Adam Anderson

Adam E. Anderson is a registered landscape architect and founder/principal of DESIGN UNDER SKY, an award-winning collaborative landscape architecture studio in Providence, RI with several recent projects—including the National ASLA Honor Award for 10,000 Suns, The Living Edge and the Roger Williams Park Gateway—that have contributed to the transformation of the urban landscape of Providence and beyond.
His work negotiates with the ever-changing landscape by understanding the unique phenomenological qualities and cultural influences inherent in a site and then deploying interventions to embrace, reveal and often embellish these qualities. “Nature” is abstracted in his projects, culminating in a celebration of wonder found in both the technological and ecological. He continues to maintain several of his projects in the city, viewing maintenance as a “sculptural act” and redefining the role of “weeds” as a collaborative partner in re-wilding spaces in the city.
He received his Master’s in Landscape Architecture (MLA II) from RISD, where he was an Olmsted Scholar, and his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University. He has taught at RISD since 2014 and is also a design critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
In 2021 he was inducted into the DESIGNXRI Hall of Fame as an emerging designer. Adam also serves on the board of the Downtown Providence Parks Network as well as PVD World Music Organization.
Courses
Fall 2023 Courses
LDAR 2253-01
PLANTS: FORM AND SPACE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will explore the use of plants as a design medium while balancing the horticultural considerations. There will be analyses of existing gardens, field trips, and the creation of schematic and detailed planting plans for different types of sites. Topics such as seasonality, texture, color and form will be discussed.
Open to Landscape Architecture Students only.
Registration by the Landscape Architecture Design Department; this course is not available via web registration. Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2253-02
PLANTS: FORM AND SPACE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will explore the use of plants as a design medium while balancing the horticultural considerations. There will be analyses of existing gardens, field trips, and the creation of schematic and detailed planting plans for different types of sites. Topics such as seasonality, texture, color and form will be discussed.
Open to Landscape Architecture Students only.
Registration by the Landscape Architecture Design Department; this course is not available via web registration. Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture