The Cultural Landscape Foundation Pioneers of American Landscape Design ___________________________________ LAURIE OLIN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ___________________________________ Interviews Conducted June 1‐6, 2012 By Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR Gina M. Angelone, Director The Cultural Landscape Foundation Pioneers of American Landscape Design® Oral History Series: Laurie Olin Interview Transcript PRELUDE ........................................................................................................ 5 BIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 5 Childhood ....................................................................................................................... 5 Living in Many Places ......................................................................................................... 5 Prosser, Washington ....................................................................................................... 5 Vancouver, Canada ......................................................................................................... 8 Seattle, Washington ...................................................................................................... 10 Fairbanks, Alaska .......................................................................................................... 11 Formative Education ..................................................................................................... 19 Elementary School Memories .......................................................................................... 19 A Teacher, Ms. Morrow, Makes a Difference .................................................................. 25 Learning from Boy Scouts and Camping .......................................................................... 26 Learning from High School Experiences ........................................................................ 27 From Travel ...................................................................................................................... 27 From Summer Jobs ........................................................................................................... 29 From Drawing ................................................................................................................... 33 From Being Independent.................................................................................................. 33 From a Love of Music ....................................................................................................... 37 From High School Activities .............................................................................................. 38 College Remembrances ................................................................................................ 40 The University Of Alaska: Studying Civil Engineering ....................................................... 40 The University of Washington: Studying Architecture ..................................................... 44 Experiencing Campus Life ............................................................................................. 45 Studying Architecture ‐ First Year Memories ................................................................ 48 Summer work for the Alaska Road Commission ........................................................... 52 Studying Architecture ‐ Second Year Challenges .......................................................... 55 Learning to Draw at the Highest Level .......................................................................... 57 Beaux‐Arts versus Modernism ...................................................................................... 61 Remembering Victor Steinbrueck ................................................................................. 62 Remembering Richard Haag ......................................................................................... 64 Remembering Theodore Roethke ................................................................................. 68 Working for Rich Haag .................................................................................................. 70 Working for Fred Bassetti ............................................................................................. 70 Post College Years ........................................................................................................ 72 The Army .......................................................................................................................... 72 Work in Planning .............................................................................................................. 74 Exploring Different Avenues ............................................................................................ 75 Learning from Skid Road .................................................................................................. 76 Lessons from Rich Haag .................................................................................................... 80 Reflecting on Rich Haag and His Work at Gas Work Park ................................................ 84 Working in New York in the 1960s ................................................................................ 88 © 2013 The Cultural Landscape Foundation, all rights reserved. May not be used or reproduced without permission. 2 The Cultural Landscape Foundation Pioneers of American Landscape Design® Oral History Series: Laurie Olin Interview Transcript A Move to New York City ................................................................................................. 88 Working for Edward Barnes ............................................................................................. 88 Participating in the Museum of Modern Art Exhibition ‐ The New City .......................... 90 Lessons from Central Park ................................................................................................ 91 Discovering the Museum of Modern Art ......................................................................... 94 Learning from Other Landscape Architects ..................................................................... 95 Working on the West Coast in the 1970s ...................................................................... 96 Encountering Ian McHarg at the University of Washington ............................................ 96 A Return to Seattle and Frank Bassetti’s Office ............................................................... 97 Experiences Abroad .................................................................................................... 100 A Trip to England Teaches Landscape Lessons .............................................................. 100 Opportunities to Study Abroad ...................................................................................... 102 Embracing the American Academy in Rome Experience ............................................... 104 Working in London ......................................................................................................... 110 Teaching ..................................................................................................................... 111 University of Pennsylvania ............................................................................................. 111 How I Came to Teach at Penn ..................................................................................... 111 Remembrances of Early Years ..................................................................................... 112 Embracing New Directions .......................................................................................... 116 Reflecting on Ian McHarg and Ecological Planning .................................................... 118 Returning to the University of Pennsylvania ............................................................... 120 Harvard ........................................................................................................................... 121 Experiences as Chairman of Harvard Landscape Architecture Department ............... 121 Practice ....................................................................................................................... 128 Developing the LAMP Plan for University of Pennsylvania ............................................ 128 Joe Passonneau and the Washington DC Project .......................................................... 130 Creating the Hanna/Olin Firm ........................................................................................ 131 Hanna/Olin Grows .......................................................................................................... 134 The Firm Becomes the Olin Partnership ........................................................................ 138 Work with Peter Eisenman............................................................................................. 143 Lessons from Laurie .................................................................................................... 151 Dennis McGlade and Sue Weiler .................................................................................... 151 Chris Hanley and Richard Newton.................................................................................. 156 Bob Bedell and Lucinda Sanders ...................................................................................