Fellow in Service PAULA CORTES , FASLA
BSLA /
FELLOWS CLASS OF 2016
Fellow in Service PAULA CORTES , FASLA
I am honored and delighted to be elevated to Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects , and to be able to represent the Boston Chapter at the national level . For over 40 years , as a small office practitioner , my career has been largely working with not-for-profits and in the public sector , creating and protecting green spaces for public enjoyment . I work with private clients to discover and realize their aspirations for their surroundings , which provide for their own respite and recharge to engage in the wider world .
I love my volunteer work for community groups and non-profit organizations , whose mission it is , specifically here in the Commonwealth , to preserve and protect our natural surroundings . The Cambridge Public Planting Committee , Mass Audubon , and Trustees of Reservations all provide me the opportunity to engage with individuals and groups , and wonderful and talented staff , to move forward our shared beliefs and commitment to provide opportunities for education and enjoyment in the out of doors . It is also a chance to share the ideals and perspectives of landscape architects .
Creating community gardens , seeing how they can transform a community and become centers for neighborhood identity and activity , has been a great joy for me . It has given me the opportunity to work in many of the neighborhoods of Boston , and to get to know the diversity of gardeners in the city . Unknowing at the time , perhaps , my journey began with my thesis in graduate school , which focused on the need to protect open space in the face of growing development in rural Bedminster Township , PA . I would encourage young landscape architects , those just entering the profession , to pursue their passions , especially as they relate to their own communities .
One of my favorite urban open spaces ( not really a park , but if functions as one ) is Mount Auburn Cemetery – a place to walk , to appreciate wonderful plants , birds , and statuary ; a place of respite in any season .
“ Whether it be an urban garden or a landscape plan for a new city in Saudi Arabia , I have known Paula to always bring a high level of professionalism and enthusiasm to the table . She is the consummate Landscape Architect .” ~ Perry K . Neubauer , FAIA , former President of The Architect Collaborative , Cambridge , MA
26 BSLA