2024 Class of Fellows, Laurel Raines, FASLA, Colorado Chapter

Dig Studio, Denver, CO
by Dig Studio

Colorado Chapter - Category: Works

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Colorado Chapter - Category: Works

As one of Denver's early design leaders, Laurel Raines has inspired and pioneered new paths for several generations of Landscape Architects to explore and challenge the status quo for greater environmental, social, and equitable outcomes. With her ability to work seamlessly across both the art and science of the Landscape Architect's craft, she has pursued ideas and technologies that have shifted traditional approaches in arid landscape design to a more sustainable aesthetic while contributing foundational spaces that have grown into thriving neighborhoods and communities. In the award-winning 4,700-acre Central Park community, formerly Stapelton, she developed design guidelines for parks, plazas, event spaces, streetscapes, and mixed-use retail districts and designed five projects and 11 out of 12 neighborhoods over the course of 23 years. She also introduced a plant palette that reflects the native sand hills prairie grasslands. With Carpio Sanguinette/Heron Pond Park Master Plan in Denver, Raines led a team of Landscape Architects, engineers, plant ecologists, and community outreach consultants to produce a vision plan of sustainable growth with rich natural open space interspersed with community and recreational amenities. The 80-acre regional park has four ecological/use zones that handle stormwater flows from 700 acres within an articulated site. At Paco Sanchez Park, named for Denver's first Spanish-speaking broadcaster, Raines made water quality improvements, enhanced water conservation, and preserved mature trees with a design that resulted in a 633 percent increase in usage. The design team implemented a quarter-mile 'Play Loop' concept, featuring a music bowl, fog jet fountain, sports court, skate park, play pods, and an iconic climbing tower.