Kathryn
Gustafson

PLA, ASLA

Director

Kathryn Gustafson is a founding partner of GGN. Kathryn’s award-winning landscapes can be found throughout Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Her diverse span of prominent works, ranging from one to 500 acres in size, are known as ground-breaking, contemporary designs that intuitively incorporate the sculptural, sensual qualities that are fundamental to the human experience of landscape.

Kathryn is a partner in two offices, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol in Seattle and Gustafson Porter in London. 

Kathryn is an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architecture, an honorary Royal Designer for Industry, and a medalist of the French Academy of Architecture. She is the recipient of The Chrysler Design Award and of London’s Jane Drew Prize. She is active in lecturing. 

Kathryn’s recent work in both firms may be found in such projects as the Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, the Seattle Civic Center and City Hall Plaza, and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London.

Jennifer
Guthrie

PLA, ASLA

Director

Jennifer Guthrie is a founding partner of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. Jennifer's design leadership merges a guiding, experiential vision with innovative and precise detailing. Her work ranges broadly, from the neighborhood-scale - such as the new, urban district of green streets and mixed-use housing at the University of Washington - to public squares, gardens, and cultural institutions such as the Seattle Civic Center campus, the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
 
Jennifer’s clients have included the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and major universities and corporations. Jennifer’s current projects include the Lower Rainier Vista project at the University of Washington, the UW School of Medicine South Lake Union campus, Nu Skin’s Corporate Headquarters, and the Mercer Hall/UW Farm site, which combines student housing with urban agriculture.
 
Jennifer and her partners are the recipients of the 2011 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture, and her work has received numerous national and regional Honor Awards from ASLA and AIA. Jennifer lectures internationally and serves on the Landscape Architectural Foundation Board and the ASLA CEO Roundtable.

Shannon
Nichol

PLA, ASLA, LEED AP

Director

Shannon Nichol is a founding partner of GGN. Her designs, including Millennium Park’s Lurie Garden, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus, and Boston’s North End Parks, are widely recognized for being deeply embedded in their neighborhoods and natural contexts. Shannon's work incorporates complex functions into simple frameworks and refined landforms.

Shannon's current projects include Phase II of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Campus, Rainier Vista at the University of Washington, and plans for Cleveland's historic Group Plan District and Civic Mall - Medical Mart.

Shannon is an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (Seattle). Her work has received multiple Design Excellence and Honor Awards from ASLA and AIA.. Shannon and her partners received the 2011 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture. Shannon lectures internationally, frequently juries for design awards, and serves on advisory committees for universities and non-profits.

Rodrigo
Abela

PLA, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal

Rodrigo Abela's design talent distinguishes many of GGN’s projects. His award-winning work is recognized for a striking clarity in form, materials, and purpose. A passion for the arts, combined with an interdisciplinary background in engineering, architecture and landscape architecture, enriches his perspective of landscape design and collaboration. Rodrigo's design work has been focused in urban centers around the country at a variety of scales and is informed both with a thoughtful incorporation of the human experience and clear understanding of the fabrication and construction process. Examples of Rodrigo's work can be found at Seattle City Hall Plaza, Chicago's Lurie Garden at Millennium Park, Boston's North End Parks, and the Smithsonian's Kogod Courtyard in Washington, DC.

Bernie
Alonzo

PLA, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal

Bernie Alonzo's years of experience encompass all aspects of sustainable project planning and design. Bernie leads GGN’s projects from concept through construction, including site selection, the programming of both sites and structures, the development of initial concepts and deliverables, budgeting, and the execution of documentation and construction administration.

Bernie is currently working with the University of Washington, Sound Transit, and the Washington Department of Transportation to deliver the Lower Rainier Vista and Montlake Pedestrian Landbridge project. Bernie is also responsible for leadership and project management for the landscape and site design for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus headquarters located near the historic Seattle Center.

As a principal and leader, Bernie mentors and actively develops staff to establish long-term objectives and short-range goals.  

Bernie is volunteering his time and expertise to consider the Pacific Science Center through the framework of the Living Building Challenge and recommend site-based sustainability strategies to help the Science Center continue to flourish for its next 50 years.

Keith
McPeters

Principal

Keith McPeters brings to GGN a wide range of interests and skills through his diverse design background in architecture and landscape architecture. His project work in public landscapes, urban designs, and campus master plans emphasizes the connections within a site between its natural and cultural history.  With experience in the design and construction of complex projects integrating architecture and landscape, Keith contributes to a range of GGN projects from conceptual design through construction, working with cross-disciplinary teams to engage environmental sustainability and infrastructure issues within urban contexts.

Prior to joining GGN, Keith worked in architecture and landscape architecture most notably as an Associate with Olin Partnership Landscape Architecture and Urban Design in Philadelphia and Senior Designer with Michael Graves Architects in Princeton, New Jersey. He has been a visiting design critic at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, the University of Washington, City College of New York, and Carnegie Mellon University.  A native of Virginia, Keith received his Bachelors of Science in Architecture and Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.

Grant
Stewart

PLA

Principal

Grant Stewart brings diverse experience to Seattle from Canada, Malaysia, Italy, Ireland and the United States. His work ethic and design focus derive from his interest in creating shared places; spaces that are designed with purpose, and function equally well for public and private activity. Grant has extensive experience in urban design, renewal, and regeneration projects, including master planning for resort developments, streetscapes, commercial developments, and campus and town planning. With all his projects, Grant provides unique and contextually sensitive design solutions while maintaining a focus on delivering quality, cost effective, and buildable landscapes. Grant is fluent through all phases of the design process, and works comfortably with clients and consultants to coordinate projects from concept through construction. Grant has applied his many skills to GGN’s work on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Campus.

Brian E.
Bishop

PLA, ASLA

Associate

Brian is a landscape architect and urban designer with over 10 years of experience. He seeks to create spaces that are grounded in function but beautiful and beloved by their users. His focus is planning and design for complex public and institutional projects in urban settings, including community parks, greenways, streetscapes and districts, universities, museums, and rooftop spaces. Fluent with a range of project scales and types, Brian particularly enjoys active collaboration and problem solving within multidisciplinary design teams. Brian holds a degree in Environmental Science from Indiana University and a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University.  

Amy
Cragg

Associate

Amy brings a strong analytical process and a simple design aesthetic to her work at GGN. She is particularly interested in the possibility of landscape to enrich people’s experience of a place. With her previous academic background in Geology, and experience working in interdisciplinary sustainable design, she places importance on integrating natural functions within the urban environment. Amy has managed projects with complex programmatic goals, composing them into simple design solutions. These include the development of one of Seattle’s largest green roofs at the Seattle Center Fifth Avenue North Garage, as well as the design of a public space that will collect and filter the adjacent building roof and onsite stormwater run-off at Theater Commons on the Seattle Center Campus. Other project work has included a historic campus masterplan in Wisconsin and design for the renovation of Lurie Garden service yard around the Art Institute of Chicago Bridge. Amy holds a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture form the University of Washington.

Kelly
Majewski

Associate

Kelly’s design work at GGN has covered all scales of design from pedestrian scaled street furniture for Landscape Forms to large scale urban and landscape planning for the Centennial Park Master Plan in Nashville, Tennessee and the Hudson Park Boulevard urban design in New York NY. Her project experience has allowed her to collaborate with a wide range of clients, lead community outreach meetings and workshops, and team with a variety architects, engineers and designers. Kelly’s large scale landscape design and master planning has involved complex urban sites that thoughtfully combine elements of sustainability, accessibility and security, creatively accommodate pedestrian and vehicle movements and make places rich in the experience of materials, planting and the unique character of the site.

Austin
McInerny

ASLA

Associate

Austin brings his strong graphic representation abilities, thorough analysis and documentation techniques, and strong digital and physical model making to his work at GGN. He is interested in urban landscape projects that distinguish themselves at the macro scale by their organization, multi-functionality, and place-making strategies, and at the micro scale by their unique execution of details, and he approaches his own designs with such considerations. Austin is interested in digital fabrication and the use of parametric and 3D modeling software to execute precise digital and physical models that are attune to constructability and material efficiency. This precision and attention to detail has been instrumental in the design and construction of complex water features for GGN projects. Austin has his Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anne
Morris

LEED AP

Associate

With a strong architectural background, Anne is passionate about the way landscape facilitates the interaction between individuals and place. She aims to create designs that have multifaceted concepts which provide both durable and ever-changing experiences.  Her graphics provide an insight into textures, color, and atmosphere of places. At GGN, Anne has been involved in a breadth of projects from a campus master plan at SC Johnson to the design of a temporal garden for the Venice Biennale.  Anne is LEED accredited and has a Masters of Architecture from the University of Virginia.

David
Nelson

Associate

With extensive technical knowledge and an interdisciplinary background, David Nelson manages the document development and construction processes for many of GGN's projects. Prior to coming to GGN in 2003, David's background includes over five years of architectural experience in historical renovation and new construction. David has a central role in many of GGN's projects providing guidance on detailing and design documentation.  He is often the primary point-of-contact on projects in construction, coordinating the work and communications between diverse consultant teams, contractors, and client groups. This past year David oversaw the construction of the Pritzker Garden at the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Nichols Bridgeway improvements in Millennium Park, and the landscape renovation of the William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse. David most recently gave a tour discussing the construction of the Lurie Garden in Chicago at last year’s 2009 ASLA convention.

Tess
Schiavone

RA, LEED AP

Associate

With her interdisciplinary background in art, architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture, Tess brings a range of skills to the design process at GGN. Prior to joining GGN, Tess worked for Olin Partnership where she gained experience in all phases of design and developed a foundation in landscape detail work and interdisciplinary coordination. At GGN, Tess pushes projects forward with strong design clarity and innovative ideas.  Her thoughtful design can be found in her current work on several Seattle projects – a mid-block plaza for UW School of Medicine and streetscapes and open spaces for UW Campus Housing. Tess holds a BA in Fine Art from The College of William and Mary and a Master of Urban Design and a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.

Emily
Scott

PLA

Associate

Emily brings strong conceptual thinking skills and an intuitive hands-on working style to GGN. Previous academic study of world religions and philosophy strongly influences her approach to design. Emily is particularly interested in landscape as a setting for social and environmental narratives, and in the use of landscape to offer physical and intellectual experiences of place to the individual as well as to the larger community. Emily enjoys coordinating complex systems such as landscape over structure and interactive water features. As a project manager, Emily’s creativity and sensitive approach have shaped projects ranging in scale from master plan to streetscape, including CityCenter DC and UW School of Medicine. Emily holds a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. An avid horsewoman, Emily can often be found at the barn when outside the GGN studio.

Juliet
Anderson

RA

Designer

With a five year architectural background in education, institutional, and healthcare projects, Juliet brings excellent planning, detailing, and technical skills to GGN. She is best described as GGN’s utility player: her adaptability and ease with all of our project scopes means she has worked on almost every GGN project. Juliet believes that teamwork and collaboration are paramount to achieving good design execution and client satisfaction. She lends a skilled eye to the technical illustration of GGN’s design intent and plays a key role in many of GGN's projects by providing highly organized drawing methods and quality control in the creation and completion of construction documents. Juliet earned her MA from the University of Washington and a BFA from the University of Colorado. She spends her free time answering home gardening questions as a volunteer for the King County Master Gardeners. She is active in the Seattle community, including supporting at-risk youth in gardening education and tending a garden site at one of the many Seattle community gardens.

Emily
Ang

LEED AP, ASLA

Designer

With an interdisciplinary background in landscape architecture, architecture, and landscape horticulture, Emily is passionate about how these fields coalesce to inspire, shape, and transform the built environment. Prior to GGN, Emily has worked in both architecture and landscape architecture, including the offices of SOM and Hargreaves Associates. Her work experience ranges from designing large corporate campuses and urban waterfront parks to botanical gardens and spaces for the arts.  Emily received her Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University, where she was awarded the Penny White Travel Grant for her research into a forest of genetically unique Beech trees in Verzy, France. Emily also holds a professional degree in Architecture from the University of Southern California, where she graduated cum laude. When out of the office, Emily can be found continuing her hand in sculpture and ceramics, as well as exploring the great outdoors.

Jordan
Bell

CAD Specialist

Jordan comes to GGN with a background in the arts and sciences. Jordan holds a BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University with concentrations in ceramic and metal sculpture, as well as a BA in Environmental Studies from Alfred University. Prior to moving to Seattle, Jordan worked in landscape architecture firms in his hometown of Norfolk, VA. He is currently pursuing his MLA at the University of Washington.

Jessie
Calder

Designer

Jessie is interested in creating meaningful connections between landscape and people through amplifying the tangible and temporal qualities of the landscape. Her background in visual art, river systems, and landscape architecture informs a passion for natural processes, landscape experience, representation, and design. Project experience includes schematic and design development for a University Children's Hospital and a Conservation Biology Institute. Jessie earned a Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia where she served as a teaching assistant for several courses including Sites and Systems, Plants in Their Environment, and Planted Systems and Urban Ecology.  After graduating Jessie traveled to Rome and through the study of Roman walls she explored how urban infrastructure changes and adopts multiple meanings over time. In her spare time Jessie enjoys painting, gardening, and most outdoor activities.

Stacy
Day

Designer

Stacy's diverse professional background as an artist, graphic designer, and gardener contributes to a variety of projects at GGN. An avid outdoorswoman with an interest in a holistitc, complex approach to urban design scenarios, she combines her passion for ecology and sustainable urban living with a love of form and representation. Her strong rendering and conceptual skills help move projects through a clear design process, and her interests in site history and contemporary character have inspired her to investigate spatial analysis methods using sound recording. She has been an integral member of the design team working on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, a competition won in 2009 and now moving forward into design. Stacy holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University. 

Rebecca
Fuchs

LEED GA

Designer

Rebecca brings a diverse background in art, landscape and architecture to her work at GGN.  She has experience working at a variety of scales and believes that design that transforms cities is equally legible at the scale of a detail.  She enjoys projects which engage the urban, ecological, and social performance of landscape and infrastructure and the poetic and structural qualities of materials.  In research and travel opportunities, she has explored natural resource management and the visible and long-term effects of industrial processes on land.  As a designer at GGN , she is involved in the University of Washington Lower Rainer Vista and Montlake Pedestrian Landbridge Project and the design of a private residence in Seattle.  A native of Los Angeles, she received an MLA and MArch from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Eric
Higbee

PLA

Designer

Through landscape architecture Eric seeks to create vibrant community-oriented places that connect people to their cultural and environmental contexts.  His ability to move between conceptual big-picture thinking and the minutiae of construction detailing lets him serve a key team role ensuring that projects maintain their original vision as they move through design development and construction documentation. Eric has done so successfully on many of GGN’s recent projects such as UW Mercer Hall and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally Eric’s prior professional experience in graphic design and illustration gives him a comfort level in all modes of digitial and hand rendering.  A licensed landscape architect, Eric received his MLA from the University of Washington and BFA in Illustration/Graphic Design from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Outside of GGN, Eric can often be found using his landscape architecture skills to help communities implement grassroots community-based projects. You may also find Eric tending to his garden, wandering through mountainous backcountry, or strumming on his guitar.

Huei-Ming
Juang

PLA

Designer

With a background in architecture, regional planning, and landscape, Huei-Ming brings five years of interdisciplinary experience to GGN. Huei-Ming is interested in the multi-faceted characteristics of landscape as art, architecture, open space, and ecosystems. Her passion for design drives her belief that design is a media to bring happiness to people. Prior to joining GGN, Huei-Ming developed her professional experience on a diverse range of projects within the United States and Internationally. Huei-Ming honed her design and graphic skills while working on several international competitions during her time at Field Operations. Her documentation experience was developed while working on rooftop gardens with HM White Site Architects in New York.
 
At GGN, she is currently working on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and Mercer Hall at the University of Washington. Huei-Ming holds a Masters in Architecture from Tunghai University, Taiwan and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Huei-Ming received an ASLA award from University of Pennsylvania in 2008.

Patrick
Keegan

Designer

Informed by his fascination with the natural world and natural processes, Patrick is interested in exploring the connections between biology, architecture, and the urban environment. Espousing simple and refined progressive design, he seeks to integrate new methods of graphic communication including 3D modeling and digital fabrication. Patrick holds a professional degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. He has worked on a number of projects in the office including Seattle Center Theater Commons, UW Housing Phase 1B, Sheraton Wall, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Campus.   When out of the office, Patrick can be found nurturing his love of music, visual art, science, and the great outdoors.

David
Malda

LEED AP

Designer

David’s interdisciplinary background in architecture, landscape architecture, art history, and community development inform and motivate a dedication to public space as it manifests itself in physical places. David’s work experience ranges from large-scale post-industrial sites to small-scale design-build and digital fabrication projects. David edited the academic journal lunch at the University of Virginia where he earned both a Masters of Architecture and a Masters of Landscape Architecture and was awarded the top academic honor from both programs. In 2009 he was named the National Olmsted Scholar by the Landscape Architecture Foundation. 

Yuichiro
Tsutsumi

Designer

With a background in architecture, Japanese gardens, and landscape architecture, Yuichiro is particularly interested in the logic behind simple aesthetic designs. He has experimented with using various graphic communication tools including hand drawing, 3D modeling, physical modeling, and digital fabrication to represent and develop site-specific designs. Originally from Japan, Yuichiro holds a Bachelor of Architecture and Engineering from Kyoto Institute of Technology and a Master of Environmental Science from University of Shiga Prefecture. He continued his study in the US and received a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Yuichiro enjoys surfing, traveling, and walking.

Kara
Weaver

PLA, ASLA

Designer

Kara Weaver is landscape designer with a strong interest in design that is both ecologically and culturally sustainable. Her approach to landscape architecture focuses on exploring the layers of meaning that are inherent in every place and finding ways to express them in the physical world.  Part of what she  loves about landscape architecture is the variety of project scales and levels of detail.  Kara’ has  six years of experience designing and documenting public projects that  from conceptual and interpretive master plans to precise detailing and tight grading over structure.  Kara is LEED accredited and holds a bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington.

Jeanne
Ernst

Kathryn Gustafson's
Personal Assistant

Jeanne brings an international background in the horticultural and design industries to her role as Kathryn Gustafson’s Personal Assistant. Prior to joining GGN, Jeanne worked for over ten years in design-build landscape horticulture. Previous to that, she was an administrator at Andrée Putman’s Ecart International in Paris, a company specializing in the re-edition, fabrication and distribution of furniture designed by artists and architects of the 20th century. Jeanne speaks French fluently and taught English as a second language to horticulture students in France. As the offices’ project manager for the new Birkhauser monograph on the work of Kathryn Gustafson and her Partners, Jeanne coordinated the international efforts in communications, research, and materials preparation for the book.

Tera
Hatfield

Clerk

Tera is a graduate student of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Washington where she recently received both the Finrow Endowed Rome Fellowship and the Copeland Endowed Fellowship in Urban Design to study infrastructural systems anchored to the Tiber River. She is interested in collaborative, transdisciplinary work on post-industrial landscapes and urban green infrastructure that engages experimental research/representational methods and educational outreach, particularly through installations and exhibits. Prior to attending design school, she worked as a writer and graphic designer in New York City after receiving her B.A. in English from Vassar College. In her spare time, Tera enjoys photography and racing through the city canyons on her bicycle.

Lynda
Olson

Accounting

Associate

Lynda is responsible for the internal bookkeeping and accounting functions at GGN. Lynda brings more than 20 years of experience in assisting small business owners with setting up and maintaining their bookkeeping and accounting systems. Although she has worked with a variety of industries, Lynda says that the creative setting of a design firm is most to her liking as it counterbalances the precise nature of her work. Lynda elevates the office with her energetic presence, communication skills, and sense of humor.

Cass
Salzwedel

Office Manager

Associate

Cass brings a breadth of experience in communications, business, fine gardening, and the arts to her role at GGN. While managing the office’s external interactions with clients and consultants, Cass also oversees GGN’s internal systems, from the computer network to the resource library. Her work experience includes event planning and catering, magazine and book publishing, stock brokerage sales assistance (“really the office mom,” she says), sales in the record industry (before CDs), dog training, and gardening at Roche Harbor Resort, on San Juan Island. Her dynamic range of skills enhances every aspect of GGN’s work and environment. Cass is fondly known for saying, “No job is too big or too small.”

Liz
Martini

Marketing Coordinator

Liz received her BFA from the University of Washington in Printmaking. Her love of process, paper and printing naturally led to graphic design. Recently she was the graphic designer for the Planning Division at the City of Seattle. There she made beautifully detailed zoning maps, but really relished the opportunities to design logos, brochures, exhibits and beer coasters for innovative planning projects such as the award-winning Seattle Green Factor program.

In her free time, she can be found wandering the streets of Seattle with her camera, trying to get that perfect candid urban shot. She is also known for making the perfect martini.

Liz is thrilled to be working at Gustafson Guthrie Nichol to learn from world-class designers, and to assure that their images and words are true to their work. Rarely grouchy, Liz is a great person to contact about possible projects or collaborations with GGN.