BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook

MEMBER / BSLA GIGI SALTONSTALL, ASLA WE NAVIGATE CREATING A DESIGN PARTNERSHIP M y sister designed and built a model house in sixth grade. I was ten and was in awe, it looked like perhaps the most fun activity possible. “Some people do that for a living,” said my mother, “they’re called architects.” And so it began, I wanted to be an architect. I followed that dream to graduate school, always looking along the way to make sure that I wasn’t just clinging to a childhood fantasy, but everything led me right back to design. In graduate school at the University of Virginia, I had the fortune of being taught by some of the most inspirational thinkers and practitioners: Peter Waldman, W.G. Clark, Beth Meyer and Julie Bargmann among others. It was in this environment of multiple and crossing disciplines that I delved into the world of landscape architecture. Working for the venerable Skip Burck after graduation solidified my path into landscape architecture with a distinct interest in the critical junction between architecture and landscape. The most successful designs are a result of landscape and architecture being evolved together, each discipline pushing and pulling the other. Too often landscape is treated as the icing on the cake, after building design or construction is complete. The landscape that results appears applied and reactive instead of generative, integrated and cohesive. In 2012, I started my own practice, SALT Studio LLC. More recently, SALT Studio has teamed with G Design Studio (Lisa Giersbach) to create G2 Collaborative. Although we worked side by side for over a decade, our collaborative is an exciting new venture. We have worked on different project types over the years and now together, we attack design challenges with that wide range of individual experiences behind us. Our work is decidedly iterative as we sketch over each other’s marks relentlessly. It is an invigorating time as we navigate creating a design partnership that accentuates both of our individual strengths, designs thoughtful social places, aspires to fill our professional dreams, and keeps us laughing. And so the lifelong adventure continues. Started Out Education Now Newton, MA BA, Williams College (Art History); MA, University of Virginia (Architecture); MLA, University of Virginia SALT Studio LLC and G2 Collaborative Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook 59

BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 61