Meet Glen Schmidt and JT Barr of Schmidt Design Group in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Glen Schmidt and JT Barr.

Glen and JT, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Glen founded our firm in 1983 with the vision of creating artful and environmentally sensitive landscape architecture and planning solutions. To this day these ambitions establish the foundation from which each project is explored and designed. The firm has grown from a single practitioner to a robust staff of over twenty. In 2016, the firm took the next step in its evolution with the promotion of JT Barr to equity partner. This partnership provides the firm with a platform for continued growth and creative influence.

Our staff is the foundation of the firm’s success. Each of our designers offers unique life experiences, a personal design perspective, and a commitment to placemaking in their craft. The entire staff unites under a sustainable design philosophy with the end goal of making a lasting positive impact on the communities and environments in which we work. As we celebrate our 35th year in business, “Positive Change by Design” has become the office mantra. This positive change is achieved by maintaining a company culture that allows ideas and soulful, artful, original design to prosper. These efforts culminate in projects that improve the quality of life within a community and create a positive environmental legacy.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The firm has been practicing sustainability in landscape architecture since 1983; long before sustainability or “going green” was popularized into the mainstream. This approach was not high on most client’s list of priorities in the 80s.

It took a great deal of perseverance and resolve to push the envelope of sustainable design until it became popularized. We often joke that we had the right idea, we were just 25 years early. Our commitment to sustainability continues to be a foundational objective of the firm. This approach is essential as the impacts of global warming become more prevalent in our cities. A truly sustainable outcome necessitates an understanding that every aspect of a design is a part of a greater system.

Elements including water conservation, water quality, materials selection, soil and vegetation, human health and well-being, and energy consumption are continually viewed through a sustainable lens. This philosophy allows us to create design interventions that are deeply grounded in ecological, economic, and social contexts.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Schmidt Design Group – what should we know?
We design outdoor environments (landscape architecture and planning) from private and commercial gardens to public parks to entire communities. We are known for thoughtful and impactful designs that improve the quality of life for the communities in which we work. Our projects are varied and unique to each client and context. Each site has its own sense of place and story to tell. We see ourselves as storytellers; designing meaningful spaces that celebrate and embrace the local history, culture, and environment of a place.

We balance this artful and sustainable approach to design with an equivalent commitment to technical excellence led by Jeff Justus, the firm’s technical principal and head of the production. This balance can be seen in some of our most well-known work including the gardens at Stone Brewing and World Bistro in Escondido and Liberty Station San Diego; Civita Park in Mission Valley; Stylus Park in Chula Vista; Solana Beach Coastal Rail Trail; and Waterfront Park in San Diego to name just a few.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1111 Sixth Avenue, Suite 500 San Diego, CA 92101
• Website: www.schmidtdesign.com
• Phone: (619) 236-1462
• Email: info@schmidtdesign.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/schmidtdesigngroup/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/schmidtdesignsd?lang=en
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schmidt-design-group-inc-

Image Credit:
John Durant

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