Notable Landscapes

Each year, WSU undergraduate and graduate students take trips to see interesting landscapes around the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Here are some highlights and links for recently visited sites.

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center - designed by the Portland firm of WalkerMacy .

Design elements of salmon, rock, water, and people emphasize the cultural and natural forces that have come to bear in this ancient cleft in the basin.

Main St. Banff

Elk 'Lodge'

One of the most unique, both from a landscape and a management perspective, is Banff National Park.

Few images better capture the blurred edge between civilization and wilderness than wapiti (Cervus canadensis), or elk, wandering the lawns and streets of this park town.

Lawrence Halprin

Few urban landscapes capture the imagination of landscape architects more than the distinct forms wrought by the legendary Lawrence Halprin. His plaza/water features grace all of the Pacific states, challenging decades of staid urban place design (before and since). The challenge he posed to social interaction in public was rivaled by the challenge to the spatial dominance of America's automotive infrastructure.

Here at Seattle's Freeway Park, the I-5 freeway's dominance is rebuffed by a continually changing and emerging series of rooms, canyons and views.

Halprin's influence can be felt even more strongly in the core of Portland's downtown. His designs for the Lovejoy and Ira Keller Fountains define the extreme in the city's parks. Though small, each introduces water to the area's hardscape in a spirit-freeing manner.

Freeway Falls, Seattle

Ira Keller Fountains, Portland

Head Smashed in Center, Alberta, Canada

Alberta, Canada

Prior to westward expansion, the great plains of Alberta saw herds of bison and native tribes coexisting in a symbiotic relationship. Where the horse had not been assimilated into tribal life the hunting relied upon animals trapped in snow drifts and the use of "jumps". The Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre, a UN World Heritage Site, is among the least known and yet best aboriginal centers in North America.

Lewis & Clark College

Formerly the Lloyd Frank estate, this campus features a formal garden core with tiered lawns, fountains, and terraces. Capitalizing on the views of distant Oregon hills, the site blends classical with modern in a compact liberal arts school.

Lewis and Clark College

Portland Waterfront

Renowned for its expansive park system, Portland might consider its greatest resource the linear greenway of the Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Seen here are students from the '02 LA363 studio on Dr. Michael's annual Westside Field Trip. Landscape architect Kitty Firth explains the park's programming for events and the upcoming Master Plan for the park.

REI, Seattle

WSU alum, Guy Michaelson, explains to WSU juniors the design and construction process for REI's flagship store. The Berger Partnership collaborated with Spokane's Land Expressions to create the award winning blend of cascading water, mountain bike and hiking trails that serve the needs of the store's gear testing clientele.

Simpson Landing, Tacoma

Marty Lyon, formerly of David Evans & Assoc. Tacoma, WA, is seen explaining bioremediation techniques incorporated into the Simpson Landing site to his rear. The site, which was serving as the basis for this group of Cougars' studio design, lies within the industrial expanse of the Tacoma Tideflats.