Connecting with the Landscape: An Interview with Mia Lehrer
National Building Museum Online asked Lehrer about her 20 years as a landscape architect and her belief that landscape architecture is critical to the revisioning and recalibrating of a community and its public spaces.
National Building Museum (NBM) Online: You were born in El Salvador, which undoubtedly had an influence on your approach to landscape. Can you tell us more about that?
Mia Lehrer: I was born in San Salvador in El Salvador. El Salvador is a place that I would describe as beautiful, where there is a tremendous amount of wealth in terms of nature, but a tremendous amount of poverty and disparity in terms of [money] and education.
My father was in the construction materials manufacturing business, so I definitely grew up around pipes, steel, and motors, and spent a lot of time on construction sites. These experiences allowed me to understand and appreciate the fundamentals of design and construction and how they tie together.
I moved to the United States and studied environmental planning but noticed that a lot of the studies that planners performed gathered dust on the shelves. After seeing an exhibit of Frederick Law Olmsted’s planning of various parks throughout America, including New York’s Central Park, I realized that landscape was the canvas on which I wanted to work. I earned my master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University and I’ve been working as a landscape architect for more than 20 years. I love what I do.
NBM Online: You call your firm “multi-disciplinarian.” What does that mean to you?
Lehrer: Being multi-disciplinarian means that we provide a full range of landscape architecture disciplines and resources. As landscape architects we are trained as multi-disciplinarians in engineering, social science, ecology, planning, art, and design. Our core services form a continuum of disciplines that allow us to provide solutions to our clients in various areas.
We are known for our design and development of a wide spectrum of ambitious public and private projects. We try and apply a comprehensive and intensely creative approach to all projects with the goal of establishing a memorable sense of place coupled with true sustainability. Today, we are recognized for our progressive landscape designs, working with such natural landmarks as parks, lakes, and rivers. We work on all types, scales, and sizes of projects—from a small garden at a custom residence to a plaza in the heart of the city to the revitalization of a large river. We believe that no job is too big or too small for us because it all makes our world a better and more beautiful place. There is much more respect for the natural systems, so our multi-disciplinary approach towards the environment puts us in a strategic position to re-establish the ways cities should be planned. We are educated and trained in a way that allows us to understand complete systems, resulting in more environmentally-sound places.
Lehrer: I believe that landscape architecture plays one of the most critical roles in the revisioning and recalibrating of a community and its public spaces. In implementing major changes to a city, landscape provides the esthetic foundation from which the community grows and infrastructure takes on a new form. It’s the infrastructure that can really make the most significant difference. That’s certainly the case in cities such as Los Angeles that are going through major redevelopment. As urbanization continues to change the course and character of development occurring in the major city centers… traditional thinking about sustainability, parks, and open space is also changing.
NBM Online: Why do you call yourself a landscape planner?
Lehrer: Because landscape sets the stage for planning. In many ways, it’s the landscape that embraces and articulates the “legacy of the land.” We believe it’s critical at the early stages of the planning process to have a full. . . appreciation of the lifestyles and expectations of the people who will be using the spaces that are encompassed by the planning. In the quest to understand lifestyle dynamics, we conduct as much original research as possible, which includes visiting and staying in contact with local residents and other stakeholders, as well as government officials and agencies that will be involved in the planning and design process. If you don’t take into account what the stakeholders want in their community, then chances are the final plan will be rejected. On the other hand, if you make a serious effort to gather their input and incorporate it in the planning process, the chances are very good the final plan will be embraced and will be a success.
NBM Online: Your firm works on a wide range of projects from residences to large master plans. How you are able to keep the human experience central across such a variety of scale?
Lehrer: All projects—regardless of size, scope, or budget—have one thing in common: they are places for people to enjoy. There are three terms that best describe the approaches we strive for across the spectrum of projects: designing landscapes that inspire, creating places that matter, and utilizing technologies that sustain.
NBM Online: Your work on the Los Angeles River Restoration Master Plan is massive in scale and scope. There are projects like this throughout the country, including here in the Washington metropolitan area (Four Mile Run). What advice would you share with those cities developing similar plans for restoring challenged waterways?
Lehrer: Obviously, every waterfront is as distinctive as the city in which it is located. However, the common goal of remaking the waterfront is to re-energize the nature and character of the city. It is a unique opportunity for the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhoods. It also illustrates how cities with waterfront assets can be successfully reshaped to fit the economic, social, and cultural status of today’s world. My advice for the purposes of this interview—plan, plan, plan! A properly planned and developed waterfront will improve the economic vitality and livability of a community. It can also be of significant value in terms of branding and positioning that community. I believe great rivers help make great cities.
NBM Online: As sustainable building practices become more and more enmeshed in architecture and place-making, where do you see landscape architects taking significant leads
Lehrer: This is an exciting time for the landscape architecture profession. We have an opportunity to bring tremendous value to our cities and contribute to the general health of a region and the environment by being disciplined and respectful in helping our leaders understand the environmental issues and to make a difference from a social, ecological, and economic perspective. We are striving to better understand what it takes to deal with larger-scale environmental issues and planning efforts that recalibrate the urban landscape to improve sustainability. As landscape designers, we want to understand the wishes and aspirations of a community as well as the challenging issues which may range from a lack of parks and open space to public safety. It’s a unique opportunity to have a larger impact on a larger number of people and their lives.
NBM Online: Your lecture at the Museum next month is titled Urban Clash/Landscape. Given this provocative title, what can we look forward to hearing from you regarding the landscape in the urban realm?
Lehrer: We will definitely strive to be provocative with our thinking! We need to change our basic approaches when it comes to landscape architecture and its role in society. As urbanization continues to change the course and character of development, traditional concepts about sustainability, parks, and open space are also changing. Hopefully, everyone in attendance will learn something new or at least new ways to think about something they already know.
NBM Online: Your firm’s work is primarily California-based, but your work in developing places for inner-city residents is universal in appeal. Would you agree?
Lehrer: We hope so. We work on all types and sizes of designs, and working at different scales allows us to understand and appreciate the common threads that create visual enjoyment, physical comfort, and a distinctive sense of place. Whether it’s a public park in the middle of downtown LA or an intimate garden for a custom home, it’s the esthetics and functionality of the landscape that can really make the most significant difference.
With all projects, it’s about creating great outdoor places that people of all interests can enjoy, while connecting with nature and the greater environment in some meaningful way. For example, LA is a special urban laboratory because the city grew at a time when cars dominated the landscape, when borrowing and buying water from far away was acceptable, and when urban sprawl went unchecked. In that sense it serves as a laboratory for international cities on what not to do. Also, since the city is often under a magnifying glass because it is looked at through the lens of Hollywood, many of these errant ways are romanticized around the world. We are doing our best to challenge conventional wisdom and develop new solutions to the challenges that all cities face. Our goal…is to create spaces that embrace the area’s cultural legacies while meeting a community’s desire to develop viable [flexible] public…places…[for] future generations. No matter where you are in the world, this is always the goal.
