Patricia M. O'Donnell
Patricia O’Donnell, FASLA, AICP, F. US/ICOMOS, is a preservation landscape architect and urban planner who founded Heritage Landscapes, LLC, in 1987. This professional firm has completed more than 500 commissions that foster preservation and enable economic, environmental, and societal sustainability for valued public places. Heritage Landscapes was honored to receive the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (ASLA) prestigious Firm Award in 2019 for 32 years of preservation-based work. Holding master’s degrees in landscape architecture and urban planning, Ms. O’Donnell has led committees for the ASLA, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). She has also contributed to UNESCO World Heritage to advance the valued landscape heritage of diverse cultures. Currently serving as president of the ICOMOS IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes, Ms. O’Donnell is committed to global collaboration to enhance cultural landscape preservation. Her work with the Heritage Landscapes team applies planning and implementation expertise to the preservation and ongoing stewardship of a remarkable legacy of valued places of local, regional, national, and global importance. In this urban century, Ms. O’Donnell’s conceptual and practical leadership in the Heritage Landscapes office is advancing the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda. Her contributions demonstrate a deep commitment to bringing professional skills to sustaining and revitalizing our shared heritage.
Statement: Cornelia Hahn Oberlander is an inspiration to landscape architects as an iconic, pioneering professional. She has worked for decades to uplift the landscape architecture profession and to realize its potential to improve the environment. Her significant commissions provided a platform for sophisticated designs, especially integrating design, culture, and nature for the betterment of society. She did “sustainable” work before that term was widely known! Her acuity of perceptions, quick wit, and facile intellect shaped unique design concepts and brought them to fruition. She strives onward to this day, marking seven decades of remarkable professional contributions.
The Oberlander Prize represents a huge step forward toward broadening recognition of the landscape architecture profession. At this historical juncture, when global needs are complex, intertwined, and pervasive, ours is a profession that offers solutions. By strengthening the platform for the recognition of landscape architecture, the Oberlander Prize will increase access to integrated works that address diverse contemporary challenges, as individuals who receive this prize are supported as spokespersons and advocates. I am honored to be one of the many supporters of this necessary and significant step forward, and I thank The Cultural Landscape Foundation for the foresight to make this happen.