Landslide2008: Marvels of Modernism
TCLF.org

 

 

El Monte

Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Designed by Hideo Sasaki
and Hunter Randolph

It was a unique moment in time, a coalescing of different forces and ideas, Sasaki recalled
- Melanie Simo in her article, “Hideo Sasaki,” Pioneers II

El Monte (The Knoll), a multi-family apartment complex in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, was built as part of the urban renewal efforts that followed World War II.

With landscape and gardens designed by Hideo Sasaki and posterior implementation adjustments by Hunter Randolph, the site plan provided a seamless continuum between the public and private realms and explored the use of tropical flora (both native and exotic). More importantly, El Monte set the paradigm that established the landscape as the nexus of Modernism in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, El Monte, its iconic landscape, and the people who created it have yet to be recognized for the local, regional, and potentially international importance of their contributions.

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Photo © Marisol Diaz

 

List of Marvels

Boston City Hall Plaza
Boston, Massachusetts

Estates Drive Reservoir
Oakland, California

Heritage Plaza
Heritage Park
Fort Worth, Texas

Kaiser Roof Garden
Kaiser Center
Oakland, California

Lake Elizabeth
Allegheny Commons
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Manhattan Square Park
Rochester, New York

Mill Creek Canyon
Earthworks

Kent, Washington

Miller Garden
Columbus, Indiana

El Monte
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Pacific Science
Center Courtyard

Seattle, Washington

Parkmerced
San Francisco, California

Peavey Plaza
Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota


education partners
Garden DesignGeorge Eastman House
Additional Sponsors

American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust