Profile: Andrea Cochran, FASLA

Company/academic title: Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, MLA, ASLA

Education: Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, 1979 Master of Landscape Architecture Rutgers University, Cook College, 1976 B.S. in Landscape Architecture, magna cum laude

Years in the profession: 30+

ASLA chapter: Northern California Chapter

Category: Works of Landscape Architecture

Most notable professional accomplishments: My most significant accomplishment has been expanding the landscape architecture firm I founded in 1998 (Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture), while maintaining a consistently high level of design integrity in every project. As an artist, my interests lie in crafting beautifully executed, highly usable spaces. As a businesswoman, I am particularly proud that my work and my career can serve as an example for women who are just now coming up in the field. I am a strong believer in civic contribution. I currently serve as a commissioner on the civic design committee of the San Francisco Arts Commission and on the executive board for the Architecture and Design Forum at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2006, I was chosen as a finalist in Landscape Architecture for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Thoughts on being elected to Council of Fellows: Being inducted into the Investiture of Fellows is the highest honor that our profession infers on its members. At times, the pursuit of the excellence feels like a solitary one. This nomination is a wonderful acknowledgement of our years of hard work and service to the profession by others with the same passions and pressures. We all struggle to balance the business side of the profession with the art of it, but ultimately I believe we are deeply lucky to get paid for doing what we love.