Structuring Confluence: The Work of W Architecture and Landscape Architecture

The coming together, or confluence, between ecology and urbanism creates a new dynamic for space making. W Architecture and Landscape Architecture reveals the tensions inherent in these convergences. Their desire is to generate form which is rooted in the contexts and specifics of the place and which actively invite engagement and discovery. The influences and processes behind their work, including collaborative contributions by Enrique Norten, Guy Nordenson, Nari Ward, and others are also featured. Selected projects span various scales and disciplines, including architecture and landscape architecture, research and built forms.

Barbara Wilks, FAIA, FASLA founded W Architecture and Landscape Architecture in 1999 to create a design-oriented, multidisciplinary practice focused on urban issues. As an architect and a landscape architect, Barbara uses her leadership skills to realign nature and the city.

Eric W. Sanderson is a Senior Conservation Ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society and has brought landscape thinking and geographic analysis tools into the conservation practices of the WCS. In 2002, Dr. Sanderson and colleagues created the Human Footprint Map, the first look at human influence globally at less than one-square-mile resolution and also created the Mannahattan project analyzing ecology in NYC.

Michael Sorkin is an American architectural critic and author of several hundred articles in a wide range of both professional and general publications.