Shavaun Towers
Shavaun Towers is a landscape architect who creates elegant places that resonate with personal, cultural, and ecological meaning. Her approach is collaborative, respectful of clients’ aspirations, and dedicated to revealing the intrinsic character of each site. Her more than 45 years of acclaimed project design have primarily served institutional clients (academic, healthcare, and cultural), but her portfolio also includes corporate and urban design projects, as well as larger residential projects. Her planning experience has ranged from university campuses to new international cities.
As principal of The Project Studio, Ms. Towers currently consults on design and planning projects, promotes human connections to the beauty and restorative qualities of nature, and lectures on the components of distinctive landscapes. She previously led Towers|Golde (originally Rolland/Towers) in New Haven, Connecticut, for almost 35 years as a founding partner. She is a graduate in architectural studies from Smith College and received an M.L.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the quality of her work, and her numerous other state and national honors cite her creativity, design excellence, historic sensitivity, and environmental responsibility.
Statement: Cornelia has been a friend and mentor to me for almost 25 years, ever since we teamed up to do the Smith College Landscape Master Plan. It was our alma mater, and we shared many experiences and lessons learned from our times there, including what Cornelia called “the Four Ps”: Patience, Perseverance, Politeness, and Passion. The project required them all. And ever since, she has been, metaphorically, the angel who has sat on my shoulder as my environmental conscience, whispering in my ear and encouraging me to do the sustainable thing.