Swift Company

History

Swift & Company Landscape Architects has established a national reputation for excellence and innovation in our pursuit of exceptional design solutions for projects with challenging social and environmental circumstances.

Acknowledgement for the firm’s commitment to excellence has resulted in awards, commissions, articles, and requests for public service since the inception of the firm in 1982.

Our staff of landscape architects and urban designers has pursued the tradition of studio collaboration and rigorous exploration. We take pleasure in questions that require multiple disciplines and strategic thinking. What if…? What is essential? Does this fit? Is it poetry? We offer generous, well-considered solutions.

Passion

Swift & Company is a team of creative, responsible and skilled professionals who are genuinely excited by the infinite possibilities for excellence in landscape architecture and urban design. We are committed to developing unique design solutions that successfully address the complex physical, ecological, social and cultural issues inherent in an experience of place. Our approach is influenced by a preference for the minimal gesture and the humanly generous. We admire the intuitive and natural places that seamlessly meld social and ecological needs into beautiful and functional environments. We are not concerned with style or trends. We are interested in enduring and timeless design solutions that respond to the particular circumstances of an individual place.
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Passion

We are still inspired and invigorated by the rich diversity of issues and conditions, in the context of the history and future of place, and the glorious variety of materials and their often-ephemeral nature. We take great pleasure in the unlimited ways a place can be used, the physical sensuality of materials, the conceptual characteristics of each space, and the web of natural, social, economic and political forces. These bring pleasure and insight in the search for enduring solutions. We think Robert Irwin said it best: “It all comes down to how you answer a single question: Is the moment of perception—the first moment, before all the abstracting, conceptualizing processes that follow—is that moment closest to or furthest from the real? Everything depends on how you answer that question.”
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Barbara Swift | Firm Principal
Landscape Architect + Urban Designer
barbara@swiftcompany.com

Barbara’s enthusiasm for landscape architecture is contagious. As a seasoned practitioner, she is committed to creating memorable public places that resonate over time. This commitment is evidenced in her service with the Seattle Design Commission, the Seattle Arts Commission, the WA Capital Campus Design Advisory Committee, the Seattle AIA, the Seattle Sustainability Think Tank, the UW College of Architecture and the ARCADE Journal Editorial Committee.

Lisa Corry | Project Manager + Landscape Architect
lisa@swiftcompany.com

With projects ranging from Grand Teton National Park to Seattle’s Civic Center plazas, Lisa enjoys the many facets of landscape architectural design. Since receiving a BLA from the University of Washington in 1990, Lisa has worked in the planning and design of public spaces. Lisa was instrumental in transforming her neighborhood school’s asphalt lot into a public green space, and is currently enjoying her fourth year as a volunteer art docent in the Seattle Public Schools.

Caitlin Evans | Project Manager + Landscape Architect
caitlin@swiftcompany.com

Caitlin Evans has focused on sustainable landscapes for over 20 years. As a site designer and project manager, her work has ranged from large public projects to finely crafted residences. She is pleased to have worked on several publicly-funded educational projects that build community awareness of urban watershed issues. Caitlin’s work creates connections between individuals and landscapes, inspiring others to protect and preserve environmental health.

Alison Maitland Scheetz | Site Designer
alison@swiftcompany.com

Alison is always good for an opinion with a British sense of humor and passion for landscape architecture. Her respect for larger landscapes and those of a more intimate, human scale come from her academic grounding in geography and life in Hong Kong. She currently works on diverse projects, from conceptual design to construction administration. Alison has studied for a MLA at the University of Washington, worked for the Seattle Design Commission and produced the Arts Master Plan for Crown Hill Neighborhood.

Elizabeth Browning | Site Designer
liz@swiftcompany.com

With an MLA from the University of Washington in 2005, Liz has worked on site design, urban design and planning, and large-scale land planning projects. Using her interdisciplinary humanities background, she works to tell the story of place with narratives of history and culture in design. Well-versed in graphics technology, Liz enjoys experimenting with design communication.

Noelle Higgins | Site Designer
noelle@swiftcompany.com

Born and raised in Dublin, Noelle moved to Seattle in 1993. Her love of the urban environment and interest in multi-culturalism have fueled her aesthetic and directed her research in sustainable urban communities. Before receiving her MLA at the University of Washington in 2007, she worked nationally and internationally with glass and conceptual artists as a project manager and designer. Noelle feels fortunate to be constantly challenged by the range of projects in the office.

Arielle Farina Clark | Site Designer
arielle@swiftcompany.com

With an MLA from the University of Washington, Arielle has a passion for holistic design which incorporates ecology and culture. She is particularly interested in the design of urban open space, green infrastructure, pedestrian friendly cities, and cycling systems. Arielle derives her inspiration from smart, simple, innovative design solutions.

Process

Planning and design are universal activities. We all define, develop and implement projects in our daily lives; we analyze circumstances, synthesize issues, define criteria, and test solutions. Similarly, planning and design for the physical environment follow the same path.

Early collaboration aids identification of the key issues, and results in innovative, elegant solutions. We craft multidisciplinary teams that pursue an integrated systems approach. Clients and community representatives are central members of the team. Our collaborative design process is highly valued by our clients, and we strive to build lasting relationships.

Our goal is to create simple, clear designs of durable materials, and fluid systems that remain relevant and vital over time.

Services > Community Facilitation

The process of facilitating a discussion does more than resolve divergent interests. A clear and open public process results in a solution that can become part of the community fabric—a solution that survives and thrives over time. Those who use a place know it best. Designers rely on this knowledge to create a place that works. Responsiveness, reliability and availability are key components to successful facilitation.