
Lisa DuRussel

About
Raised in a family of farmers in rural Michigan, Lisa developed a formative respect and commitment to the sophistication and complexities of nature at a young age.
As a practicing landscape architect and educator, Lisa draws from 15 years of professional design experience where she has led the design and implementation of award-winning projects that innovate on ecological design. Her practice, Site Science, places focus on research-based design and implementation strategies that integrate deep ecological design principles into functional and experiential landscapes. Through the craft of design, experimentation and cross-disciplinary study, Lisa’s work amplifies collaborative action with deep community engagement.
Lisa has held project leader positions with established design firms: West 8 urban design + landscape architecture, Future Green Studio Brooklyn, MNLA New York, and Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects Chicago. She currently collaborates with Unknown Studio on green infrastructure initiatives along the Middle Branch in Baltimore, with Earthscape Tokyo on a 500-acre quarry reclamation plan in Kentucky, and with Horizon Geospatial on geodesign-based community engagement workshops in North Yellowstone.
Her work has been published for the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and in Landscape Architecture Magazine, World Landscape Architecture, and Metropolis POV. Lisa received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy and her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan.
Publications
2019
LAF Case Study Investigation: Hunters Point South Park, Queens NY
LAF Case Study Investigation: West Point Foundry Preserve, Cold Spring NY
2014
Metropolis Magazine POV: Urban Paddling, Vectors of Change in Nature, Living in a Digital World
2013
Metropolis Magazine POV: Outdoors in the Digital World, It’s just Dirt, isn’t it?, From Field to Park, Dumpster Diving,
What Lies Beneath, Tree Tag. . . You’re It!, Colors only Dogs can See
2010
The Dignity of Restraint, ed. Peter Lindsay Schaudt, Charles Birnbaum
UNC Campus Tree Walk, ed. Peter Lindsay Schaudt, Dr. Michael Dirr
2020
Roberto Clemente State Park (with MNLA New York):
ASLA-NY Chapter Merit Award in General Design, 2020
2019
Governors Island Hills (with West 8 NY):
Great Places in America Award, American Planning Association, 2019
2017
Governors Island Hills (with West 8 NY):
Architizer A+ Awards Jury Winner in the Public Park Category
MASterworks Award for Best Urban Landscape
ASLA-NY Chapter Honor Award in General Design
ULI New York Excellence in Civic Space Development
Honorable Mention Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards
2016
Governors Island Hills (with West 8 NY):
New York Design Awards, Gold Award in Landscape Design
Spring Street Park (with MNLA):
NYC Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design
2015
Governors Island Park & Public Space, Phase 1 (with MNLA):
ASLA-NY Design Merit Award
2014
Governors Island Park & Public Space, Phase 1 (with MNLA):
Built by Women NYC, Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
New York Botanical Garden Edible Academy (with MNLA):
NYC Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design
Hudson Square Streetscape Improvement Plan (with MNLA):
ASLA-NY Design Merit Award for Collaborative Design
2012
Governors Island Park & Public Space, Phase 1 (with MNLA):
ASLA Professional Honor Award in Analysis and Planning
Construction of Governors Island Park & Public Space, Phase 1 (with MNLA):
NYC Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design
Master of Landscape Architecture, SEAS '06
Bachelor of Science in Resource Ecology & Environmental Policy, SEAS '02
- Licensed Landscape Architect: Illinois #157.1307 and Florida #LA6667309
- LEED Accredited Professional, CLARB Certiied
- Founder + Design Director at Site Science / Ann Arbor, MI
- Landscape Architecture Foundation Research Fellow: 2018
- National ASLA Public Awareness Representative: 2015 - 2017
- NY-ASLA Board Member: 2014 - 2016