I bring over 35 years of professional landscape design and construction experience to my work.  I am committed to designing functional, yet expressively rich landscapes whose outward character belie their practical and sustainable nature; my work is strongly influenced by visual interplay, erosion and evaluation.  As such, every project is a journey, a chance to enrich my client’s lives and mine, by relating a previous experience to something new and watching time patina our efforts.

 

I began in this profession at the age of thirteen growing vegetables for my family and neighbors. This tangible connection with the land ignited my desire to show off my farming skills by sharing nature’s bounty on a kitchen table or two.  Here I learned about the importance of tradition, anticipation and patience…being excited by the changes in season and the festivities that eventually came with them became the foil for my work.

 

My love for the land, combined with a natural drawing gift, were honed by studying Environmental Science and Landscape Architecture. There were many successes and ever more failures along this road but I continued as an avid experimenter, studying the Masters in Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Art and Music.  …a cliché perhaps, to inventory those most responsible for my method, but I’ll endure the risk. Leonard Bernstein suggested knowing one’s own art through the art of another…music’s instantaneous rhythm and form as an analogy to cadence and layering of physical form in space…Noam Chomsky for his contribution to the power of narrative and context…Rudolf Arnheim for his incredible analysis of Aesthetics and A. R. Luria, “...human consciousness is the product of social history…”  I formed a bond with these men, through their writing, with the perpetual footing being one of a coherent language…sung, spoken, drawn, observed.

 

Today the Collaboration designs and manages the installation and construction of various projects.  I draw inspiration from being part of a process that is as enjoyable to experience as the final product.  I am emotionally attached to my work, intellectually inspired and driven to create enduring memories with my clients.

 

My work is primarily confined to the high end residential design build sector in New York and Connecticut.  Here I have devoted time creating master plans with architects, engineers, and local municipalities.  Often my work includes siting the residence and preparing grading and drainage plans in addition to defining hard and soft scape elements for projects ranging from $15,000 – 2.5 million dollars. The Collaboration is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council and Long Island Nursery and Landscape Association.

 

I am a Design Judge for LINLA, an organization that promotes design competition as a medium for continued professional development.  The competition geography includes New York City and Long Island, prominently Shelter Island and the Hampton's.

 

 

 

845-702-1004

Wappinger Falls, New York