About Us

Spackman Mossop Michaels is an award winning international office for landscape architecture and urban design. Over the last 15 years we have established ourselves as a leading practice with a team of landscape architects, urban designers, architects, and planners with offices in New Orleans and Sydney.

Multidisciplinarity

We take a multi-disciplinary approach to design and urbanism and the practice has extensive experience in large-scale planning and urban design, parks, squares, urban spaces and multi-functional infrastructure.

We are known for our work on all types of public landscapes such as the Humanities and Science Campus in Canberra, the Darlinghurst Road Upgrade in Sydney and the Viet Village Urban Farm in New Orleans. The practice is recognized for its expertise in relation to all aspects of design, planning and management of public parks such as Redfern Park, Cook and Phillip and Devil’s Back Ridge in Sydney as well as Couturie Forest and Scout Island in New Orleans. We also focus on infrastructure systems and have undertaken a wide range of related projects such as Warragamba Dam Parklands, the Great Western Highway and Moore Park Bus Interchange in Sydney and Dwyer Canal in New Orleans.

Awards

The practice has won numerous awards including the Award of Excellence in Planning from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Award of Excellence from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the Premiers Award from the Australian Institute of Architects and the National Award in Urban Design from the Council of Australian Building Design Professionals.

Ecology Technology and Urbansim

Our approach to design at different scales is driven by the need to understand both the ecological possibilities and the technical realities of complex urban problems. We bring the two together in the development of hybrid urban systems that work with natural and cultural processes to create new urban ecologies. We are very focused on finding creative solutions to current issues in the urban environment. Our approach is both pragmatic and visionary in its search for new multi-functional, responsive urban landscape systems.
The practice is also focused on the social and cultural dimensions of landscape. As we continue to build in the public realm it has become increasingly important to us that our work is both effective socially and accessible to diverse communities. We also recognize both the symbolic and the expressive nature of designed landscapes and seek to work with specific local conditions in reinforcing culture.

Spackman Mossop Michaels

Sydney Studio

Michael Spackman

Michael Wright

Catherine Dung

Chris Houghton

Todd Cook

Aidan Nyhan

Mat Dally

Elise Aldworth

Georgia Falconer

Andrew Coruzzi

Chad Markell

Rebecca Jameson

Rohit Ramanathan

Sally Bryant

New Orleans Studio

Wes Michaels

Elizabeth Mossop

Emily Bullock

Paul Toenjes

Kay Adams

Michael Spackman

—Director

Michael Spackman is a landscape architect and urban designer with over 25 years experience. He has successfully completed many projects in Australia and Asia and maintains a strong interest in design solutions for urban landscapes through ecological innovation. Michael is also interested in the role the public domain plays in the cultural and political life of societies. Under Michael’s guidance Spackman Mossop Michaels has gained prominence with a range of planning and design projects for parks and public spaces including commissions for Moore Park, Martin Place, Western Sydney Regional Park and the Sydney Olympic Shooting Centre. He also has extensive experience in road design with ground-breaking projects such as the Great Western Highway in New South Wales. In recent years Michael has developed a further specialization in alternative transit modes and urban cycling in particular.

Michael was recently awarded a fellowship by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects in recognition of his professional service including as a former State President, and of his national practice leadership with particular focus on regional and environmental strategies as well as award-winning urban design outcomes.

Elizabeth Mossop

—Director

Elizabeth Mossop is a landscape architect with wide-ranging experience in both landscape design and urban planning. Her practice concentrates on urban infrastructure and open space projects like Cook and Phillip Park in Sydney and Viet Village in New Orleans. She has recently been involved in many aspects of the post-hurricane reconstruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Elizabeth was Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of New South Wales before taking a position at the Harvard Design School as the Director of Landscape Architecture Programs and Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture. Currently, Elizabeth is the former Director and Professor of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. Her research and teaching focus on landscape and urbanism, through investigation of contemporary landscape design both at the urban scale and at the site scale. Recent publications include Contemporary Landscape Design in Australia (2003), Hong Kong: Defining the Edge (2001) and City Spaces: Art and Design (2001).

Wes Michaels

—Director

Wes Michaels is a Principal of Spackman Mossop Michaels Landscape Architects and a faculty member of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. He is a Registered Landscape Architect in the states of Louisiana and Georgia and a LEED Certified Professional. Wes holds an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia and a Masters degree from Harvard University. His work focuses on the revitalization of urban landscapes and the use of environmental technologies in the design process.

Wes was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study post-industrial landscapes in the former Soviet satellite nation of Estonia. He is recognized as an expert in digital representation, having recently published Digital Drawing in Landscape Architecture (co-authored with Brad Cantrell) with Wiley in 2010. He is also pioneering techniques for sustainable public landscapes in the South of the US, experimenting with indigenous plants and local materials in the realization of design projects.

Michael Wright

—Principal

Michael Wright is a landscape architect and planner with over 25 years experience in the profession. Michael has developed specialist skills working in the areas of policy and strategic planning, site and urban planning, resource management, visual assessment and cultural landscape management. He has been responsible for the preparation and management of a range of planning and assessment studies which include management plans and strategies, site master planning and environmental assessment. 

Michael’s projects have occurred in a diverse range of environments including coastal and inland National Parks in NSW, the rural road network of NSW, urban parks and waterways in the centre of Sydney, the goldfields of Victoria and the Great Sandy Desert in northern Western Australia. A regular feature of Michael’s work is the development of close working relationships between the client and the study team and this co-operative approach often includes participation by the community in the process of creating imaginative and practical solutions.

LATEST FEATURES

Baton Rouge Downtown Greenway

SMM recently completed a report on the Baton Rouge Downtown Greenway for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of its Greening America's Capitals program.

SEE THIS FEATURE

Ecole Bilingue Street Installation

SMM recently completed a traffic calming project to slow traffic and improve safety at a New Orleans elementary school.

SEE THIS FEATURE

Princes Wharf Shed No. 1 Wins Urban Design Award

SEE THIS FEATURE

Pitt Street Mall Wins Urban Design Award

SMM have been recognised in two recent awards from Local State Architecture Chapters for Princes Wharf Shed No. 1 and Pitt Street Mall.

SEE THIS FEATURE

Western Plains Zoo Up for Peoples Choice Award

Sydney is being asked to vote for the most inventive additions to its landscape. The winners of the inaugural Premier’s People’s Choice Awards for landscape architecture will be announced on Thursday at Luna Park after being decided by a vote on smh.com.au.

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SMM Received National Design Awards

We are delighted to announce that we have received two National Awards from the National Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture.

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AND BY THE WAY

Dwyer Canal Featured in February Issue of Metropolis

“Ready Solutions,” an article in the February issue of Metropolis, included SMM's work on revitalizing the Dwyer Canal in New Orleans. The article looks at several recent projects and examines how designers “can reduce our impact on the planet and protect life and property in times of crisis.”

To view the article visit:

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20130207/ready-solutions

— Emily Bullock posted on February 22 2013

2012 ASLA Awards

Wes Michaels, along with co-author Brad Cantrell, received the 2012 ASLA Award of Excellence in Communications for their book Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture. The jury commented, “It’s the first drawings book that’s contemporary and clear. A very impressive piece of work for student and professionals both.”

To see the award submission visit:

http://www.asla.org/2012awards/168.html

— Emily Bullock posted on October 2 2012

2012 ASLA Annual Meeting

Wes Michaels and Elizabeth Mossop will both be presenting at the ASLA Annual Meeting in Phoenix next week. Elizabeth will be speaking on a panel called “The Evolution of the Award-Winning Design Office.” The presentation will focus on how firms evolve as they grow and which approaches to practice have been successful and which haven’t.

Wes will be speaking with Brad Cantrell (LSU), Nadia Amoroso (University of Guelph) and David Fletcher (Fletcher Studio) about the role of design computing beyond graphic representation in a session called “Environmental Illustration, Simulation and Parametrics in Landscape Architecture.”

— Emily Bullock posted on September 25 2012

Keller Library Featured in July Issue of Metropolis

The Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center reopened in April 2012 in New Orleans. SMM was responsible for the landscape design which included a reading garden and stormwater garden. The journey to rebuild the library and the Broadmoor neighborhood is detailed in an article titled "Out of the Water" in the July edition of Metropolis.

To view the article visit:

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20120720/out-of-the-water

— Emily Bullock posted on August 23 2012

SMM Collaborator, Marc Pastorek, Featured in Wall Street Journal

SMM collaborator and native plant expert, Marc Pastorek, was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal piece about meadow plantings. The article The New Lawn: Shaggy, Chic and Easy on the Mower can be read here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303754904577530851855675044.html

— Emily Bullock posted on July 24 2012

VIet Village Urban Farm features in Lotus 149

Viet Village has been featured in the latest Editoriale Lotus. This edition looks at, the city’s relations with the countryside present a number of unexpected phenomena. On the one hand we see almost a desire of the city to turn into countryside, while on the other the themes of landscaping tend to favor the country as an area in which to realize those pragmatic ideals that the recent predominance of the visual has ended up neglecting.

http://www.editorialelotus.it/web/item.php?id=190

— Georgia Falconer posted on May 3 2012

Interview with Elizabeth Mossop

The American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) have posted an interview they did recently with Elizabeth Mossop. In the interview she discusses her involvement with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Coastal Sustainability Studio, works completed by Spackman Mossop Michaels (SMM) in New Orleans and the role of landscape architects in society today. Please click on the link to read the full interview.

http://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=33855

or at

http://dirt.asla.org/2011/12/07/interview-with-elizabeth-mossop-on-how-landscape-architects-can-protect-new-orleans/

— Georgia Falconer posted on December 6 2011

SMM rides to Wollongong

This year SMM have helped raise $5000 for the MS Sydney to Wollongong bicycle ride. 18 riders were a part of the team, riding the 90km in 4 hours. It was a very hot day and at the end everyone enjoyed their cold beer. It was a fantastic effort by the team and we look forward to doing it again.

— Georgia Falconer posted on November 8 2011

In the terrain of water

Elizabeth Mossop recently attended a symposium where she discussed the recent Coastal Sustainabilty studio undertaken at LSU. Which looked at strategy for South Lousianna at the delta scale and exploring how these scenarios play out at the metropolition and the scale of the neighbourhood.

The symposium was structured around a series of dialogues, exhibits, workshops and talks with intentions to re-imagine our relationship with water, challenge current visualizations, and probe projects and design thinking that constitute water, its visible and invisible presences, in fresh ways.

See link below to view her discussion on New Orleans, Session 7.

http://terrain.design.upenn.edu/video

— Georgia Falconer posted on October 20 2011

Zoo 2 Zoo

Elise Aldworth recently rode from Taronga Zoo to Dubbo Zoo with the Zoo2Zoo team, helping to raise over $100,000 for the Blackdog Institute an education, research, clinical and community orientated facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders.

We are all very impressed by her efforts and having riden over 450km in three days. Fantastic effort Elise!

— Georgia Falconer posted on October 20 2011

Sydney Rides Challenge

We have entered the Sydney Rides Challenge, a competition run by the City of Sydney to encourage workplaces to ride a bike. The challenge is based on participation (not kilometres), so the aim is to encourage as many of our colleagues as possible to ride a bike for at least 10 minutes between Monday 26 September and Sunday 16 October 2011.

— Georgia Falconer posted on October 6 2011

Parking Day 2011

Sydney, NSW September 16, 2011 — In cities around the globe today, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called “PARK(ing) Day.”

Spackman Mossop Michaels, in collaboration with Place Partners created a pop up park in a parking space along Oxford Street in Paddington. The space was very successful, activating the street frontage, many people lingering in the space, enjoying their lunch or just actively enjoying the space playing snakes and ladders.

— Georgia Falconer posted on September 15 2011

Digital Drawing in Landscape Architecture

Wes Michaels recently published Digital Drawing in Landscape Architecture (Wiley 2010). Co-authored with LSU colleague Brad Cantrell, the book has been widely praised internationally and had become a standard for best practice in landscape representation. Many of the book’s images are taken from the SMM portfolio.

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 26 2011

Topos

Elizabeth has an article coming out in the September 2011 issue of Topos on ‘Crisis Landscapes’. The article reflects on the nature of New Orleans' current landscape dilemmas at the scale of the city and at the scale of the coast.

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 26 2011

August 2011 FAILA

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects National Council has awarded a Fellowship to Michael Spackman in recognition for his commitments to the AILA, his on-going participation on industry panels and for services to the NSW Chapter as State President and numerous committees and juries. The Fellowship recognises Michael’s national practice leadership with particular focus on regional and environmental strategies as well as award winning urban design outcomes.

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 26 2011

SMM Plants 2425 Trees for Greater Western Sydney

Spackman Mossop Michaels were engaged by Department of Housing NSW to prepare concept and documentation drawings for 80km of Street Trees within Greater Western Sydney.

So far with the Department of Housing we have successfully planted 2425 trees in Campbelltown, Liverpool and Randwick, NSW.

The project objectives are to provide a more comfortable and pleasant residential environment for Greater South Western Sydney through the use of large street trees. The trees are to improve the aesthetics of the streetscape, encourage wildlife into the area as well as improving environmental amenity consistent with the local context.

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 12 2011

Catherine Dung Awarded PhD in Architecture and Design

Associate Director Catherine Dung was awarded her PhD in Architecture and Design (Urban Design) from RMIT University. Entitled "Public Space Combinations", her research was conducted through a series of design projects at RMIT's Urban Architecture Lab. The work explores new ways of creating public space in contested urban situations and demonstrates how landscape architectural practice can operate as an active agent for initiating urban change.

— Georgia Falconer posted on August 8 2011

ASLA National Convention

Michael Spackman, Elizabeth Mossop and Wes Michaels are speaking at the ASLA National Convention in San Diego in October. Their talk will be on SMMs sustainable transit projects particularly cycleways in Sydney and New Orleans. A major point of the talk is that physical change must be matched by cultural change.

Elizabeth will also be speaking at the conference with Jason Prior (AECOM) and Thomas Paine (Ager Group) on ‘Lessons from Abroad: the Profession Beyond North America’. The presentation will canvas different perspectives on international practice.

October 2012

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 26 2011

LABash 2012: Urban Oasis

Elizabeth has been invited to speak at LABash 2012: Urban Oasis being hosted by Florida International University in Miami. This conference brings together students from programs all over North America in discussing the future of the discipline.

— Georgia Falconer posted on July 26 2011