Pioneer Information
Established in 1983 by landscape architects Roger B. Martin and his former University of Minnesota student Marjorie Pitz, Martin & Pitz Associates, Inc. originally provided landscape design and urban planning services for public projects throughout Minnesota. The firm was involved in shaping many of the Twin Cities’ public spaces and played an active role in advocating for the preservation and development of urban public space. Notable projects designed by Martin & Pitz include Nicollet Island and Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park in Minneapolis and Chisolm, Minnesota’s Ironworld Discovery Center. Both Martin and Pitz taught at the University of Minnesota College of Design, with Martin serving as the first Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture.
Following the retirement of Martin, Pitz maintained the firm’s name and pivoted its focus to creating public art through the lens of urban design. Notable landscapes and works of public art designed by Pitz include the Sensory Garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Children’s Memorial at Resurrection Cemetery, Turning Leaves at Minneapolis’ North Regional Library and Blossom of Hope, a plaza and sculptural landscape at a North Minneapolis’ Metro Transit shelter. Pitz also practices ceramics and figure sculpting, and has exhibited works throughout Minnesota.
In 1981 Martin became a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects while Pitz achieved the distinction in 1998.
