Adam E. Anderson is a registered landscape architect and founder/principal of DESIGN UNDER SKY, an award-winning collaborative landscape architecture studio in Providence, RI with several recent projects—including the National ASLA Honor Award for 10,000 Suns, The Living Edge and the Roger Williams Park Gateway—that have contributed to the transformation of the urban landscape of Providence and beyond.
His work negotiates with the ever-changing landscape by understanding the unique phenomenological qualities and cultural influences inherent in a site and then deploying interventions to embrace, reveal and often embellish these qualities. “Nature” is abstracted in his projects, culminating in a celebration of wonder found in both the technological and ecological. He continues to maintain several of his projects in the city, viewing maintenance as a “sculptural act” and redefining the role of “weeds” as a collaborative partner in re-wilding spaces in the city.
He received his Master’s in Landscape Architecture (MLA II) from RISD, where he was an Olmsted Scholar, and his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University. He has taught at RISD since 2014 and is also a design critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
In 2021 he was inducted into the DESIGNXRI Hall of Fame as an emerging designer. Adam also serves on the board of the Downtown Providence Parks Network as well as PVD World Music Organization.
Courses
Spring 2025 Courses
LDAR 2203-02 - SITE | ECOLOGY | DESIGN STUDIO
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
Period Spring 2025
Credits 6
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LDAR 2203-02
SITE | ECOLOGY | DESIGN STUDIO
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits6
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: MTH | 1:10 PM - 5:10 PM; M | 9:40 AM - 11:40 AMInstructor(s): Adam AndersonLocation(s): Weybosset St Studios, Room 200Enrolled / Capacity: 14Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
What do these words mean and what is their relationship to each other in the architectural design disciplines? Each word is packed with complex and evolving meanings that reflect the state of human knowledge about the environments in which we live and in which we intervene. Each word reflects our understanding of systems, physical, cultural and social, biotic and abiotic, as well as our aspirations to conserve, restore, or reshape those systems. Each word is ubiquitous in the contemporary quest to construct a sustainable, resilient future. But do we really understand what they mean? Are they critically interdependent or can they be considered separately? This studio will examine these questions with the twin objectives of establishing an evolving and dynamic understanding of the terms and generating working methods that respond to the complexities of scale encountered in the landscape.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | MLA-I, MLA-II Landscape Architecture
