2025 Fellows: Steven Tupu, FASLA, New York Chapter

terrain-nyc landscape architecture, New York City, NY
by

x

Steven Tupu's work reflects his long dedication to environmental justice for underserved communities-from landscape architecture to basic human needs. He sees design as a public service and addresses inequalities suffered by minority communities through his collaborative approach to design. Growing up in a Pacific Island community, an understanding of responsibility beyond family was instilled at an early age and he was shown what can be accomplished as a collective. When Steven launched terrain-nyc in 2004 he prioritized the culture of the office and collaboration where every designer contributes to every project. St. Augustine Terrace in the Bronx was formerly the site of a Catholic church, whose demolition exposed large swaths of old rock formations, which became the organizing heart of the site. The rock face is planted in sporadic, lush pockets of native planting while other natural depressions in the rock's surface are left to create temporary ponds. At the Bush Terminal Industrial Campus, the nation's first vertical factory located in Industry City, Brooklyn, Steven led the design of Courtyard 5-6 and transformed the 60' wide x 600' long railway loading dock into a series of distinct landscape experiences. The heart of the courtyard is a woodland forest that frames a large flexible-use turf space which has become a vibrant neighborhood destination. Working at Morningside Gardens in New York, Steven's investigative rigor revealed the need for more than a walkway renovation of the 1957 campus; it led to a comprehensive redesign of the stormwater system, the development of areas for new uses, and improved accessibility across the campus, reflecting the needs of the multigenerational residents.