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This article is part of our series profiling the Architectural League of New York’s 2024 Emerging Voices laureates and appears in the March/April issue of The Architectural League of New York. one. The full list of winners can be found here.
Spring is a critical time for healing. For nature, spring heals through the rebirth of plants, and when flowers begin to bloom, David Hill, founder of Alabama’s HILLWORKS, can feel it from miles away.
Hill has deep roots in the South, and perhaps it’s the wide green spaces that keep him there. Born and raised in Georgia, Hill first encountered landscape through his grandfather’s flower beds. Growing up surrounded by Southern landscapes and the spaces, histories, and cultures that are inseparable from them, Hill’s love for the natural world grew. “I continued studying architecture at Georgia Tech, but I continued to feel drawn to landscaping, gardening, and the design of outdoor spaces,” Hill shared.
The constant push and pull between academia, traditional architectural education, and his roots in landscape led him to found landscape and architecture studio HILLWORKS in 2009.
HILLWORKS’ product portfolio encapsulates the design community’s overall shift toward environmental stewardship. In 2016, the studio collaborated on the impressive Puente Hills Park master plan, which will transform California’s landfills into a public, sustainable environment. There is a seamless relationship between people and landscape, both visually and formally, that previous generations ignored, let alone prioritized.
“I think [architects] There needs to be a better exploration of alternatives that we thought were impossible,” Hill said. “Just as we use programs and strategies to solve design problems, I think we need to be more rigorous in confronting social, environmental and ecological challenges.”
Hill is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at Auburn State University, where he teaches the importance of regenerative design. After receiving recognition from Emerging Voices, Hill hopes to expand the HILLWORKS team and continue integrating the factory into the city.
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