James A Lord, FASLA, is a founding partner of Surfacedesign, Inc. Based in San Francisco, California, Surfacedesign was recipient of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Landscape Architecture in 2017. James’ innovative design approach and stewardship of the firm’s design practice has established Surfacedesign as an international leader in urban design and sustainability. He leads projects in New Zealand, Hawaii, Mexico, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. James received his Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California. He is a professor in practice at Harvard Graduate School of Design. James works to imagine what a place can be and how to bring cultural narratives to life, designing landscapes that are poetic gestures that evoke curiosity in the people who engage with them.
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