IFLA Awards “Gold” to Peter Walker

Peter Walker, FASLA

The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) has made Peter Walker, FASLA, the first recipient of the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Gold Medal. The medal, awarded under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was presented June 29, 2005 at IFLA’s 42nd World Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Jellicoe Medal will be awarded only every four years to recognize the lifetime achievements of an internationally respected landscape architect. The medal is named for IFLA’s first president, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe.

Walker, whose career spans nearly 50 years, was awarded the ASLA’s top honor last year. He first studied landscape architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and was an intern for Lawrence Halprin. His graduate work at the University of Illinois put him into contact with Stanley White and Dan Kiley. At Harvard, where he received his MLA, he met Hideo Sasaki, who became his mentor. Walker joined the Sasaki firm and established the West Coast office, which later became the SWA Group.

An educator and author, he now heads Peter Walker and Partners in Berkeley, and was on the winning team for the World Trade Center design.