Personal Statement

Warren T. Byrd, Jr. taught in the School of Architecture for the years. He has a bachelors degree in Horticulture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. He served as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture from 1986 through 1992 and became a Full Professor in 1994. He maintains a nationally recognized practice, Nelson-Byrd-Woltz Landscape Architects, based here in Charlottesville, Virginia. This critical practice, which emerged out of collaborative work and competitions with Susan Nelson and several architect colleagues. At present this practice ranges from town planning scale work to master planning for a variety of public and private institutions to very specific built projects at the scale of gardens, courts and site furnishings. Much of the recent work has emphasized sustainable design and construction practices; has collaborated on innovative stormwater strategies; has heralded local and regional plant communities; has helped articulate successional approaches to landscape development; and has attempted to meld cultural and natural site histories. The practice has garnered over 25 national, regional and state awards in the past four years. It's reach has been from coast to coast in the United States, from Canada to Mexico as well as Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark and New Zealand. Professor Byrd has received teaching awards from the University of Virginia and the Council of Educators of Landscape Architects, two Bradford Williams Medals for distinguished writing in Landscape Architecture Magazine, several first, second and honorable mentions in national design competitions, has served on numerous juries and selection panels and has lectured throughout the country. His writing and design work continue to appear in prominent design publications. Mr. Byrd's areas of expertise include sustainable landscape design, site planning, park planning, town planning, arboreta and botanic garden design, and specific knowledge of the landscape character and plant/ecological communities of the East Coast, especially in the mid-Atlantic region.