 Hey everyone Hello, hello, so it looks like we are live Thank you so much for tuning in today. I can I can see you all joining me Hi Mike Hi David It's so nice to see you all Joining for our Instagram live And I'm so glad you're all here. I I wish I could see all of your faces, too So I'll go ahead and introduce myself. I'm Rebecca Armstrong. I'm an educator here at Cooper Hewitt And I'll be joined shortly by OJB a landscape architecture the 2020 National Design Award winner for a landscape architecture for a special garden visit and conversation with them, so you know, I Can't tell you how excited I am to speak with them and to celebrate their work and their achievement this year so Yeah, so stay tuned and we're just so excited for them to hop on and you'll also get to see A little bit of a sneak peek and tour of their incredibly beautiful project sunny land center and garden All the way from sunny sunny, California So a quick note as well that this is actually the very last program of National Design Month at Cooper Hewitt. So we're closing out the month of October with you So thank you so much for being here and you know all month long We've been offering virtual programs to all all kinds of audiences all over featuring our incredible National Design Award winners across all categories and You know, thank you very much to everybody who has joined us throughout the month We're so happy that you're able to to be with us and and so much gratitude as well to target For making the month of programming possible for us So we'll be joined very shortly by OJB landscape architect Jim Burnett and partner Dylan Deers as well as the director of sunny lands Janice Lyle So let's give them just a moment or two to log in here All right. Yes. Hey Janice. It's nice to see you Good morning. Good. Good afternoon. It's morning over on the West Coast where you're joining from So thank you so much for being here. If you just tuned in to the audience welcome My name is Rebecca I'm an educator here at Cooper Hewitt and I'm here with OJB landscape architecture winner of the 2020 National Design Award in a landscape architecture, of course So before we speak with Jim and Dylan of OJB I'd love to introduce first our lovely guest Janice Lyle director of sunny lands center and garden Designed by OJB. So that's where everyone is joining us from And we you know can't wait to visit the gardens in person someday someday soon But Janice perhaps you can kick us off by telling us a little bit about the mission of sunny lands Sure. Well, we're sitting seating We're seated at the public access part of sunny lands and sunny lands is the name given By Walter and Leonore Annenberg to their winter home that they built in the 1960s here in the California desert Their home is acknowledged now as a mid-century modern architectural landmark and it sits on 200 acres of parkland in the middle of the desert during the Annenbergs lifetime they Hosted seven US presidents. They welcomed British royalty like the Queen of England and they engaged with Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra and that Created a slice of American life and provides us with an opportunity to talk about the history of America in the 20th century At the end of their lifetimes the Annenbergs set up a trust for the purpose of preserving sunny lands as a high-level retreat center that it that hopes to foster international agreement and as a place where people can come and visit and learn about the significance of this very special place so in 2006 The this project this public part of our project began and it sits adjacent to the historic estate it Has a visitor center that was designed by architects Friedfisher and partners and that building references the mid-century modern house on a historic estate That the visitor center is placed in a nine acre garden and the garden Designed by OJB What was inspired by the Annenbergs impressionist and post impressionist paintings collection? It is incredibly beautiful more than 700,000 people have visited since we opened in 2012 and they have been Exposed to and the delightful recipients of a space that is Serene and encourages solitude and contemplation But at the same time they've been engaged in public programs thousands of them that allow them to be in a community together Within this beautiful space so I think the best person to talk about this incredible garden is Jim Burnett So I welcome Jim here on my left Thank you. Thank you. Hello. Hello. Hi Rebecca. How are you? Thank you Janice appreciate that that introduction and It's amazing morning here at Sunnylands It's about 60 degrees and the weather is just perfect. I'm here with Dylan Dears my partner and Dylan's first day at OJB was His first assignment first day on the job was to work at Sunnylands And he had a big role and the execution of this garden and kind of seeing it through during the whole process and in celebration of National Design Month, we want to thank Cooper to do it for Being a national design award winner. It's a tremendous honor and we're happy to be here today and To kind of reflect on what design means to us is landscape architects I want to just add that it's it as in this assignment that we took on over 10 years ago It's more than just problem-solving. That's just one of the important Issues of kind of trying to create this setting for retreat this this project was really about kind of getting people away from The everyday life and putting them in a setting that would be conducive to sharing ideas and I think design is Is the science is it's it's kind of layering in the ground run of me the the tannical aspects the soils issues the geology that All the climate issues, but it also is kind of layering in The kind of artist touch the design that makes it so beautiful to be here landscape architecture has grown tremendously in the last 20 years with pressures that have been put on You know with climate change and all the the kind of pressures of above of kind of maintaining what we have and Taking care of it and and I think and during the pandemic It's been really important to realize that one of the only safe places that we can go and take our mask off Is actually out in the landscape And lastly, I think nature as we find here today and on a lot of a lot of projects that That we've been fortunate to work on nature is really the great healer. It helps to restore us It changes the cells on our body. It gives us Promise and kind of the the ability to kind of change our mood It makes us happier getting out of doors is something that's extremely important for the psyche and As we've all found out just taking a walk outside During this this last seven months has been really critical to mental and physical health Certainly. Thank you so much, Jim. I mean it's it's calming just to like look at the screen and see what's behind you It's so sunny and so green and spacious. So I mean, it's it's just beautiful I know exactly what you mean about the tranquility of being outside and I feel like it's so necessary right now in such stressful times You know, and it's so clear with projects like sunny lands as well as I you know I think of like Clyde Warren Park in Dallas, which literally reconnects different parts of the city that you know Your work also focuses so much on this need for community And and so I'm wondering if you can tell us a little more about the inspiration of sunny lands and some of the key design elements that That you use there to sort of foster those connections between people on an outdoor space well, I think When we began the project it was interesting that It was meant to be a Kind of a launching place or the setting for people to come here Understand the legacy of the Annenbergs and then move to the historic estate But I think as we started to develop the design and we had Mrs. Annenberg's input She really felt that this could be As significant or as important as the estate and it could be a place where people would come and and walk the grounds that they would come and Have yoga class they would come and come to art exhibitions that this could be a community center and So I think it's it was really Mrs. Annenberg's inspiration that that this be a really important community cultural asset I Think the design in particular We followed her lead and that she wanted to have a landscape that was Beautiful, but not spare and not sparse. She wanted it to be She described it as being lush and I think we were able to Look at things she loved which were the Impressionist paintings and create this large loss of painterly Masses of desert botanical plants. I think You know if you look at the mid-century inspiration and working with Fred Fisher He was phenomenal and and his interpretation of the Quincy Jones Historic estate and bringing that to a kind of current current approach to the to the pavilion here we Created an entry that Is is a bit of a surprise you kind of come in through through the trees and then you open up You see the center and then you see the San Jacinto Mountains behind but you know, I think What a lot of people really enjoy is this idea that You can leave the outer world behind Just like Walter and Lenora Annenberg envisioned the historic estate that when world leaders and their friends would come here and talk about critical issues facing the country facing the world with education and and and kind of international challenges Everything could be left at the gate and when you come here you really do Take a deep breath When you walk the grounds your heart rate goes down this the the crush of gravel under your foot gives you a registers completely different with you and helps to kind of slow the pace and really does a great job of of kind of Recharging you at the same time Yeah, that word lush is also the first one that came to my mind So I I was anticipating you using that and I was like, oh, right That's that makes so much sense because it's also how I would describe so many like, you know beautiful Impressionist paintings of the outdoors of gardens and you know Looking at light and water and the air quality and all these things together to make just like an Encompassing space for people to be and that's really beautiful So I can't wait to see a little more of the garden in just a bit But you know, I also wanted to maybe ask Dylan to tell us more specifically about the aspect of the gardens that you know It responds very directly to the climate crisis in addition to being of course very beautiful and historic I know there's a lot of research that's that's done there at the Center So maybe you can touch a bit on that Yeah, well, you know The center and gardens here and the Coachella Valley coming off of really the hottest recorded Summer in history is this very much parallel to to your comment there And what a lot of the global environmental Story that that we're all living through Five months extreme heat the desert really Pronounces that more than another time in the world And you know part of what this garden really has done is embarked in the story of a living laboratory Meaning a way that the trust in the foundation and the team and the crew that really nurtures and loves this garden day after days is it's trying to understand the ecology and and really Create a sense of a place here, but when we we moved forward with The design we we brought on over now in horticulturist Mary Irish And we really embarked in a journey of finding The plant species that would work well and adapt So that you know the garden here is both native and adaptive arid desert plant material that really has thrived to this location but When we went through we we actually the the collection here of plant materials about a fifty three thousand plants and that was no small feat and and we worked with nursery and and growers across The Southwest region really to make this this all happen at once So, you know, that's a little bit of a backstory to the Purpose and ecology and and how the gardens came to fruition Very cool. I'd love to know a little about the plants that I see behind you too. There's like a mirrored pond Can you just maybe zoom in a bit on what's behind you there? Yeah, so Here really flanking right next to the terrace here one the west side of the building and This is a significant array of the Golden Barrel cactus beneath a Grove of Palabria, so you have a really serene and dappled light Provided and you know as Jim alluded to the comfort and sense of Respite within the desert a lot of what was studied was, you know the shade and the canopy and how we brought The visitors, you know to the outdoor environment here The water features We're designed in a way that you could turn the the water actually on or off Right now for first good audio the waters calm down and it's just welled But there's a cascade reservoir beneath us. So normally you have a really nice tranquil Moving serene quality of moving into the water features here There's two basins that that flank the the terrace on the south and the north Very cool. Well, it's stunning and it's it's so cool to see those cacti behind you I imagine also the water is a bit of a barrier for like little kids trying to go over and hug a cactus Yeah Well, that's amazing. So I wonder if we can just take Maybe Zach our lovely camera person behind the scenes over at ojb can do like a 360 panoramic view of what's around you or maybe in a moment. We can take a little stroll around the gardens Great. Yeah, you want to do the stroll? You want to do a stroll? Do you have any further questions or you can take you want to take a quick little walk and pick up Yeah, we we can take a Maybe pick up pick up the conversation as we're walking Okay, great Wow So this is the cactus garden and over at the historic estate there's a cactus garden right outside of Mrs. Annenberg's bedroom and We thought it was appropriate to bring in some specimen cactuses that would You know could could be kind of the one spot in the garden where we're really showing off individual species and There's two of these Panels here and then on the other side There's so both the north and south side of of these sister water features we have the cactus It's really cool to see the juxtaposition of those very very tall Cap die on the left of the screen and then the little You know the little round ones on the right and those rows. There's just it's it's amazing to see how many different varieties there are Yeah, and we're moving toward the the great lawn here, which is the one spot on the At the center where we actually have used some water I mean used water enough to sustain a lawn and it's become kind of the community heart So this is the place where You know big events happen there's an art exhibition happening here today Then we're about to walk Treat it and and Rebecca you mentioned that kind of variety of species there's 70 or so varieties of species on on the team acre project really it's a nine That has About two miles of walking trails so what you see here is is really the main event lawn and You know that as Jim described the the circle starts to lead outward to Trails and walking gardens on the left is the labyrinth and And if there's a small event lawn panel to the right where you see a few Guests and visitors walking Thank you so much for this view that seeing the mountains behind to like well first They're stunning and also it gives a really cool context into sort of the environment of Of the area. They're very arid looking I imagine that lawn is a is a hot commodity for events and weddings and whatnot too It is it is a hot commodity. It's used quite often and This part of the landscape The West heiress and West lawn and gardens is held together by this double row of Paloverties and then we keep them or the foundation keeps them pruned to a point where you still get the The view to the mountains above and as you we're Unfortunately, we can't walk into the gardens because we're losing our our service But as you move into the gardens things loosen up quite a bit. It becomes a lot more informal and the larger trays of Landscape kind of follow you through the through the gardens, but there's places to get lost in those spaces beyond the LA of Paloverties That sounds amazing. I mean, you know, yeah, we certainly don't want to lose you and and drop off the conversation But I guess that just means I will all have to to visit in person eventually when it's safe to travel again I I really look forward to being able to walk through those Through those trees and those trails someday soon. So cool So we talked a little bit about You know the And looking at the lawn and Jim what you mentioned about that being a sort of the key gathering place of The gardens I wanted to ask you also, you know through the COVID-19 crisis people have more increasingly look to outdoor spaces especially Some of the philosophies of your design style Changer or grow as people More and more look to being outside during this time so that they can connect we missed a little bit of that What what can you repeat the question? I'm sorry. What was breaking up Rebecca? Yeah, of course. No problem Yeah, it's you know, it's so nice to be virtual and have all these amazing platforms for like virtual programming and virtual Conversations, but there's always there's always some technical difficulties. So, you know, I was just asking about about this current time that we're in with COVID-19 and that sort of prompting people to Really look to like the outdoors as a place to gather it more somewhat more safely especially with masks on and Be able to connect with each other rather than staying inside and who knows what what the fall will bring Hopefully for you people can still gather out outside Being in the California environment, but I'm curious to know how This moment in time has sort of maybe made you rethink Or strengthen some of the philosophies of your of your practice and your design Great great question. Um I think You know, I think strengthening the the Principles and the beliefs in our in our practices is is a good way of putting it You know, again, I think people really feel safe in the outdoors. They Parks have been set up and a lot of cities as the kind of hub for distributing water and food for uh testing for voter registration for protest and and uh free speech and so I think we're It's a it's an important time for our public open space because it really is Uh critical in taking care of our community and providing access In a healthy way for our community and there are a lot of initiatives going on right now that are Have been pushing this idea national The trust for public land has been pushing this concept of Every city having or every resident in a city being within a 10 minute walk of public open space and We strongly subscribe to that idea that Can you hear me? Okay. Yeah, I was sorry. I was just responding to you I agree I just didn't know we lost this Okay Dylan, do you want to Yeah, well, I think one of the things um that we're we're talking a lot in the studio Uh and and with many clients in cities across the countries Is is really this notion of kind of reclaiming What was um so prominent for uh vehicles meaning You know in particular la and so many cities across the country have You know in order to keep restaurant and businesses alive have moved outdoors And spilled into traffic lanes and and roads have been closed and there's this great notion of Really rethinking our systems and uh our infrastructure if you're looking at you know roads may be Compromising really Say 30 of of our public lands Can can we reorient that back to to our communities? Can we maybe adjust our our way of life as we have really the last nine months to make these Infrastructure elements actually serve the community and can be part of an open So That's so interesting because I think you know It's one thing to imagine landscape architecture in your field is so vital for creating public spaces and and you know natural areas for people to enjoy um and It it you really do have to Think in terms of the whole system because if people can't get to those parks and it's not sort of like incorporated into the The Ecosystem of like an urban area, especially with LA. I know the traffic is crazy Then you know you really have to think systemically so Dylan. That's fascinating Thank you for for for bringing that up um speaking of of uh, you know Looking at your field. Um, I I know that with the change in climate The landscape architecture field is really forced to adapt and change quickly to respond Maybe more so than than other design fields. Um in terms of of Climate change so knowing that it's an increasingly interdisciplinary field that works closely with ecologists and architects scientists and Ventures and and artists as well, you know just to name a few How do you see the the field changing? Um, you know, I I'd love to Are you are you all there? Well Yeah, we we caught we it broke up just a little bit, but I I understand the question I think landscape architects are taking taking up a much greater leadership role and And kind of pulling together teams of people and looking at Global issues looking at how climate change affects our cities how Sea rise affects our cities leading master plan efforts for for entire cities And that's very exciting because you know, I've always felt that landscape architecture was more than and you know than trees and grass and garden design that it that it that it could be Uh, that our profession could take a bigger role and again, I think we're we're trained in planning engineering civil engineering Some transportation planning architecture So I think we we do kind of bridge a lot of different Categories and the ecology is such an important role and and and kind of taking care of of Of cities and taking care of our environment. I think understanding That is an overlay. I will say that our teams are getting bigger each year too. So we're bringing in One more specialist. So we don't we don't profess to be experts and in all of the different disciplines that deal with the sciences, but It is really exciting to see landscape architects be the the point on some really large Commissions that are that are game changing that are changing policy in the way that we interact with with our environments Certainly Dylan anything to add there? Yeah, I think, you know, I was speaking to to one of my college professors who's the department chair at Cal Poly yesterday and and he was talking about curriculum and and you know, I think one of the important things to Do this field is is really the way in which we look at global issues and addressing very Um complicated and complex issues, you know, Jim mentioned some of what we're seeing through the environment and Um, you know, there's an urban fabric. We we have a lot to to deal with as sea level rise You know projects 70 80 plus inches in certain cities We're we're not designed for for that right now and and how do we look at these? You know broad-scale challenges and and you know come together as a team and You know uniquely kind of innovate solutions and come forward with You know that critical problem solving So, you know, that that's something I think, you know, whether it's really the landscape architect and environmental design is I think a lot of what you see where the profession and and this discipline headed you towards Yeah, it definitely takes everyone to sort of be on board and work as a team, right? It's like it's a Yeah, it's vital. So Yeah You know, we're just about out of time. I know it's just past 12 30, but um, Jim and Dylan It has been an absolute honor to speak with you both Um, and again many many congratulations on on winning the national design award this year To ojb. Um, it's it's been wonderful to talk with you and to see the incredible sunny lands It's gorgeous. Um, and I hope that I get to visit soon Great, thank you very much. We hope you do too and uh, thanks again to kubernetes for being such strong advocates for design absolutely Maybe we can end with one last pan around the space to see those those cacti again Yeah, Zach Yeah, thanks for joining us uh this this morning or afternoon whatever time zone you're in Um, really honored to to be with you and share the gardens Well, thank you so much and and thanks to um, you know, everyone in the audience for joining us today We're glad you were able to have fun See you next time Bye