Alumni Career Roundtable: Landscape Architecture

Join us for a dynamic virtual discussion about a career in landscape architecture. Each of our invited distinguished alumni will give a brief description about their unique career path. Through thoughtful conversation students can ask questions and get inspired by career difficulties and successes.

Panelists:

Katherine Harvey (MLA'09) joined RIOS as a studio director for our Landscape Architecture Studio. Her training as both an architect and landscape architect is aligned with the practice’s goal of breaking down boundaries between the design disciplines to create holistic experiences.

She has worked on a range of projects from campus master-planning to neighborhood parks, all with the goal of serving public clients. Many of her projects have been exhibited and published nationally. Katherine received her Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania where she received the George Madden Boughton Prize. She is currently a lecturer at University of Southern California.

Benjamin Nicolosi-Endo (MLA'13) is a registered landscape architect who has been with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation since 2016 where he works on landscape designs for parks in Manhattan. In this role, Ben serves as a project manager for the design, development, and completion of landscape projects. His duties include conducting site analyses and research, delivering community presentations, developing landscape designs, overseeing documentation, and monitoring construction. He previously worked for SWA in Houston, Texas as a landscape designer where he focused on large urban waterfront projects in the United States and China.  As a student, Ben interned at SCAPE Studio in New York City.

Ben received his Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelors of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts. After he studied film and video at SVA, he worked in the field for several years as an editor and cinematographer before he decided to pursue a career in landscape architecture.

Michael Shafir (MLA'17) is an architect in the Washington, D.C. office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (S0M). There, he leads projects that range in scale and typology from visionary master plans to high-profile buildings. He is particularly interested in public space and civic projects that enrich life and provide a platform for social interaction and discourse. Prior to SOM, Michael worked in a variety of internationally acclaimed offices such as OMA (Rotterdam), Kengo Kuma (Tokyo), Latz + Partner (Munich), James Corner Field Operations, and Snøhetta (New York). Michael graduated from the dual MArch/ MLA program at the University of Pennsylvania where he was the recipient of the Anne Fisher Graduate Fellowship for excellence in architecture and landscape architecture. He is currently a visiting lecturer at the Ryerson School of Interior Design.

Kenny Tang (MLA 13') is a licensed landscape architect interested in the embodiment of today’s pertinent large-scale land use and ethics issues at the scale of the human experience. With a background in both architecture and landscape architecture, he has worked in Los Angeles since graduating from the University of Pensylvania. His professional background has been informed by experience in working on a broad spectrum of projects, from high-end residential landscapes to public parks, infrastructure to sports and entertainment districts. For Kenny, community engagement and transparency in collaborative work are key things that are always front of mind: they are essential themes in his professional pursuits. Kenny currently is working as a Landscape Architect at WHY Architecture workshop in Culver City, CA.

Project Experience
Union Station Master Plan; Los Angeles, CA
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; Los Angeles, CA
First and Broadway Park, Los Angeles, CA
NFL Stadium at Inglewood; Inglewood, CA
DIB Art Museum, Bangkok, Thailand

Lanmuzhi Yang (MArch'14, MLA'16) PLA, ASLA, is a landscape architect at Sasaki. She practiced in projects in the United States and Asia,with a range from master plan to small urban site works. Particularly, she has a passion for public space designs that attract people, create cultural and economic opportunities, and enrich biodiversity. With a cross-disciplinary background in architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture, Lan brings a wider lens to landscape solutions. She is able to tackle the complexity of urban projects while considering the local context and their inner connections. Through listening and collaborating, she centers communities’ needs and provides design and implementation strategies rooted on mutual consensus. Lan believes that design is a powerful tool for enhancing the success of a city and its communities. She maintains a close connection to education and research. Through lectures and mentorship programs, she brings new design perspectives to middle school, high school and university students. She also plays a critical role in the Climate.Park.Change. research, and developed a toolkit that helps park and professionals better anticipate and meet climate challenges.

Contact Kali Meeks for Zoom registration link.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu to let us know what you need. Please note, we require at least 48 hours’ notice. If you register within 48 hours of this event, we won’t be able to secure the appropriate accommodations.