Landscape Architect Articles

Grounded in Light and Stone02-01-09 | News

Grounded in Light and Stone

An Interview with Tom Oslund, FASLA, FAAR, Principal and Design Director of Oslund and Associates, By Leslie McGuire, managing editor

The General Mills World Headquarters, winner of the 2004 Design Award of Excellence presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects and designed by Tom Oslund, is graced by two reflecting pools and a monumental sculpture. Says Oslund,?EUR??,,????'?????<
Photos courtesy of Oslund and Associates

Tom Oslund, FASLA, FAAR, Principal and Design Director of Oslund and Associates, started as an architecture student at the University of Minnesota. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Tom Oslund, FASLA, FAAR, Principal and Design Director of Oslund and Associates, is a recipient of the Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture from the American Academy in Rome, has written 58 articles, done an HGTV Web presentation called French and Fantastic, participated in eleven art exhibitions and won 36 awards.

Oslund is a recipient of the Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture from the American Academy in Rome, has written 58 articles, done an HGTV Web presentation called French and Fantastic, participated in eleven art exhibitions and won 36 awards.

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There, Oslund got his Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Oslund is a registered Landscape Architect in Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Indiana, Utah, New York, Illinois and Iowa. He has had a long and distinguished career as a professor, lecturer and design critic since 1981.

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Harvard formed Oslund in many ways, but as a child, he spent a lot of time drawing. His grandfather, who lived with them, was a quite accomplished draughtsman. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Late afternoon shadows fall across a section of ?EUR??,,????'?????<

When asked about the sudden popular attachment to sustainability, Oslund says, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Oslund brings art into all his designs, and sculpting in light is one way to appease his love of light. At the same time, he can introduce others to that singular joy. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Oslund concedes that this requirement is not made any easier by the crazy economy. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Winner of the ASLA 2007 Design Honor Award for Private Rooftop Garden, Minneapolis, Minn., this minimalist design captures the contrast between light and shadow. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Awards

2007 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award Nominee for design excellence in Landscape Architecture presented by Copper-Hewitt National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution, New York, NY

2007 Design Honor Award for UMD Swenson Laboratory Science Building, Duluth, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

2007 Design Award of Excellence for UMD Swenson Laboratory Science Building, Duluth, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2007 Design Merit Award for Private Residence, Minnetonka, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2007 Design Merit Award for The Blue Garden ?EUR??,,????'?????<
2007 Design Merit Award for Gold Medal Park, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2007 Design Merit Award for St. Paul Library Courtyard, St. Paul, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2005 Design Honor Award for Windsong Golf Course, Independence, MN. Presented by the American Institute of Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2005 Design Honor Award for Private Rooftop Garden, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

2005 Design Merit Award for Unbuilt Works for UMD Swenson Laboratory Science Building, Duluth, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2004 Design Award of Excellence for General Mills World Headquarters, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2004 Design Honor Award for General Mills World Headquarters, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Institute of Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2004 Design Merit Award for General Mills World Headquarters, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

2004 Design Honor Award for Private Residence, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2004 Design Honor Award for Unbuilt Works for the Rural Learning Center, Howard, SD. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2004 AIA Minneapolis Merit Award for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Yankee Place Office Building renovation, Eagan, MN. Awarded for Design Excellence, Client/Team Satisfaction, Technical Innovation, Environmental Responsibility, Budget/Business Success, and Community Impact. Presented by American Institute of Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2003 NAIOP MN Award of Excellence in Repositioning/Renovation for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Yankee Place Office Building renovation, Eagan, MN. Presented by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Minnesota Chapter.

2003 Architecture Magazine House of the Year for Private Residence, Minneapolis, MN.

2003 Design Merit Award for the Medtronic Patent Garden, Fridley, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2003 St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission Award of Recognition for the restoration of the original fabric of the St. Paul Central Library, St. Paul, MN. Presented by the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and the St. Paul Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

2002 Design Merit Award for Unbuilt Works for the Minnesota Orchestra Amphitheatre, Brooklyn Park, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2000 Special Award for Continuing Collaborative and Innovative Work in Landscape Architecture. Presented by the American Institute of Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

2000 Merit Award for Private Residence, Long Lake, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects Minnesota Chapter.

1995 Design Honor Award for the Appleton Memorial Park and Arboretum Gardens Master Plan, Appleton, WI. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects National Chapter.

1995 Design Honor Award for the Appleton Memorial Park and Arboretum Gardens Master Plan, Appleton, WI. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1995 Design Merit Award for the Mankato Kasota Stone Headquarters, Mankato, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1995 Design Merit Award for the WCCO Rooftop Garden, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1994 Design Honor Award for the Stout Foundation Land Use Master Plan, Menomonie, WI. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1993 International Design Magazine Annual Design Review Honorable Mention for Environments, Minnesota Zoological Garden, Weesner Family Amphitheater, Apple Valley, MN.

1993 Design Merit Award for Site and Master Planning of the IBM Facility in Rochester, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1992 Design Honor Award for Weesner Family Amphitheater, Minnesota Zoological Gardens, Apple Valley, MN. Presented by the Minnesota Society of American Institute of Architects.

1990 Design Honor Award for design of the Winter Garden, Residence, Minneapolis, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1988 Design Honor Award for Site Planning and Design of the Minnesota Zoological Garden Amphitheater, Apple Valley, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1987 Design Merit Award for Design of the Colonial Church of Edina Courtyard, Edina, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.

1987 Honorable Mention for the New York Waterfront Idea Design Competition, New York, NY.

1986 Design Honor Award for Site Planning and Design of the St. Therese Care Complex Rooftop Garden, Hopkins, MN. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, Minnesota Chapter.