Profile / Heritage Landscapes

Since 1987 Heritage Landscapes has been dedicated to a vibrant future for cultural landscapes of communities, campuses, public buildings, estates, museums, cemeteries, battlefields, historic sites, parks and parkways.

Based in Charlotte, Vermont and Norwalk, Connecticut we are a woman-owned professional firm with experience in over 300 projects focusing on public, heritage landscapes. Our work addresses preservation planning and implementation for campuses, institutions, museums, estates, historic sites, cemeteries, parks, parkways and communities. This diverse group of commissions focuses on landscapes of various types and sizes, from a few to several hundred acres and includes single, multiple property and linear corridor landscapes. Our projects range from modest expert assessment undertakings, to large preservation planning and implementation efforts

Our diverse clients include, not-for-profit entities, citizen advocacy groups, museums and institutions, private owners and municipal, state and federal agencies. We are effective members of multi-disciplinary teams in both team leader and subconsultant roles. We see our clients as full partners in project work, articulating goals, shaping project programs, providing data on staffing and funding capabilities, clarifying community and visitor issues, weighing alternatives, and making decisions

A hallmark of Heritage Landscapes work is the importance we place on educating by clearly conveying information about the historic property and its multiple values. We seek to communicate appropriate messages to the public through an array of media, including layout and design cues, focal elements, signs, brochures, etc. Because we believe that public landscapes are places for people of all abilities to experience and enjoy we are committed to providing universal access by upgrading circulation systems to meet ADA guidelines in a manner that respects historic character while accommodating access.

In addition to recognizing cultural landscape values, our work is grounded in principles of landscape sustainability, functionality, and aesthetics. The convergence of cultural and natural resource considerations is an important element in Heritage Landscapes work. Our projects incorporate a solid understanding of natural systems and promote the retention and shaping of sustainable biotic communities. Our work also effectively addresses functional aspects of site planning to provide user/visitor safety and comfort. All projects include issues of arrival, parking, circulation and ease of movement. Our design approach is to address function and aesthetic simultaneously. We prefer to use traditional, durable materials with a grace of application and simple elegance of detail. Based on our extensive work in landscape management, we shape designs that incorporate maintenance concerns, and provide our clients with tools to manage change and schedules to direct annual maintenance efforts.