A sketch done by Halprin references the "Sierra at 11,000 feet" and muses that the rock could inspire a possible "wall for Portland fountain."

A drawing by Lawrence Halprin details the landscape plan.

Skyline Park in Denver, Colorado, stretches over three city blocks. Halprin derived the sunken form from an eroded riverbed. Completed in 1974, the park also served as a stormwater retention site.

A master of appealing to a variety of stakeholders in a project, from city government to citizens, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin frequently used illustrations to convey complex ideas.

His design for Lovejoy Fountain, in Portland, features concrete slabs that echo the forms of the surrounding Cascades. Like the Portland Open Space Sequence as a whole, it coaxed nature into the city.

The major space in the Portland Open Space Sequence, the Ira Keller Fountain, opened on June 23, 1970. “Halprin knew how to engage the public, and his flexible, bottom-up approach often enabled him to get projects built,” said Laurie Olin, landscape architect.

The late San Francisco landscape architect Lawrence Halprin.

Once a derelict urban alley, Mint Plaza is nestled between the Old Mint and several historic warehouses. A simple ground plane unifies the plaza, while a steel arbor balances the towering warehouses to the north and the lower neoclassical facade of the Mint building to the south. The climbing vines on the arbor bring extensive greenery to the heart of the plaza and provide a canopy for al fresco diners. Photo by: Jeremy Blakeslee. Contemporary Architect: CMG Landscape Architecture (2008)

McMinn and Janzen's kitchen opens onto a double-height living and dining area.

How the Pandemic May Reshape the World as We Know It: The crisis reveals how our homes, offices, and communities need to respond to a rapidly changing reality.

While the house is invisible from the main street, a short five-minute walk connects the residents to the town center and every community amenity.

On the lower roof, cedar decking and flower beds define one of several outdoor gardening spaces. Part of her ongoing research into the livability of cities, Fitzgerald aimed to create landscaped areas that were “aesthetic, aromatic, educational, and productive.” The deck is bordered by an expanded aluminum mesh railing and black metal corrugated panels.

The sofa is from Cantoni, the rug is from Restoration Hardware, and the Tolomeo floor lamp is by Michele De Lucchi for Artemide. The large windows in the background and throughout the house are from Western Window Systems.

A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.

B&B Italia Outdoor’s Canasta sofa, by Patricia Urquiola, shares a shady patch in the ground-floor Carnegie Hill garden with three ginkgo biloba trees, an existing fountain with an Italian marble spout designed by Thomas Woltz, and bluestone pavers. The terrace is filled with woodland greenery: Leucothoe, ostrich ferns, and lady ferns.

Studio 804's 1,500-square foot house supports the city of Lawrence's goals of increased downtown-adjacent residency.

A collection of objects from Lawrence’s desk include stencils, paint rags, glasses, and a notebook.

The perennial plants on the green wall were plotted out as a piece of verdant abstract art. Edibles, like strawberry, thyme, and rosemary, are planted within children’s reach.

A sofa from Sutherland’s Poolside collection is covered in fabric from Perennials; the illuminated side tables are by Porcuatro for Tango Lighting. The screens are constructed from FSC-certified teak.

@myurbanstory showcased city map–inspired ornaments and wall clocks.

The seventh-floor terrace, or “sky meadow,” is at the very top of the town house.

Woltz describes the garden as a vertical progression up the six-story home: “You’re threading in and out of the building, so it’s a delightfully blurred experience, from garden to architecture and back.”

“Shophouses brought back memories of our childhoods, of open back doors and neighbors and relatives wandering in and out of the kitchen and cooking and eating and coming and going whether you liked it or not.”—Yang Yeo

The butterfly-roof pavilion by architects Kate Simonen, Benjamin Parco, and Phil Kaefer connects to the low-slung home Joseph Esherick designed in 1954 via two covered walkways and an open-air tearoom. All three structures sit lightly on the landscape designed by Lawrence Halprin and updated over 50 years later by Gary Roth, a former employee.

A Lawrence Halprin drawing of the house.

“With the restoration and reopening of The Sea Ranch Lodge, we are excited to honor the vision of the original developer and original group of architects including Al Boeke, Lawrence Halprin, and MLTW (Charles Moore, Donlyn Lyndon, Whitaker, and William Turnbull) – stewardship and respect of the land, sustainability for The Sea Ranch and creating a gathering place for all Sea Ranchers,” said Kristina Jetton, General Manager, The Sea Ranch Lodge.

Urban Story displayed clocks stylized as cities, among other products. CitiBin added a little greenery to the show floor with their smartly designed enclosures for trash.

One of the goals of the new building was for it to be an example for the students of each of the three disciplines. For the urban planning students, the task was accomplished by appropriately inserting the building into the "urban configuration of campus," says Robert Livesey, a professor and the school's director during the building's design and construction.

Paul’s American flag was a gift from one of his clients at the hair salon he owns. A flag should be fairly easy to procure at thrift stores or eBay, but this vintage stock from Urban Outfitters is a quick pick. $389

Need a streamlined way to know whether you should be dressed for snow or rain this winter? The Urban Weather Station from Neatmo comes with air quality sensors as well as wifi to track and monitor your environment, making it the first personal weather station for your iPhone or iPad. ($180)

Sunset at Sea Ranch, 1977, by Lawrence Halprin. Image courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

"Watchmaker," Jacob Lawrence, 1946.