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Signe Nielsen is a landscape architect and a founding principal at Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, US. She is also a professor of urban design
Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...
and landscape architecture at Pratt Institute and an active participant in New York City design policy and approvals. Her work focuses on the areas of green design, sustainability, and public space design.
Early life and education
Nielsen is a native ofParis, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, and she has degrees across several disciplines. She has a degree in urban planning from Smith College, a degree in landscape architecture from City College of New York, and a degree in construction management from the Pratt Institute.
Career
Nielsen's work in landscape architecture focuses on both creating a policy environment that supports good design and on creating spaces that are good for people and the environment. Her career involves more than 400 projects around the world. She was nominated for and featured in the 2015 Built by Women exhibition at theCenter for Architecture
The Center for Architecture is located in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village at 536 LaGuardia Place, between West 3rd Street and Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City. The center was designed by architect Andrew Berman and completed ...
in New York City, an event supported by the American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
New York chapter.
Along with Thomas Heatherwick
Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, (born 17 February 1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He works with a team of around 200 architects, designers and makers from a studio and workshop in ...
, she was a lead designer for Pier 55 in Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park is a waterfront park on the North River (Hudson River) that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, a component of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, stretches and ...
, a rebuild of Pier 54. The goal of the design was to provide recreation and walking space as well as cultural and educational space, and the design allows these activities to coexist. She also utilized tactical urbanism
Tactical urbanism, also commonly referred to as guerrilla urbanism, pop-up urbanism, city repair, D.I.Y. urbanism, planning-by-doing, urban acupuncture, and urban prototyping, is a low-cost, temporary change to the built environment, usually in cit ...
to create a greenspace at Freeman Plaza in Hudson Square
Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. To the north of the neig ...
in Manhattan, described as an unlikely space for a park. The park is part of a broader effort to make the streetscape in Hudson Square more sustainable through the addition of trees, greenspace, and water drainage systems and an effort to reclaim urban spaces that are currently dominated by cars.
Her firm has contributed to knowledge and practice of environmental design. The firm is a cited source on the use of lightweight soil for green roof
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
s. The firm contributed to the New York City manual, "DDC Cool and Green Roofing Manual."
Beyond her design work, Nielsen is active in supporting design with a public purpose, particularly in New York. She has stated that she believes strong policy is an important partner to design. She has written books on sustainable and green design for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. She has also been a member of the New York City Public Design Commission and served as its president. She presided over decisions on some controversial topics, such as the removal of the statue of J. Marion Sims
James Marion Sims (January 25, 1813November 13, 1883) was an American physician in the field of surgery. His most famous work was the development of a surgical technique for the repair of vesicovaginal fistula, a severe complication of obstruc ...
from Central Park. Nielsen is also a professor, having taught at the Pratt Institute for thirty years.
Select built works
* Little Island, New York City *Freeman Plaza, New York City * Lowline Lab, New York CityMajor publications
*DDC, 2007. “DDC Cool and Green Roofing Manual.” Prepared for New York City Department of Design & Construction Office of Sustainable Design, by Gruzen Samton Architects LLP with Amis Inc., Flack & Kurtz Inc., Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects P.C., and SHADE Consulting, LLC. *Nielsen, Signe, "Guerilla Resilience." Brandt, Denise Hoffman, Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, Bernard Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, and City University of New York. City College. ''Waterproofing New York''. Urban Research 02. New York City: Terreform, 2016.Recent awards
* 2018 American Institute of Architects George S. Lewis Award * 2012 Public Design Commission Design Awards Special Recognition * 2012 American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Merit Award for Unbuilt Project * 2012Municipal Art Society
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city.
The organization was ...
MASterworks Best Neighborhood Catalyst Award
* 2011 American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Urban Design Honor Award
* 2011 American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Award of Merit
* 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...
New York Chapter Merit Award
* 2011 Building Brooklyn Educational Design Award
References