the studio
Established in 1988, the Landscape Architecture studio began as in-house support for HEWITT’s housing, civic, and transit projects. Cultivating relationships with many outside architectural firms over the years, we now collaborate on a broad range of project types both in-house and out.
We are a skilled select team that delivers positive, enduring impacts on both the site and the broader city level. We enjoy the journey of a project and take great pride in how our successive contributions have helped shape our region.
Our studio of spirited landscape architects is led by Jake Woland, Director of Design, and Matt Porteous, Director of Practice.
Principal, Director of Practice –
Landscape Architecture
Matthew Porteous
Serving as the Director of Practice of the Landscape Architecture Studio, Matt ensures all project teams are supported to achieve the client’s goals, budgets, and technical aspects to create spaces that embrace the community’s needs, and successfully contribute to the betterment of urban life. Partnering with design teams, cities, communities and developers for over 20 years, Matt collaboratively integrates enduring design solutions for urban projects that responsibly activate and foster social connections.
Principal, Director of design –
Landscape Architecture
Jake woland
With over 20 years as a design leader, Jake approaches the conceptualization of the space between buildings, with empathy and thoughtful consideration of place. He leads design teams creating stories of identity, interlacing green infrastructure and ecological opportunities with the unique project possibilities and constraints. These solutions are choreographed resulting in resilient projects that address the needs of the present and future city. He has worked across a wide variety of urban conditions and scales, including waterfronts, civic open spaces, transit facilities, streetscapes and single building to multiple block mixed use and commercial projects. Jake extends his excitement for sharing knowledge with our clients and teams, whether introducing and exploring new construction materials or the integration of layered benefits into urban design solutions.
cityscape
Cities merge the energy of transportation, municipal, housing, office, retail, entertainment and private and public open space activities. We revel in this context, knowing density creates boundless placemaking opportunities whether neighborhoods are established, in transition, or newly forming. Our projects infuse vibrancy and enrich communities. As early leaders in green streets and woonerf design we have been stitching back together the city fabric towards a more complete system that balances the human experience, environment and multi-modal transportation.
ARBOR BLOCKS
complexity
Creating delight out of complexity drives us. The many forces, both on-site and off, impacting our urban work demand analysis, iteration, and the eventual execution of smart, bold ideas that invite emotional connection. Through thoughtful design exploration and collaboration using a mix of BIM and ingenuity we have brought to life meaningful spaces.
8TH & REPUBLICAN
stewardship
City projects demand creative ways to steward the environment. At the fore of initiatives to protect our urban waters and natural systems we have teamed on numerous LEED, Salmon Safe, Built-green and Living Building Challenge projects. Our involvement in the development of the Seattle Green Factor and our multiple full-block stormwater management and expression projects have honed our unique perspective and earned invaluable knowledge.
LAKEFRONT BLOCKS
partnership
We understand, respect, and engage deeply with our clients, community and other design disciplines. Each bring their own requisites and our best projects solve them collectively. We are attentive listeners and tenacious problem solvers, always seeking the most holistic and enduring solutions. Weaving memorable experience into the multiple overlapping functions of urban sites requires our focused, energized collaboration.