HILLWORKS is a nimble design studio obsessed with the regenerative power of the landscape. Captivated by the natural and cultural histories of every place, they strive to unearth the stories each site has to offer. Their approach to design begins by uncovering, revealing, and curating qualities already present in the landscape. Located in Auburn, Alabama, HILLWORKS is grounded in the ecological and cultural complexities of the Southeast. Two primary threads of design research emerge within their practice: plant performance and inventive reuse. Their work relies on the enduring regenerative potential of landscape and the belief that people can't remain indifferent by these first-hand interactions of plant-driven wonder. Founding principal David Hill serves as Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture Program at Auburn University. HILLWORKS benefits from the rich interaction between the design exploration of practice and the scholarly research of the university. They explore disciplinary research not only through project development, but also through the trenches of academic investigation.




Transformative Garden; Auburn University, AL

A tradition of land-based research extends deep into the history of Auburn University. The 16-acre Transformation Garden brings land-based teaching, research, and demonstration back into visibility, encompassing a 1-acre plot known as the Old Rotation. Begun in 1896, this cropping study is the longest running continuous cotton experiment in the world. Hands-on learning provides adaptable field plots for trial gardens, crop studies, soil research, fruit production, tree pruning, construction courses, medicinal plant research, pollinator studies, workshops, classwork, and outreach. As future phases gain funding, temporary meadows and regenerative cover crops actively improve soil health and provide immediate immersive experiences. PHOTO CREDIT: HILLWORKS

 




Alabama Meadows; Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest, AL

Alabama Meadows is a field-based research project that seeks to re-build knowledge about the largely eradicated Southeastern meadow landscape typology. The project uses grounded theory to guide the installation and maintenance of five meadow test plots at the Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest in Auburn, Alabama. Though historically misunderstood and under-valued, the re-introduction of meadows and grasslands to the Southern landscape has the potential to provide incredible ecological and cultural value to the region. In a landscape otherwise dominated by regimented commercial forestry and agriculture, grasslands provide immersion and otherness that have the capacity to captivate the imagination. PHOTO CREDIT: HILLWORKS




Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory; Auburn University, AL

The Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory (ASEL) is a 42,000-square-foot engineering testing facility. Opened in 2021, this LEED-certified facility offers testing areas, fabrication and workshop spaces, and office areas for research engineers, faculty, and graduate students. The landscape addresses the size and robust use of this facility by operating both at the vast scale of the facility as well as at the intimate scale of the body. The Bone Yard, which is approximately 2/3 the size of a football field, will display the giant fragments of broken and crushed post-tested structural members for students and researchers to explore. A shady grove of Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) offers a quiet place of refuge from the work. PHOTO CREDIT: HILLWORKS




Porch House; Opelika, AL

Situated in the heart of Opelika's historic cotton warehouses, the Porch House reclaims an empty brick ruin for residential use. A modest streetside entrance opens into a secret garden shaded with a canopy of Redbud and Black Gum. Swaths of planting offer occupiable spaces within the garden, while the courtyard walls soften the urban clamor of downtown. A native palette of flowering perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees provides layered visual depth and seasonal adaptability. Each view from the house fosters an immersive connection with the garden outside. The generous covered porch is the most prominent space within the house and gardens, drawing the outdoors in and the indoors out. PHOTO CREDIT: HILLWORKS

As seen in LASN magazine, October 2025.