Surfacedesign, Inc. is a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in San Francisco, California. Surfacedesign was recipient of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Landscape Architecture in 2017. This award-winning practice focuses on creating dynamic parks, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes and private gardens. The firm’s multidisciplinary team of landscape architects, urban designers and architects, provide innovative design solutions for a wide range of projects. Interactive and meaningful collaboration between project stakeholders, ranging from clients, designers, community groups and city agencies are essential components to the shifting tactics required to program dynamic public sites. Surfacedesign’s outreach and visioning work focuses on building partnerships and innovative strategies for placemaking. 

James A. Lord will present a selection of early and recent work in the Bay Area and abroad through the lens of material authenticity. Logs, minerals, and metallic elements function as benches, water features, and fire pits. These custom pieces are designed to be an extension of the particulars of the site, their materiality articulating the character of the landscape they inhabit. In this lecture James and Roderick will share the design process of several of their custom site furnishings, from sketches and models to mockups and installation. The lecture will also explore collaborative partnerships with local fabricators that push the boundaries of material innovation