Firms & Projects: Kent Watson & Associates

Founded in San Francisco in 1980, Kent Watson & Associates is an award-winning landscape architecture firm with particular expertise in the planning and design of medium and large-scale landscapes, from small subdivisions and commercial facilities to large parks and open spaces encompassing thousands of acres.

As a Montana native and National Park Service ?EUR??,,????'??brat,?EUR??,,????'?? Kent Watson, FASLA, realized early in his career that he had a passion to continue in the tradition of that park legacy?EUR??,,????'??+to work for the preservation, enhancement and interpretation of those large and beautiful landscapes that are such an integral part of the American West.

To that end, and to seek a better family-oriented environment, Watson relocated from San Francisco to Missoula, Montana in 1994, and, except for a short stint with an engineering firm, he has been the principal of his own small office ever since.

Project: Blue Bay Shoreline

Blue Bay

Kent Watson & Associates (KWA) was retained by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in 1999 to lead a design team (architects, engineers, forestry consultants, etc.) to improve and enhance the popular Blue Bay Shoreline Park.

Design Elements: Master planning, site development and construction documents, Flathead Lake, MT.

Budget: The project provided for nearly $1 million in construction for a new entrance road, parking and path system, a boathouse/shop building, and living quarters and offices for the on-site staff.

Project: Claudia Driscoll Park

Claudia Driscoli

Located in Hamilton, Mont., Driscoll Park was an existing two-acre park that was re-designed to accommodate additional activities (basketball, ice rink and skate park), to provide parking and to better utilize the existing space for more traditional passive uses.

Services: KWA?EUR??,,????'???s master plan design improved on the open space and circulation in order to connect with and provide seating for the adjacent new band shell.

Prinicial: Kent Watson, FASLA

Employees: Depending on the workload, Watson?EUR??,,????'???s office has had one other employee at various times in its recent history.

Project Types: Drawing on his nearly 30 years of experience in the Bay area, both with public agencies and private firms, Kent continues to work on many park or park-related projects, ranging from master plans to detailed design and contract documents.

Client Brag List: In recent years, clients have included the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, Travelers?EUR??,,????'??? Rest State Park, the Montana Department of Transportation, Missoula County, the City of Hamilton, the University of Montana and the Blackfeet Nation.