2025 Fellows: Sarah Kuehl, FASLA, Northern California Chapter

EinwillerKuehl Landscape Architecture, Oakland, CA
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Sarah Kuehl champions physical design solutions that create relationships between people, systems, and the past and future. An innovative thinker and designer, she is a master storyteller who often works beyond the traditional frame of landscape to achieve dynamic public spaces. Her track record for creating public spaces that exceed expectations is a testament to her abilities as a storyteller, designer, and generous leadership. Sarah began her career at PWP Landscape Architecture, where she led the visioning and schematic design for the new Newport Beach City Hall and Park. Once a wide median strip between two vehicular thoroughfares, the site was transformed into 16 acres of civic and ecological parklands to become a beloved community place. At the firm she co-founded in 2011, EinwillerKuehl Landscape Architecture, Sarah's vision for Gateway Park in Oakland transformed an isolated 15-acre site into a 72-acre linear park with a bike ped path that connects from the residential areas over a highway and above the railroads to the parklands. The park highlights the industry, infrastructure, and ecology that have shaped the history of this spectacular stretch of shoreline. At Township Commons in Oakland, this successful award-winning waterfront park was inspired by the shipping history and natural history of the site. Select building elements are preserved in the design, but are also transformed to inspire and allow for new uses-including the creation of containers of coastal, drought-tolerant plants. Winner of the Rome Prize in 2004, Sarah is an advocate for cities and her practice is informed by restorative actions as well as spatially rich design thinking.