Eckbo, Garrett

Garrett Eckbo studied landscape architecture at UC Berkeley graduating in 1935. He then attended Harvard University's Graduate School of Design where with classmates Dan Kiley and James Rose led the "Harvard Revolution," ushering in the modern period in landscape design. Following graduation in 1938, Eckbo worked as a landscape architect for Norman Bel Geddes on the General Motors Pavilion for the 1939 World's Fair in New York and for the Farm Security Administration. Eckbo taught at the University of Southern California and in UC Berkeley's Department of Landscape Architecture, serving as Chair from 1965-1969. Eckbo was a prolific author who published seven books and innumerable articles. He received the 1975 American Society of Landscape Architects' Medal of Honor.

Landscape architect.

Member, International Fraternity of Lambda Alpha, Golden Gate Chapter.

Biographical Note

Garrett Eckbo (1910-2000) was born in Cooperstown, New York. Eckbo received his education in a variety of cities, including Chicago and Alameda, CA. In 1929, Eckbo spent six months studying in Oslo, Norway, where he "acquired both ambition and direction" . Upon his return, he worked at several jobs before attending Marin Junior College in 1932. One year later, he began studying landscape architecture at UC Berkeley.

When Eckbo graduated from Berkeley in 1935, Professor John Gregg helped him obtain his first architectural job as a garden designer for Armstrong Nurseries in Los Angeles. During his first year on the job, Eckbo designed almost one hundred gardens for various clients. In 1936, Eckbo's submission to Harvard University's Graduate School of Design won him a first prize scholarship. Eckbo and his classmates Dan Kiley and James Rose led the "Harvard Revolution," ushering in the Modern period in landscape design. Following his graduation in 1938, Eckbo worked as a landscape architect for Norman Bel Geddes on the General Motors Pavilion for the 1939 World's Fair in New York and for the Farm Security Administration, planning new communities and designing housing developments, first for migrant workers, later for war workers.

In 1937 he married Arline Williams and by 1939 Eckbo had published his first articles in the journals Pencil Points and Magazine of Art . In 1942 Eckbo formed a business partnership with his brother-in-law, Edward Williams, to form the firm of Eckbo & Williams. Following World War II, they were joined by Robert Royston, thus expanding the practice. The reputation of the firm grew, and Eckbo, Royston, & Williams oversaw the design and construction of gardens for hundreds of residential, religious, and educational buildings in the newly-developed edge cities and suburbs of Los Angeles and beyond. During this period Eckbo also served as an associate professor at the University of Southern California (1948-1956).

After the 1953 dissolution of Eckbo, Royston, & Williams, Eckbo's work changed to include projects that required large-scale design and master planning. While continuing to design various commercial and educational projects, Eckbo began teaching in UC Berkeley's Department of Landscape Architecture, serving as Chair from 1965-1969.

Eckbo received the 1975 American Society of Landscape Architects' Medal of Honor, and in 1978 became Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley. He continued to publish books and essays on landscape architecture and environmental design, in addition to working on various international projects. His publications include Landscape for Living (1950), The Art of Home Landscaping (1956), Urban Landscape Design (1964), The Landscape We See (1969), and People in a Landscape (1998).

Sources: Treib, Marc and Dorothee Imbert. Garrett Eckbo: Modern Landscapes for Living, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. Garrett Eckbo typed biography, 1984.