EDAW was an international

landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

, urban and environmental design firm that operated from 1939 until 2009. Starting in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, United States, the company at its peak had 32 offices worldwide. EDAW led many landscape architecture, land planning and master planning projects, developing a reputation as an early innovator in sustainable urban development and multidisciplinary design. EDAW is an acronym derived from Eckbo, Dean, Austin and Williams, the names of four of the firm's original partners: Garrett Eckbo, Francis Dean, Don Austin, and Edward Williams. A limited partnership, the firm was bought by the American engineering conglomerate

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

in 2005, ceasing to exist as a standalone practice in 2009 when it was fully integrated into the company.

History

Origins and early history (1939-1980s)

EDAW traces its origins to the studio founded by Eckbo and Williams in San Francisco in 1939 to practice landscape architecture and urban design.https://www.asla.org/uploadedFiles/EDAW_History.pdf American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), 2009 Landscape Architecture Firm Award, EDAW History. The practice brought together the design of Eckbo's avant-garde, modernist landscape architecture and Williams' concern for conservation and land management. By 1964, joined by Dean and Austin and Robert Royston, the partners took on a number of important commissions across California and beyond. Projects such as the California Urban Metropolitan Space Plan, commissioned in 1962, were radical in their environmental foresight. Under the tutelage of Eckbo, the practice was responsible for some important modernist works of urban landscape architecture including Tucson Community Center and Fulton Mall (Fresno). It was in the 1960s where the firm expanded into resort and leisure design with its first resort project, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawai'i; the firm's international portfolio began with projects in Asia such as Lodi Gardens in New Delhi, India. By the early 1970s, EDAW entered into the

environmental planning Environmental planning is the process of facilitating decision making to carry out land development with the consideration given to the natural environment, social, political, economic and governance factors and provides a holistic framework to a ...

field with a major commission with the Californian utility Pacific Gas & Electric and undertook a land use review for the State of Hawai'i in 1970. In 1973, the firm – then called Eckbo, Dean, Austin and Williams – adopted the name EDAW.

Global landscape architect (1980s-2000s)

Source: In the 1980s, the firm expanded its Asian portfolio with projects in Korea, China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore, and by 1992, EDAW had opened offices in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Important commissions in the decade included the Alpine and Rock Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens, the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta and the master plan for Mission Bay, San Francisco. Landscape architect Joe Brown took the reins of the company as president in 1992. Brown, the lead designer of projects

Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in ...

in Washington, DC to Tokyo Midtown, oversaw EDAW's transformation into a global name in landscape architecture. Major commissions included the Restoration of the Everglades, the Monumental Core Framework Plan for the

National Capital Planning Commission The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is a United States government, U.S. government executive branch agency that provides Urban planning, planning guidance for Washington, D.C., and the surrounding National Capital Region. Through its pl ...

in Washington, Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, the brownfield development at Stapleton, Denver, Celebration, Florida and the landscape architecture for the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

. In the United Kingdom, EDAW was involved in numerous urban regeneration projects. The firm was lead master planner for

Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...

's redevelopment following the 1996 bombing and went on to design Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens. Major urban public realm commissions included London's Royal Victoria Dock, Edinburgh's

Quartermile Quartermile is the marketing name given to the Mixed-use development, mixed use redevelopment of the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh site, in Lauriston, Edinburgh. It was master-planned by architect Foster + Partners and takes its name fro ...

, Sheffield's Sheaf Square, Pier Head and King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, and the redesign of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

's waterfront. Between 2003 and 2005, EDAW led the group that developed the master plan for the site of the successful

London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics London 2012 was the successful bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London with most events taking place in Stratford in the borough of Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997, and presented ...

. The practice opened a Hong Kong office in 1996, which would eventually grow to include design studios across the region. Of note in Asia was EDAW's long-standing relationship with the city of

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, where EDAW landscape architects and urban designers completed the master plan and public realm design for the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, using contemporary design techniques but also incorporating traditional Chinese landscape and horticultural traditions. In a similar vein, the firm designed large urban schemes for rapidly industrializing Chinese cities such as Wuxi Li Lake Parklands and the revitalization of the

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. During the Song dynasty, the main stream of the Hai River was called the lowe ...

in Tianjin. In Australia, it was in Brisbane where the practice's work was particularly prolific with projects such as Roma Street Parkland and South Bank Parklands.

Subsidiary of AECOM (2005-2009)

In 2005, EDAW's partners agreed to sell their practice to AECOM, but the firm continued to operate as a distinct entity and brand for a few more years. In 2007, British landscape architect Jason Prior became president of EDAW. Under Prior, the practice reached 1,800 staff across 32 offices. The company secured notable master plan commissions for large new urban developments such as

Saadiyat Island Saadiyat Island (; ', for "Island of Happiness") is a natural island and a Cultural tourism, tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Culture of the United Arab Emirates, Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, U ...

and Msheireb Downtown Doha and significant landscape architecture commissions for Belfast City Centre, the

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...

, Southport Broadwater Parklands in Australia's Gold Coast and New York's World Trade Center and in 2009 was bestowed with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Landscape Architecture Firm Award. Later that same year, EDAW ceased to exist as a legal entity as AECOM consolidated its subsidiaries. After 70 years, the practice's brand was retired, and its operations were merged into AECOM.

Firm chronology

*1939-1945: Eckbo & Williams *1945-1953: Eckbo, Royston & Williams *1953-1973: Eckbo, Dean, Austin & Williams *1973-2009: EDAW

References