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Community Studio

Community Studio

Finding shared identity in place
Parks, plazas, and campuses that bring people together, strengthen their bonds, and form the bedrock of civic life. We design landscapes imbued with cultural and civic meaning that adapt to everyday life, supporting communities while grounding collective identity.
Studio Partner
Robin Ganser
Managing Partner, Enterprise and Strategy
Our Community Studio strengthens the bonds between people and the places they share. By integrating art, ecology, and accessibility, we create spaces that welcome diverse users and foster belonging. Our work spans civic plazas and public squares, cultural districts masterplans, university and college campuses, hospitality and resort landscapes, multi-family and masterplanned communities, and institutional and corporate campuses.

Community Projects

Heart of the City

Breathing Life into Public Realm

Part of a partnership with Mayo Clinic, the project reimagines a car-centric streetscape of two city blocks and a plaza in Rochester, Minnesota. It creates lively civic places for the whole community.

Peavey Plaza

Reviving a Long-Forgotten Modernist Landmark

Peavey Plaza renews Minneapolis’s modernist “living room” while preserving Paul Friedberg’s 1975 design. Water, accessibility, and gathering space are restored for contemporary use.

Lavin Bernick Center

The Center of Campus Life

Terraces, courtyards, and shaded outdoor spaces connect Tulane University’s student center to the wider campus. A concrete floodwall bench shapes a setting that breathes with New Orleans’ climate.

Westminster

Civic Threshold for Faith

Two courtyards, one for gathering and one for remembrance, extend a historic Minneapolis church to the city’s edge. Perforated copper screens, light, and water create a quiet threshold between the sacred and the urban.

Minneapolis Central Library

Extending the Library into the City

Birch trees, slate gardens, and light columns frame places to sit and pass through. A long custom bench defines a public edge where everyday activity unfolds.

Xcel Energy Plaza

The City’s Energy Ground

A corporate plaza and civic space built thirty feet above a major electrical substation. Tree canopies, terraces, and open gathering areas support daily use and larger events.

Sports Boulevard Promenade

Riyadh’s Gathering Ground

A four-kilometer civic landscape through the heart of Riyadh. Shaded paths, gardens, and plazas serve everything from family outings to citywide events.

Jackson Meadow

Paths Through a Restored Landscape

A 365-acre community set within protected prairie and forest in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Roads and open spaces follow the site’s contours, letting vegetation and wildlife re-establish.