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Innovative Landscape Design Rooted in Community and Collaboration

Stimson, a landscape design firm co-led by Stephen and Lauren Stimson, exemplifies a collaborative ethos in its operations. The firm engages three principal partners alongside a dedicated team of 40, managing approximately 120 projects annually. The driving philosophy behind Stimson’s success is reminiscent of a strong marriage, wherein compromise and patience are vital. The process of designing commissioned gardens is often lengthy, involving detailed illustrations and thorough planning, a practice that has garnered the firm recognition among the prestigious AD100 companies such as Ashe Leandro, Clements Design, Olson Kundig, and RP Miller.

At their own residence, the Stimsons embrace resourcefulness, finding inspiration through their limited budget. “We have similar tastes to our clients,” Lauren notes playfully, “just not the same budgets.” When they acquired their property, the focus was on carefully reclaiming the land, prioritizing the removal of invasive species and overgrowth. Instead of forcing a rigid master plan, they chose to allow the landscape to evolve organically over time. Their property has since transformed to include a grange hall and a studio designed by OPAL architects, which serves as a workspace for their collaborators. Other members of the firm operate remotely or from a loft office in Cambridge.

In the lush lower pasture, American Milking Devons graze, adding a pastoral charm to the landscape.

Charbrook represents a significant homecoming for Stephen, as this land has historical ties to his family, who once cultivated a dairy farm nearby. With roots in the area stretching back 12 generations, Stimson now manages a nursery on 12 acres of the family’s originally owned land, while their nephews oversee the remainder. Lauren also has deep ties to the region, having grown up exploring the nearby woods. Her parents, who connected while her father served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, now reside just across the street from Charbrook.

Stephen established the first version of his firm in Cape Cod in 1992, and over the past three decades, the portfolio has grown to encompass both extraordinary private residences in New England and innovative public projects. Their initiatives range widely, including the restoration of an endangered oak savanna and brush forest ecosystem at Phil Hardberger Park in San Antonio, Texas, to the development of accessibility plans for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. The firm has also been instrumental in the ecological restoration of a natural riverbed following the failure of a century-old dam in Cleveland’s Doan Brook watershed. Additionally, Stimson has undertaken numerous projects at esteemed institutions including Harvard, Brown, MIT, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where they have recently created a scholarship fund aimed at enhancing diversity within the landscape architecture field for BIPOC candidates.

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www.architecturaldigest.com