Every large river is born from humble beginnings: a small trickle of water—often a seep, spring, or wetland area—carving a modest tributary that grows as it collects surface runoff and groundwater on its way to a larger stream. Known as headwater streams, most of these minor waterways are now buried underground, channelized, and piped out of urban areas through sewer systems, taking with them the ecological and cultural services they historically provided to communities. Although we have lost the physical and visual connection to many of these streams, flood mitigation is still serviced by the ..read more

part I. “...new conceptions of landscape beauty can be convulsive, disturbing, and challenging; through them we confront the entanglement of personal consumption, waste and the postindustrial site.” — Elizabeth Meyer, Beyond Sustaining Beauty The dock at Pelican Point is enveloped by a forested wetland. Twenty years ago, this would all have been open water. White Rock Lake is breathtaking in the fall. Hues of red, yellow, and green stand out, vibrant against an overcast sky and reflecting in the lake’s still waters at Pelican Point. It is late in the afternoon as I walk along the edge of the l ..read more

People don’t often associate landlocked North Texas with coastal river deltas, but our numerous artificial lakes, or reservoirs, are full of surprises!  Each reservoir simulates a river entering the ocean where the dammed waterway enters deeper lake waters, creating a formation of silt known as a reservoir delta. These collections of seemingly natural wetlands and bottomland forests are ecologically similar to the native ecosystems that reservoirs flood and destroy but their landforms create something unique because they are sculpted by the same forces as coastal deltas.  White Rock ..read more

Studio Outside’s annual Intern Week was a success this summer when our team of interns partnered with Dallas' non-profit Restorative Farms. Restorative Farms is an urban farm in South Dallas that provides relief in a significant food desert. They produce and sell food at affordable rates to the community and educate citizens on how to grow and prepare the crops. Our office challenged our interns, Rachael Herring (Purdue University), Emily Moore (Kansas State University), and Simin Liu (University of Virginia), to design a schematic design package that maximizes the production of a small-scale ..read more

“A transplant to both Texas and Dallas, long walks downtown and in its surrounding neighborhoods have been my favorite medium to become more familiar with my new home.”  Studio Outside’s Meghan Obernberger moved to Dallas in June 2022. Since then, she has sought to explore the city by walking, often without a destination in mind, but always recording her experiences in her sketchbook. A JOURNEY BEGINS  “Coming to Dallas, I was warned about the car-centric scale and planning of the city. While this reputation is fair, I have been pleasantly surprised by the walkability and public park ..read more

Studio Outside is pleased to share a conversation with Erin English, PE Practice Leader & Senior Engineer at Biohabitats, an ecological restoration and regenerative design firm that operates in various bioregions across the nation. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Erin works alongside clients as well as landscape architects to advance innovation in nature-based infrastructure with a focus on water and ecology. Erin has led the construction of wetlands, wastewater, rainwater, and water reuse engineering for award-winning projects that achieved the Living Building Challenge™ and net zero wate ..read more

I had the opportunity to sit down with Chenyan Zhu, one of our landscape architecture interns, and learn more about her study abroad trip through the Robert Reich School of Architecture at Louisiana State University. Over the course of ten days, students travelled to France and Germany to gain insight into how culture and the environment influence design. Spearheaded by Professor Max Conrad and Associate Director Haley Blakeman, students observed gardens, architecture, waterfronts, and the fascinating history of Paris, France, and Berlin and Hamburg, Germany. Did you see any great examples of ..read more

“On motionless wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of sky, and settle in clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun on the crane marsh.” ― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac For the past eight years, Studio Outside has partnered with the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary in Central Nebraska, leading conservation efforts to protect and restore Platte River ecologies. This quiet prairie river hosts one of North America’s last remaining Sandhill Crane migration spectacles and Studio Outside has had the privilege of spearheading ..read more

Studio Outside has five new faces in the office! We are pleased to announce our latest Outsiders: Reid Lynn, our Project Leader specializing in construction observation and document detailing; our two newest Landscape Designers, Sahana Ashwathanarayana and Holden McCullough, with a strong eye for design and the desire to make a lasting impact, and Interns Emily Moore and Chenyan Zhu join us while they pursue their degree in landscape architecture. We're very excited to have them join our team! Be sure to click on their image to find out more. reid lynn ..read more

At Studio Outside, we take pride and joy in being good stewards of our city not just through designing landscapes, but also through maintaining them. Over the past year and a half, we’ve had the opportunity to assist in the maintenance of two of our built projects in addition to starting an annual cleanup in our office’s neighborhood. Everyone deserves well-designed and maintained landscapes, but they can be challenging to come across in Dallas' beautiful yet underinvested southern half, where all of these efforts took place. South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park Studio Outside recently worked with ..read more