Spotlight on: Landscape Architecture

At PAYETTE, our people are our primary asset. Brian Carlic, our in-house Director of Landscape Architecture, has been with the firm for more than 20 years. During his time at PAYETTE, Brian has worked on many campus-defining projects, including the Aga Khan University, George Washington University, Bridgewater State University and Columbia University. He has particular expertise in integrating the landscape design with its surrounding architecture.

Here, Brian shares a bit about his approach – and himself.

Q: Why do you do what you do?
I worked in only one landscape firm in my career, and it was for the first two years out of school. Since then, I’ve been working in-house with architecture firms, having started with PAYETTE in 1992. I like the atmosphere of architecture firms; the variety of people and projects keeps things interesting.

Q: Where do you look for project inspiration?
I attribute much of my personal design influence to the modernist landscape architects Daniel Kiley and Burle Marx. While I’ll admit my skills are far from comparable to these two, I’ve developed a similar approach through my many years of work on various Aga Khan University projects. All of my work has been heavily influenced by my visits to historic Mogul and Islamic gardens.

In terms of individual projects though, to me, inspiration is more akin to the “ah ha” moment in each team’s design process. Once that moment has happened, the inspiration tends to be part of the collective whole, and I work off of that direction.

Q: What recent trend are you most excited about?
Soil ecology. This may seem acute, but a landscape’s successful performance relies upon the soil. Lately, I’ve focused a lot of energy on learning more about this aspect of a project’s site.

Q: Who is your favorite designer?
Tom Payette. Over the years, a few of us from the office have had the opportunity to visit the hospital in Karachi, and it is by far one of the best designs I’ve experienced in-person. Tom has an uncanny ability to see things as they are at a practical level, and the results are direct yet subtle at the same time. I might be biased, having worked with Tom since I started at PAYETTE, but I can honestly say he is my first choice.

Q: Where is your favorite place in the world?
Dubrovnik, Croatia. It’s been 30 years since I spent time there, but I still have an emotional attachment to the place and its people.

Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m a localvore. I think it’s very important to know where your food is raised; I really believe that you can’t separate what you eat from how it’s grown or how it’s transported. When I bring in my lunch, I can pretty much identify where every item came from – and I don’t mean which store it came from.

Q: The sky is the limit: if you could redesign anything, what would it be?
The Dodge Charger. Historically, there was no such thing as a four-door Charger. Seriously, what a shame that car is.

Q: What do you do in your free time?
I seem to spend a lot of time mowing in the summer and shoveling in the winter. In between, I like to brew beer, roast coffee, keep bees and go salt water fishing. I also enjoy working on my home; I try to do a bit of everything, including electrical and plumbing work, drywall installation, tile and grout work and carpentry. I also hang gutters and have been known to re-roof a garage.

Q: What’s on your iPod/what are you streaming these days?
Every Memorial Day, I generate a playlist for a BBQ of around 160–180 songs, which is more than 14 hours of music. I don’t like jazz, opera or orchestral music, and rap, so those don’t usually make the playlist. I’m currently listening to this year’s version and Eleventh Dream Day’s song “The Raft,” as well as The Grateful Dead’s “Franklin’s Tower” are a couple of favorites. I tend to listen to music at a level that is much too loud for my right ear’s own good.

Q: What do you follow?
… the beat of a different drummer …