Martha Schwartz

Description	A landscape architect and artist
Dates	1950
Lived/Worked	American

Best known for...

Martha Schwartz is a landscape architect and artist with a major interest in urban projects and the exploration of new design expression in the landscape. Her background is in both fine arts and landscape architecture.

Why is he/she important?

Martha Schwartz is a designer that has revolutionized the concept of what landscape architecture is. She has in every attempt blurred the lines between art and architecture. Schwartz is a provocative artist that employees extreme colours, unique materials, and outrageous concepts to bring humour to each of her designs. These designs span the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Britain, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. Schwartz is considered one of the world’s most pre-eminent landscape architects and artists, and has been listed as one of the worlds top 100 designers in the world by Metropolitan Home magazine based on her revolutionary design of public spaces. Martha Schwartz is, and continues to be, a very influential woman in both the field of design and art.

Historical context

Ms. Schwartz is also an adjunct professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She has lectured both nationally and internationally about the landscape, and her work has been featured widely in publications as well as gallery exhibitions. Recent projects include the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona; the private residence for Sheikh Saud Al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, working in conjunction with Arata Isozaki, Philip Johnson, Santiago Calatrava, and Jean Nouvel; a shopping mall interior and exterior in Frankfurt with MAB Gmbh.; urban reclamation and development projects with Urban Splash Developers and English Partnerships as well as on various projects located in Austria, Italy, China, and the UK.

How to see their work

The list of Martha Schwartz influential designs are quite extensive due to the fact that they have all attracted debate and recognition. Schwartz first design was that of the Bagel Garden. This design resembled a parterre embroideries in which purple gravels trips set off shellacked bagels. This design drew Schwartz a great deal of attention, landing her Bagel Garden on the front page of Landscape Architecture Magazine. A list of Schwartz’s subsequent works include: Stella’s Garden, Necco Garden.

Martha Schwartz on the web

http://www.marthaschwartz.com/ prjts/corporate/whitehead/ whitehead. html White head Institute Splice Garden, King County Jailhouse Garden.