Blasen Landscape Architecture listens attentively for clients' thoughts on how they might most wish to live on their land, and builds gardens that provide a pristine and deeply-felt encounter with it. Interested in the psychological and aesthetic qualities of land, they work, essentially, to increase their clients' happiness. They start with the clients' dreams, and the land as it is: its natural or constructed shape, the qualities of its breezes, and the plants that are thriving there. The gardens in LIVING LAND are growing on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, in the valleys of the California coastal hills, in tight urban lots, and on spacious residential estates. Each is of a sophisticated and seamless high quality and demonstrates Eric and Silvina Blasens' ability to intensely intuit and beautifully forge a relevant, contemporary dynamic between architecture and land. Whether a wildflower meadow or a courtyard around a fireplace, the spaces are built sustainably and shine with a single quality: ease with the outdoors. These gardens help their owners live everyday in relation to the land. AUTHOR: Eric Blasen, ASLA, studied Art History at the University of London, England, received his Bachelor of Science in Geography from Oregon State University and his Masters of Landscape Architecture from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He first explored practical design by making furniture and won his first design award for it. In 1993, he cofounded, with his wife, Silvina, Blasen Landscape Architecture, a design studio, in San Anselmo, California. The design team has created landscapes for places of worship, schools, corporate offices, and wineries, but its main focus is large residential gardens, for which it has garnered top American landscape architecture awards. Eric Blasen has taught in the Architecture Department at California College of Art, San Francisco, California, and served on many academic juries. Silvina Blasen is a principal of Blasen Landscape Architecture and its plant expert and green practices advocate. After gaining her Certificate in Horticulture from Sierra College, Rocklin, California she became a partner with Stienstra/ Martierena Landscape Architecture- Design Build Garden Company in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and nursery manager at Smith Hawken's original store, in Mill Valley, California. Her passion for planting design and her knowledge of the environment result in work that is acclaimed for its creativity and commitment to sustainability. REVIEWS: The work of Eric and Silvina is imbued with a sensitivity that is simultaneously architectural and of the earth. Often the sign of a great mind is understanding what not to do, how little to do, and when enough is enough. Their landscapes, whether urban or rural, balance that fine line with great sophistication. -Joshua Aidlin aidlin darling design Northern California has been on the forefront of landscape architecture and garden design since the days of Thomas Church, Garret Eckbo, and Lawrence Halprin. The work of Eric and Silvina Blasen builds on this legacy, creating gardens that are timeless, modern, and always firmly rooted in their Northern California surroundings. The Blasens combine strong spatial structure softened by textured plantings to gracefully fuse architecture and context. -Andrea Cochran Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture ILLUSTRATIONS: 130 photographs l53 illustrations
