Landscape Infrastructural Approach to Urban Design

Presented on September 7, 2011 from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm in the Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium on the Georgia Tech campus.This lecture is jointly sponsored by Central Atlanta Progress and The Midtown Alliance.Kinder Baumgardner is Principal and Director of SWA Houston. Over the span of 20 years, he has actively traveled the country seeking out regional flavors to create landscapes that are culturally resonant. Kinder’s collaborative mindset and awareness of the effect of historical and contemporary culture in creating experiential places is rooted in the design work he has performed in all corners of North America. His current work often finds him in the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent where he is called upon to synthesize complex systems to create open spaces for new cities or urban precincts. While much of his work is focused in these regions, he cherishes his projects in the US and Texas where inimitable regional American cultures and landscapes define who we are, and how we live. SWA is a multinational landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm. Its projects are recognized for visionary aesthetics, exceptional functionality, keen understanding of social design, and integration of environmental sustainability.Runtime: 80:50 minutesThe landscape infrastructure approach to urban planning and design will be presented through a series of case studies, including the Atlanta Connector Transformation project