Thomas Woltz

This fall's lecture series “The Expanded Field” is hosted and organized by Professor Karen M'Closkey. Karen has invited Thomas Woltz, Senior Principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), to continue the series with his talk “Design With a Prismatic Understanding of Land”.

Thomas Woltz leads his firm in the artful creation and revitalization of public landscapes, working at the intersection of culture and ecology for the sustainability of the public realm. Through a collaborative and research-based approach, NBW’s designs reveal lost or erased histories in the landscape. The work of NBW now stretches across thirty states and twelve countries. In 2011, Thomas was invested into the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, among the highest honors achieved in the profession and was named the Design Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal Magazine. He has also been recognized as one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and with the Land for People Award by the Trust for Public Land ― and was a 2025 Frederic Church Award honoree. Thomas currently serves as the Board of Directors Co-Chair for The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.