Edward Durell Stone Jr. (August 30, 1932 – July 10, 2009) was an American
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
.
Biography
The son of the
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
Edward Durell Stone
Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...
, he graduated from
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO).
...
, and then went on to
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, where he received a degree in Architectural Design.
Later he served three years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
This allowed him to see the world and the "natural beauty of the land", which played a role in his decision to pursue landscape architecture. He received his master's degree of Landscape Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Stone began his career in 1959.
Initially, he practiced under another
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
architect, but soon became self-employed and founded EDSA.
The firm began to prosper while collaborating on projects with Stone's father.
Stone's career continued after getting its boost in 1960 when he created his firm
Edward Durell Stone Jr. and Associates or EDSA In 1991, it was unanimous opinion among interviewed principals of large and small firms that Stone's firm was among the top five.(Landscape Architecture, 60). Stone's work and career greatly impacted tourism and community-living in the United States, especially in Florida, as well as in the Caribbean and Europe.(Gillette, 75)
I
Jane Brown Gillette reports that Stone realized what he wanted to do at age seventeen while attending a dinner dance at the
Everglades Club
The Everglades Club is a social club in Palm Beach, Florida. When its construction began in July 1918, it was to be called the ''Touchstone Convalescent Club'', and it was intended to be a hospital for the wounded of World War I. But the war ended ...
in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...
. Here the scenery within the building's courtyard affected him in such a way that would eventually have an effect on many landscapes throughout Florida and the Caribbean and on the profession of landscape architecture through his work.
Stone was elected a Fellow of th
American Society of Landscape Architects and he received the
1994 ASLA Medal.
The medal "is the highest honor the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) may bestow upon a landscape architect whose lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession have had a unique and lasting impact on the welfare of the public and the environment
Stone served three consecutive four-year terms on the
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction with ...
, appointed by Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, and he served as a consultant to the Committee for a More Beautiful Capital in Washington, D.C., and to the Governor's Conference on Environmental Quality in the State of Florida.
[Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 555.]
At EDSA, Stone continued to play a role in directing the charettes that begin most projects, and he participated in design reviews (Gillete, 77). Gillette says EDSA specializes in recreation-based communities and resorts, both national and international. The firm also does work in urban and campus design, in places of entertainment and attraction, and in environment and ecotourism. Some of EDSA's main projects includ
Disney World's West Side Euro Disneyland
Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland Park, is a theme park found at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 12 April 1992 as the first of the two parks built at the resort. Designed and built by Walt Disney Ima ...
Riverwalkin Fort Lauderdale, th
an
Stone and his firm have become recognized for their expertise in planning and design for resort and community developmen
The projects in Fort Lauderdale, voted best city of its size in 1994, have helped make the city a tourist destination (Gillette, 91). In designing these places, Stone says they try to create "an idealized place, what the environment would be if everything were right in the world."(Gillette, 78)
References
External links
EDSA website*
ttp://www.asla.org/ ASLA.orgDisney World's West Side* Gillette, Jane Brown. 1997. "Team Leader". ''Landscape Architecture'' March 1997. pg 73–79, 91.
* Landscape Architecture. 1991. "Landscape Architecture's Ten Largest Firms". ''Landscape Architecture'' Sept. 1991. pg. 60-70
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Edward Durell Jr.
1932 births
2009 deaths
The Hill School alumni
American landscape architects
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
Yale School of Architecture alumni