OLIN’s signature is not a style or palette. It is a dedication to craft, a commitment to quality, collaboration, and a genuine interest in the human condition, paired with the expertise to respond to the complex challenges of the 21st century inherent in our communities and landscapes @scale. With deliberation and clarity, we create transformative places that bring new life while honoring past and extant cultural, natural, and social conditions.
You can trace this evolution directly through our work. In the late 1980s, our public realm design for London’s Canary Wharf set a powerful new baseline for transforming post-industrial urban fabric into vibrant, democratic civic space. Today, we build on that foundational legacy with projects like the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden at the Akron Art Museum and Grace Farms in Connecticut. These contemporary landscapes reach beyond civic gathering; they function simultaneously as deeply integrated cultural commons and vital, regenerative ecological havens.
From human-centered affordable housing, to inspirational environments for the arts, to invaluable local parks, to economic hubs, to innovative campuses, OLIN seeks to transform the everyday lived experience of landscape to one of connection and inspiration—for ALL.
1970’s Corporate America was moving from city centers to bucolic, multi-acre sites—often former industrial brownfields and agricultural fields. Re-imagining the workplace landscape beginning with J&J Baby Products, OLIN advocated for what was then considered “messy” nature—meadows, hedgerows, and stormwater systems presented a radical shift for corporate sensibilities.
Since then, OLIN has advanced sustainable practices through both innovative and expertly executed traditional techniques: capturing heat from mainframe computing to protect microclimate-sensitive biomes; engineering site-wide stormwater reuse to support mechanical systems; submerging building programs for built-in climate control and to minimize landscape encroachment; and recharging water tables through deft grading and ancient wall-building methods.
Today, as companies edge back toward urban centers, leadership, employees, and communities expect far more than aesthetic integration, demanding high-performance, regenerative design. In collaboration with visionary project teams—and driven by the rigorous inquiry of our Eco Lab—OLIN remains at the forefront of ecological systems integration. These achievements can be seen at our landmark campus projects like Apple Park and Google Bay View. The Google Bay View landscape is recognized globally for its regenerative capacities, closed-loop water sustainability, and amenities—fostering both ecosystem health and human wellbeing. Apple Park restores native Californian ecology at a massive scale, seamlessly integrating immense environmental performance with iconic architecture.
Moving forward, we aren’t just carrying these lessons with us; they are our baseline. We continue to design landscapes that do more than adapt—they actively restore our planet’s biodiversity, design in true partnership with nature, and build resilience for an undeniably changing future.
A community’s ability to withstand trauma doesn’t just rely on how well a plaza absorbs a flood; it relies on the everyday social connections of neighbors who support each other in the aftermath. As we often say in our practice, “Parks are the ultimate flexible infrastructure to help our communities face and rebound from emergencies.”
This duality of physical and social resilience is the core of our environmental justice work. At NYCHA Red Hook in Brooklyn and through our comprehensive planning for Caño Martín Peña in Puerto Rico, we are designing with and for historically marginalized communities. By creating vibrant, hyper-local public realms, we help foster the vital social networks necessary to withstand climate impacts.
Physically, we are replacing outdated concrete with dynamic landscapes built to absorb the shock of a changing climate. At ResilienCity Park in Hoboken and the Hunts Point peninsula in the Bronx, the landscape itself is the infrastructure. These spaces act as natural sponges and protective shields—capturing millions of gallons of stormwater, mitigating urban heat, and protecting critical food supply chains—all while functioning as beautiful, accessible neighborhood parks.
As OLIN looks to our next 50 years, we will continue to champion designs where ecological repair and social cohesion are one and the same. Because creating places that enhance life means creating places that protect it, too.
Over the past decade we’ve deepened our understanding to realize environmentally-just planning. Empowered by our People and Tech Labs research, we don’t just ask what goes where, but who benefits, whose voices are missing, and how we can use design to repair historic inequities. Centering community needs through data-driven, equitable planning strategies, we restore the ecological and social health of entire regions.
OLIN’s practice is rooted in a desire to understand the human condition. In our seminal collaboration with urban sociologist Holly Whyte at Bryant Park, we used direct behavioral observation to decisively alter how public spaces serve people who use them. You can trace the evolution of our planning practice directly through our work. Our early, localized visioning for UW Tacoma in the 1990s set a strong precedent for integrating new development seamlessly with the surrounding community fabric—work we were fortunate to continue with an updated Campus Plan in 2025.
Now we apply that community-focused rigor at an unprecedented regional scale. Projects like the LA River Master Plan and the LA Countywide Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment are global benchmarks for multi-benefit, equity-driven systems planning. These are comprehensive roadmaps for distributing resources, mitigating climate risks, and providing essential public space to millions of residents. OLIN continues to plan for the future of some of the world’s most iconic landscapes, urban districts, and rural communities in partnership with governments, non-profits, and institutions.
Looking toward the next generation’s needs, we continue to strengthen our core skills for elevating planning as it relates to the landscape and our site design projects. From land use planning at large scales to water conservation to resilience to park systems planning, we believe planning at the scale of the impacts we have on our landscape is critical to a thriving future. Our best future is one we design together, recognizing the value we all bring to the table.
Standing on Ben’s shoulders, we are grateful to reflect on our work in Philadelphia, where our country was founded 250 years ago, and where our practice began 50 years ago. With Philadelphia serving as OLIN’s launch pad and living laboratory, we embrace Franklin’s wisdom, actively designing together with our communities, building more equitable futures spanning the breadth of the city.
The West: Our origin story begins at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Fine Arts, today’s Weitzman School of Design, where two professors, Bob Hanna and Laurie Olin, collaborated with other faculty to create the University of Pennsylvania Campus Development Plan.
The Center: On the historic Ben Franklin Parkway, we designed multiple restorations, museum grounds, and event spaces—starting with the Philadelphia Art Museum gardens and reaching to the democratic civic space at Dilworth Park—enhancing Philadelphia’s cultural spine. Comcast Plaza merges the public realm with a welcoming plaza in the working heart of Center City.
The Beloved Rivers: OLIN’s commitment to our backyard includes the Schuylkill, the Delaware, and their vital tributaries. Our Plan for the Central Delaware enhances urban ecology and social equity along 7 miles of waterfront, while the new Sustainability and Resilience Plan tackles climate mitigation head-on. At South Wetlands Park, derelict piers are transforming into extensive, bio-diverse wetlands. Water Works Park and the East Park Canoe House dip OLIN’s toes into the Schuylkill, while the 30th Street Station Plan and Centennial Plan envision expanses of dynamic public realm to the west. The City’s Rebuild initiative brought us to West Mill Creek and the city’s schoolyards—building engaging landscapes to uplift neighborhoods and families.
A kaleidoscope of projects, teaching, volunteer commitments, and real-life labs for research and innovation have made Philly our home. By continuing to recognize the deep knowledge of our local communities, we ensure our hometown remains a place that truly enhances life for everyone.
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