American, b. 1938
Laurie Dewar Olin is a distinguished teacher, author, and one of the most renowned landscape architects practicing today. From vision to realization, he has guided many of OLIN’s signature projects, which span the history of the studio from the Washington Monument Grounds in Washington, DC to Bryant Park in New York City. Other notable projects include the AIA award-winning Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Simon and Helen Director Park in Portland, Oregon.
OLIN’s celebrated projects include Bryant Park, Canary Wharf, Battery Park City, the J. Paul Getty Center and the Barnes Foundation. OLIN’s current work includes a comprehensive master plan for 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, the waterfront of downtown Alexandria, Virginia, and the competition-winning 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C. The firm works on projects ranging in size from large-scale master planning commissions to mid-sized institutions to small urban interventions. Regardless of scale or typology, their multi-disciplinary design staff create environmentally advanced, technical projects, promoting greater social engagement and ecology for every project.
Olin studied civil engineering at the University of Alaska and pursued architecture at the University of Washington, where Richard Haag encouraged him to focus on landscape. He is Practice Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught for 40 years, and is former chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University. Olin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and recipient of the 1998 Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the 2012 National Medal of Arts, the highest lifetime achievement award for artists and designers bestowed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the President of the United States. He also holds the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects Medal, the society’s highest award for a landscape architect.
OLIN’s celebrated projects include Bryant Park, Canary Wharf, Battery Park City, the J. Paul Getty Center and the Barnes Foundation. OLIN’s current work includes a comprehensive master plan for 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, the waterfront of downtown Alexandria, Virginia, and the competition-winning 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C. The firm works on projects ranging in size from large-scale master planning commissions to mid-sized institutions to small urban interventions. Regardless of scale or typology, their multi-disciplinary design staff create environmentally advanced, technical projects, promoting greater social engagement and ecology for every project.
Olin studied civil engineering at the University of Alaska and pursued architecture at the University of Washington, where Richard Haag encouraged him to focus on landscape. He is Practice Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught for 40 years, and is former chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University. Olin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and recipient of the 1998 Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the 2012 National Medal of Arts, the highest lifetime achievement award for artists and designers bestowed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the President of the United States. He also holds the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects Medal, the society’s highest award for a landscape architect.
