My Life With the Bagpipes
This blog post is not my usual, straight-laced update posting on Lakota projects and happenings. Nope, it’s not even my customary musings about some cool, forlorn old buildings I happened to come across during a work assignment. This time around, I thought I’d write about my quirky but somewhat intriguing (to some) little hobby, one... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Uncategorized
Thinking Big for a Backyard Redesign
The Challenge Very few professions elicit requests for help from family, friends and–let’s face it– acquaintances, like landscape architecture does. At some point, essentially every person I have known has asked me some form of this question: “Can you (show me a few ideas/tell me what’s wrong with this tree/pick out some plants/completely redesign) my... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Project Stories
Tour de Cincinnati
I recently had the opportunity to spend a long weekend back in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Every time I take a trip back I’m eager to experience the slow, but steady, revitalization of downtown and the near neighborhoods. This time, it was a little bit more exciting because I was hauling my bike... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research
The Power of Community — Green Apple Day of Service
I recently spent my Saturday participating in the Green Apple Day of Service program, organized by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). I had volunteered months back and had been paired with a school that was requesting professional assistance. In this case, I became partnered with two adjacent schools in Blue Island that were... Read More
Categories: Around the Office
Change–The Only Constant at the Lurie Garden
Last year, I had the opportunity to intern at the Lurie Garden in Chicago’s Millennium Park, designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Piet Oudolf. While working in the garden, I was reminded daily of a design element that distinguishes the practice landscape architecture from other design disciplines –change in the landscape over time. Completed in... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research
A Revitalized Marion Street in Oak Park, IL
The project to revitalize downtown Oak Park, Illinois was completed in fall of 2007, when plans to reopen a former pedestrian mall to two-way traffic were carried out. Marion Street, in the heart of the central business district, was transformed into a welcoming streetscape reminiscent of its early 20th century look. The new Marion Street... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Pullman State Historic Site: ULI Releases Technical Assistance Panel Report
As a follow-up to an earlier post here at the Lakota blog regarding the Pullman State Historic Site, the Urban Land Institute-Chicago District Council just released the Final Report of its Technical Assistance Panel Visit to the site last October. The report provides a summary of the Panel’s findings during its three-day site visit, including... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Historic Theaters and Revitalizing Traditional Commercial Districts – Recent Lakota Work
Over the past year, the Lakota Group has had a full plate of work with challenging commercial district planning work in three very distinct communities and neighborhoods – the Six Corners commercial district in Chicago’s ethnically diverse northwest side; downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin, once one of the state’s most bustling industrial hubs; and Momence, Illinois, a small... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Neighborhoods, Master Plans and Tivoli Lights: An End of The Year Lakota Group Update
An old Lakota Sioux proverb says that it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. We thought it would be a good opportunity to provide a brief update on our project portfolio – projects that showcase the depth and talent of our team of planners and designers. From all of us at Lakota, we... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Project Stories