Our contemporary environmental condition is one of ecological hybridity, an evolving state where constructed megaliths exist within noisy gradients of the pseudo natural. These landscapes, hybridized territories, are the product of the exertion of civil engineering, environmental management, and the pressures of urbanization. As part of the New Public Forum, a student-led series of lectures and demonstrations aimed at instituting public dialogue between various fields as they evolve and adapt to a changing world, Bradley Cantrell considers where the discipline of landscape architecture stakes its footing in the ecologically complex and technologically abstract realm of contemporary society. To confront the intractable issues of our time Cantrell suggests it is necessary to develop a more nuanced relationship that allows humanity to co-create infrastructures that supports autonomy and wildness.

Bradley Cantrell is a landscape architect and scholar known for his contributions to the integration of computation, responsive technologies, and ecological infrastructures in the design of the territory. He has held academic appointments at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, The Rhode Island School of Design, and the Louisiana State University Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. As a professor and the current chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia, he has pushed the boundaries of how landscapes are designed, understood, and experienced. Cantrell’s work bridges the gap between traditional landscape practices and nascent technologies that are transforming the field. His research explores how computation can create responsive, adaptive, and resilient landscapes that address complex environmental challenges. His decade of experience and research in Southern Louisiana points to a series of methodologies that develop modes of modeling, simulation, and embedded computation that express and engage the complexity of overlapping physical, cultural, and economic systems. His approach to landscape architecture is not just theoretical; it is deeply rooted in practical applications that have redefined the capabilities of the discipline. He is the author of the publication, Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture, a seminal text that has become a cornerstone in the education of landscape architects. The book, co-authored with Wes Michaels, provides a comprehensive guide to digital tools and techniques, making it an essential resource for both students and practitioners. Another significant work, Responsive Landscapes, co-authored with Justine Holzman, delves into the potentials of interactive systems and adaptive design, offering a forward-thinking perspective on how constructed landscapes can respond to and shape ecological processes.

Learn more about the New Public Forum, which is supported by The Cooper Union Grant Program and The Cooper Union School of Art, here. Lectures will be broadcast by the Cooper Radio Collective.