Firm: Surfacedesign Inc, San Francisco

ASLA Election Year: 2017

Category: Works

James Lord, of Surfacedesign Inc., received his nomination for 'Works' from the Northern California Chapter. A landscape architect and urban designer with a background in architecture, James consistently highlights materials, a prime example being the stone paving at the IBM Plaza in Honolulu. The plaza's paving pattern reveals three dynamic qualities of the same volcanic stone to express Hawaii's geology: honed to catch the light, flamed for a matte appearance that shimmers when viewed from above, and split-faced to expose a rugged depth. Whether with Iwi communities in Auckland, New Zealand, or indigenous descendants in Honolulu, he is passionate about community involvement. He builds on these conversations to capture a story or moment to make it a physical, spatial manifestation, and to bring cultural narratives to life.