Anita Toby Lager's diverse design and business background as an industrial designer and entrepreneur shaped an indirect route to her successful career in landscape architecture. Anita became aware of the discipline through her design of an exhibit display system for a show on Illinois landscape architecture. She immediately embraced the tenets of the profession: to design innovative, thoughtful, people friendly, and sustainable environments.
Today, in her primary role as the firm's managing principal, Anita continues to foster these principles among the staff as she oversees LRSLA's business development and the firm's administration.
Anita received her MLA from The University of Illinois and her BS from Drexel University. She has been practicing landscape architecture since 1980 and is licensed in Pennsylvania and several other states. Anita is often a guest lecturer, on the subject of running a design practice, at landscape architecture programs in the region where she is also a frequent visiting critic. Anita continues to share her love of design as a speaker at conferences on a range of topics of interest to both landscape architects and the general public.
Peta Raabe's passion for landscape architecture developed from her quest to become a better architect. Peta's prior training and practice as an architect continues to inform and enhance her creative work in landscape architecture and planning. Peta's talent, skill, and enthusiasm are evident in the range of her built work as a design principal and as a mentor to the firm's staff. In recent years Peta has focused her efforts on several large scale planning projects with multiple stakeholders and complex program requirements as well as overseeing the design and installation of site specific landscapes.
Peta received her MLA from the University of Pennsylvania, MArch from Washington University, and BA from Bennington College. She has been a licensed Architect since 1980 and a registered Landscape Architect since 1992, in Pennsylvania and several other states. Peta has taught both Urban Design and Site Planning at Temple and Drexel Universities and she has often been a member of design charrette teams, organized by various City of Philadelphia agencies, to study controversial site development opportunities in the city.
Karen Skafte's inventiveness and technical expertise has been a mainstay of the firm since she became a principal in 2000. Karen's pivotal contribution to the projects she is involved with, from programming through design and construction observation, is apparent to our clients who value and admire the creativity and effectiveness of her award winning work. The ability to focus on a project's intimate spaces and detail design while envisioning a holistic approach to the site's challenges is fundamental to the successful execution of Karen's work. As design principal she has been overseeing LRSLA's work on many academic projects at The University of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State University, and other campuses.
Karen received her MLA from the University of Virginia and BA from the University of Maryland. She has been practicing and registered in Pennsylvania since 1986. Prior to joining LRSLA Karen was an Associate at Olin Partnership where she oversaw the construction of the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Karen has previously been an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture at Temple University, teaching site engineering, and she continues to serve as a guest critic for design juries.
Julie A. Bush has been an integral member of LRSLA since joining the firm in 2000 and becoming an Associate in 2004. Julie contributes to the successful design and installation of the projects she works on through her excellent people and project management skills coupled with her ability to effortlessly shift from site scale to detail scale during the design process.
Julie's work has included the streetscape improvement master plan for the Old City District, 24 square blocks in the historic heart of Philadelphia. Julie has also been instrumental in the successful completion of LRSLA's work at The Pennsylvania State University including the Smeal School of Business Administration courtyard and the transformation of Shortlidge Road into a pedestrian only landscape.
Julie received her MArch from McGill University and BLA from Clemson University. She has been an adjunct member of the Temple University Department of Architecture and she is a registered Landscape Architect.
David H. Elliott brings over ten years of landscape architectural experience to LRSLA. Prior to joining the firm he worked for many years at Olin Partnership first as a Senior Landscape Designer and later as an Associate. David excels at creating innovative design solutions to complex site challenges. The breadth of his experience includes work on all phases of a diverse range of landscape architectural projects.
David's work includes the landscape at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Indianapolis where he designed a cloistered garden that will serve as the primary ceremonial space for the Church's ecclesiastic activities. To achieve consensus for the Class of '62 Walk at the University of Pennsylvania David imaginatively addressed the design and programming needs of a disparate group of stakeholders.
David received his MLA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland and he is a registered Landscape Architect.
Leslie A. Norvell's multifaceted talent as a designer and project administrator is apparent on each project with which she is involved. Leslie naturally moves between the creative design process and project management and her ability to solve problems creatively and thoughtfully both in the field and on the boards is an ongoing asset to LRSLA.
Leslie's work on the design and construction observation of Aviator Park follows her participation in the development of the Concept Plan for Logan Square. On the Bridge to Bridge Master Plan Leslie led LRSLA's work proposing sustainable practices to help remediate years of neglect and overuse on a beloved regatta site. For Penn's new School of Veterinary Medicine Leslie was instrumental in designing a landscape on a site constrained by physical as well as functional requirements.
Leslie received her MLA, Magna Cum Laude and her BS from Auburn University. She has often been a guest critic at Drexel University and she was named a "Community Design Collaborative Volunteer of the Year" in 2005. Leslie is a registered Landscape Architect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
  |
||||
 |
||||