows downhill, that trees have roots, the sun comes up in the East and sets in the West, there’s a different angle to the sun in summer and in winter, there’s a hydrological cycle, these are all things you learned in 3rd grade…but you forgot.” - Cheryl Barton Cheryl Barton focuses on the principles of green urbanism and sustainable design, working at the critical juncture between nature and culture, integrating responsible and artistic concern for the landscape with the ordinary and extraordinary requirements of contemporary life.
Aerial view from the Gap Headquarters
San Francisco, CA
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Landscape Architecture The State of California
Inuential women shaping the California landscape. These accomplished women use light and shadow, plant material, stone, metal, glass, water, sound and the weathering of materials with great expertise. They consider both their visions and the surrounding as they design with ecological sensitivity. In a time of building block cities and suburban sprawl, their designs give inspiration to homeowners and guidance to city and state policy makers. One design at a time, they are bringing the natural unity back to our ever evolving world ‌one that threatens to run away from its original purpose‌Life. Collective, these 7 women have created a body of work in California that is astounding;
they have changed the perception of what modern landscapes can be. By raising the bar for future designs they challenge us to strip away the synthetic layers, replacing them with sustainable, serene perfection.
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Andrea Cochran Pamela Palmer
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Cheryl Barton Isabelle Greene Mia Lehrer
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Katherine Spitz Lauren Melendrez
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