Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | winter 2004

WINTER 2004
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Cover Story:
Bridges: Designing, Building, Preserving

Feature Story:
Celebrating 125 Years

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KEN SMITH

Education:

• Iowa State University bachelor of
  landscape architecture, 1976
• Harvard University Graduate School of Design master of landscape architecture, 1986

Profession:

• Urban landscapes specialist
• Owner since 1992, Ken Smith Landscape Architect, New York, NY

A sample of his current projects:

• “Eleven Tears,” a tribute to 11 American Express employees killed in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, dedicated in September 2003
• Museum of Modern Art rooftop, designed to be viewed from above
• Schoolyard in Queens, NY, featuring colorful dumpsters and a bird-and-butterfly garden
• Marsh-grass-embellished ferry landings on the East River

About the American Express memorial:
“Ever since September 11, I’ve been preoccupied with the sky because the towers were so much a part of the sky. I wanted to bring the ceiling and the floor together as sort of a metaphor for sky and ground
or heaven and earth.”

On designing urban spaces:
“New York is green-starved. People are always after green. Things like simple lawns are much loved in New York City. But spaces don’t have to be big to be really effective.”

What it’s like for a farm kid from Waukee, Iowa, to live in New York City:
“New York is an immigrant town. Everyone here is from somewhere else.”