“Time and time again, we see underrepresented groups push the boundaries of our profession. They are advocates not just for good design, but for environmental justice, equity, inclusion, and cultural celebration and exchange.” —Roberto Astudillo

Landscape designer Roberto Astudillo, ASLA (MLA ’19) is passionate about research-driven design in urban ecology, urban design, and interdisciplinary landscape approaches that incorporate the fine arts, humanities, and the sciences. A focal point of his work involves the redefining of design as a platform for advocacy in the sustainable development of inclusive cities.

After completing his degree in the Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), Astudillo worked for nearly two years at the SWA Group in San Francisco—gaining experience at multiple scales while advocating for urban ecological and social issues in practice. He is currently an urban designer at the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.

Astudillo shared his perspectives and experiences with us.

Can you tell us about your work at Living Habitats, and what kinds of projects and research you are most interested in pursuing?

Living Habitats is a particularly unique firm as it strives for research to guide our design and planning practice. As designers at Living Habitats, we aspire to facilitate collaboration among key stakeholders and experts to reach ecologically-driven design solutions at many scales.

I would say I am an interdisciplinary learner that seeks to understand problems on multiple fronts. Landscape architecture can offer a variety of experiences from a design-driven solution to a pure ecological focus. I lean more towards a hybrid approach, where I believe design and ecology must be co-existent for sustainability (both ecological and social) to be resilient and adaptive.

My original intent to pursue landscape architecture was to support the vision of an ecologically resilient and adaptive world, where nature has a place in our urban environments. At the moment, my interests are concentrated on topics in landscape equity and cities. I’m curious about how ecology not only covers topics in nature but how topics in social infrastructure and environmental justice deserve roles in the field and how designers and planners can take up one of the mantles towards that mission.

Is there a project you've worked on that you found especially rewarding?

Last year, the Landscape Architecture Foundation sponsored a Superstudio to generate ideas for the Green New Deal. While I was at SWA, I pitched an idea for a project that would highlight how tactical/small scale landscape interventions could have a role as climate infrastructure in inner cities but also provide vital social infrastructure. One of the core missions of the Green New Deal is environmental justice. In this project, the team explored how the answer to a design is to “undesign.” We explored how an answer to a problem is not design but to highlight and support the effectiveness of tactical interventions in informal landscapes.

We centered our project in Oakland where we advocated for the natural resource that is seen as lifeless and dispensable, urban soil. In this project, we unearthed the potential for urban soils to be platforms for social infrastructure. We defined this natural resource as a platform for job creation, education opportunities, economic development, and performative spaces. We explored solutions beyond the landscape architecture scope and proposed policy changes, economic incentives, land rematriation to traditional stewards of the land, and other solutions to create agency for urban soils. This project elevated what is neglected in the city, highlights its importance as a community resource, and provides a vision for small-scale climate interventions that cultivate social infrastructure. This was meaningful because I view landscape architecture as an advocacy platform. It demonstrated to me how landscape architecture can serve beyond its conventional role and be a facilitator in problems affecting the built environment to imagine new and changing possibilities.

You are passionate about design as a platform for advocacy for the development of inclusive cities. How can design serve as that kind of platform?

Design as an entity alone cannot be a platform for this. Instead, design must redefine itself as a form of advocacy. Landscape architecture as a profession is not diverse. The inclusion of new diverse voices in recent years, I believe, has pushed the profession to new horizons. Time and time again, we see underrepresented groups push the boundaries of our profession. They are advocates not just for good design, but for environmental justice, equity, inclusion, and cultural celebration and exchange. As designers, we have to think of our role beyond our sketches, plant selections, and documentation, but begin to see ourselves as part of the advocacy for equitable spaces, breaking the boundaries set by a history of exclusionary design and planning practices. We have to think of ourselves as facilitators, listeners, students, and supporters of the communities we serve.

You have written that you are intrigued by approaches that use the fine arts, humanities, and the sciences. Can you explain how those approaches might be integrated into landscape architecture/design?

I was extremely fortunate to not know what landscape architecture was until I graduated from my undergraduate studies. My lack of commitment to a specific major allowed me to explore topics in music, education, ecology and evolutionary biology, molecular biology, entomology, French, history, and geology. My process for any project involves reflecting back on all these different interests. It allows me to derive concept ideas connecting with cultural awareness, history, digging for a unique site identity beyond what the built environment could offer. I encourage any design and planning students to explore a diverse arrange of topics for inspiration. The wonderful thing about an interdisciplinary mindset is that you can capture inspiration from so many different ideas. It’s so exciting! Maybe you’re inspired by neural synapses, or you read a passage from a book, or even a scientific theory, there’s endless possibilities for idea generation!

In 2019, you won an American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Chapter Award for your work on CONFLUENCE: Design and Innovation for the Resilient Campus. Can you tell us about that project?

CONFLUENCE was one of my culminating projects during my time at SEAS. For this project, I led a team of mainly MLAs, as well as a few Master of Science students. Together, we connected ecology, design, technology, and engineering to provide a new vision of a climate change future. A vision that adapts to climate change through resilience via technology and green infrastructure, as opposed to conventional methods, and that ultimately creates a new focal point for the campus and city of Ann Arbor. This project was an opportunity to tap into my skills as a leader. This project was also a great example of how supportive the SEAS faculty is to its students. Professor Joan Nassauer allowed me to reach a new capacity in my career that I had doubts about—the ability to lead a team. This project brought members from all three MLA cohorts to work together. It was a great opportunity, and our program was very supportive and proud of our work. 

Finally, what about your SEAS experience overall?  Do you feel that the MLA program prepared you well for your career?

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at SEAS and the University of Michigan as a whole. SEAS offered so many great lectures and ideas that are rarely explored in the traditional design school. A big plus was the ability to take classes beyond SEAS and take advantage of the multitude of resources and opportunities offered by the university. For instance, I was able to take a course at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning that not only allowed me to work in an interdisciplinary design and planning team (alongside architects, urban planners, urban designers), but it also provided me the opportunity to travel for a studio with the support from SEAS.

The faculty were extremely supportive during my time as a grad student. The passion and dedication to their research has always been an inspiration. The research-driven and ecological focus of the MLA program has been at the center of my career development. In private practice I have pushed these topics onto our process, advocating for sustainability in design. The MLA program at SEAS prepared me to lead initiatives in practice, adding an additional perspective to the diversity of designers and planners in the office. The education and support I received at SEAS allowed me to advocate for issues I care about that go beyond the traditional scope of the landscape architect in practice. The atmosphere that SEAS has built over generations cultivates innovations in sustainability that push all of our professions to new limits.