Consilience and Collaboration
William Whewell was the first to speak of consilience in his 1840 thesis, The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences. He defined it as "the act of 'jumping together' of knowledge by the linking of facts and fact-based theory across disciplines to create a common groundwork of explanation."
We use the term more generally to express agreement, coincidence, concurrence, and accordance of two or more inductions drawn from different phenomena. Whereas synthesis implies harmony and the creation of an idealized form, consilience recognizes heterogeneity and complexity.
Rather than strive for synthesis of all of the forces and ideas that shape complex landscapes, our projects seek consilience, celebrating the juxtaposition of orders and forms that are inherent to the wide range of landscape related systems. With fluency and understanding across professional boundaries and a sincere commitment to collaboration, the consilient approach results in a more holistic design.
Building Communities
We think of community in its broadest context and meaning. It is both a place and a social activity: families and homes, residential neighborhoods, commercial districts, universities, high schools, public institutions — each of these reflects a form of community. But there is another facet of community that is essential to our work, the ecological community, the one community that we all share by nature of being alive. All vital communities are places of accrual and transformation that are built incrementally over lives and generations. We recognize and embrace this dynamism in our work by maintaining a long-term vision of the project and anticipating its evolution.
Design Excellence - "El Camino Thinking"
While we strive to create enduring and timeless places, we are equally compelled by our desire to create innovative landscapes. In the field of landscape architecture and urban design, innovation is subtle and requires a critical rethinking of existing models, formal approaches, and construction techniques. We regard the El Camino as a unique example of innovation; like all great designs, it introduced a new functional and aesthetic paradigm, becoming a cultural icon with an enduring legacy.