GGLO’s Landscape studio is a three-person team within an 83-person architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and urban planning firm.

The studio concentrates in six areas: architectural site design; design of community spaces, especially urban settings; streetscapes, including public and private; community parks; landscapes for living (public and private housing design); and site design for hospitality projects. In the last year, the group has maintained a stable project load of 12 to 15. The landscape group is challenged by the decreasing size of budgets and fees in the face of the current economic climate, according to senior associate Barbara Oakrock.

Current projects include the master plan for Totem Girl Scout Camps in three Western Washington locations, the historic Cooper School in West Seattle, and Prairie Park Town Center in Yelm, a mixed-use development that includes a public library, shopping center, small hotel and movie theater.

“The economic reality of tight budgets and fees is countered by an ever-increasing request by the public for environmental enhancement,” said Oakrock. “We hear over and over from the public that they wish to embody serious, meaningful environmental goals. This often flies in the face of codes, engineering practice, aesthetic values and budgets, both spatial and financial…water use is the biggest single issue requiring a serious, regional re-think.”