April marks World Landscape Architecture Month, and offers a time to think about what exactly makes our profession so unique and impactful.
At Io LandArch, our work spans scales and settings, but always comes back to a shared conviction: landscapes shape how we connect, to place, to community, and to each other.
We asked our team to reflect on their paths into the field, what inspires them, and the places they love most.
This concept sketch of the Historic Scott School imagines a landscape that honors the site’s history while creating a space for modern connection.
Where it Began
For some, the path began with a love of plants. For others, it was a pull toward cities, systems, or storytelling through space. But regardless of where the spark originated, the same idea surfaced as I asked our team how they landed in the profession. Landscape architecture lives in the overlap, between art and science, between people and place, between what exists and what could be.
“It combines so many of my interests—design, horticulture, planning, construction…”
– Niccole Smith, PLA, ASLA
“Landscape architecture is a combination of art, science, working indoors and out, designing, and technical expertise. I loved the mix of skills—and the opportunity to always be learning something new.”
– Lauren Colunga, PLA, SITES® AP, ASLA
“To me, landscape architecture is like this unseen force that binds a city together. I find it interesting how designed spaces can blend with overlooked corners, creating a dynamic outdoor experience.”
– Mackenzie Yeager
“From a very young age I enjoyed art, math, and science. When I was in Junior High school I attended a career conference for young women, and had the opportunity to meet a Landscape Architect. Hearing her describe her job and how it integrated these diverse areas of expertise really appealed to me!”
– Shalae Larsen, PLA, ASLA
This interdisciplinary aspect is fundamental to our discipline. Effective landscape architecture relies on that curiosity and cross-discipline thinking, identifying solutions and designs that integrate seamlessly with the other constraints on site, whether engineering, architectural, ecological, or otherwise.
Shalae tests the soil at a project site.
Watching Landscapes Grow
Unlike many design disciplines, landscape architecture doesn’t reveal itself all at once. It unfolds slowly, through seasons, through use, through time.
A drawing becomes a space. A space becomes a gathering place. And eventually, it becomes part of the identity of a community, taking on character and roles the designer never even imagined.
“Seeing designs made a reality is such a unique opportunity. Landscapes mature, adapt, and grow in ways you could never fully plan on paper.”
– Lauren Colunga, PLA, SITES® AP, ASLA
Project Manager, Mackenzie Yeager’s practice is marked by a sensitivity to the character of a site, embracing not only its existing conditions and intentional design, but also the organic personality it develops over time, often in ways that diverge from the designer’s original vision.
“What’s even more fascinating is how public spaces seem to develop their own distinct personalities, often diverging from the designer’s original intent. The way people instinctively and habitually interact with these places is so captivating. The first time I saw people interacting with my built work, I was totally hooked.”
– Mackenzie Yeager
There’s humility in the process of watching landscapes grow into themselves. Designers set the framework and vision, but ultimately the community, and nature, completes the work.
Mackenzie documents conditions on a site visit.
The Spaces We Return To
When asked about the landscapes that matter most, our team didn’t point to grand or distant destinations. Instead, they named lived-in places in their current or past neighborhoods.
“I love Liberty Park—it’s great to see a public space that people truly use.”
– Niccole Smith, PLA, ASLA
“Working remotely from San Antonio, Yanaguana Garden is my favorite downtown public space. Any time of day or night, it’s activated, accessible, safe, and vibrant. It supports local businesses and shows the power thoughtful design can have on downtown living.”
– Lauren Colunga, PLA, SITES® AP, ASLA
“[A landscape architecture project I find inspiring is] City Garden by Nelson Byrd Woltz in St. Louis. This project was my first exposure to high-end design and I got to know it as a successful park before I ever admired the material details and planting design.”
– Mackenzie Yeager
These are the kinds of places landscape architects strive to create: not just visually compelling environments, but spaces that invite people in, again and again.
We believe that landscapes should do more than look good or function efficiently. This is what we mean when we reference “super-natural” landscapes. These are landscapes rooted in ecology, but also in culture, creativity, and care. They nurture relationships: between people and place, between past and future, between human lives and more-than-human worlds. They make room for meaning and memory. They restore systems and inspire awe.
Lauren and Mack take a stroll through Memory Grove Park in Salt Lake City.
A Practice Rooted in Connection
At its root, these successful landscapes come back to storytelling and creating connection.
Co-founder Shalae Larsen explains:
“I co-founded Io LandArch with my former mentor and business partner Susan Crook. Susan and I shared an interest in documenting and preserving historic and cultural landscapes, as well as native and ecological landscapes. This area of focus had strong connections to the importance of stories and meaning in urban design and community revitalization.”
– Shalae Larsen, PLA, ASLA
I think that is what makes this discipline so meaningful and impactful. How lucky we are to get to both design beautiful places, and, beyond that, shape how we connect!
Volunteers participate at a planting day at Corner Plaza in Ogden.
