The best of both worlds. That’s maybe the easiest way to describe Gregg Bleam’s interest in landscape architecture. Bleam had always loved architecture, but it wasn’t until college, where he began pursuing a graphic arts degree, that he realized his real interest was in making things. “Landscape architecture brought together a lot of different interests for me: architecture, landscape, site, history and place,” he says. So he switched his focus.
He moved from Vermont to Charlottesville in 1985 to teach at UVA, where he stayed for 10 years teaching architecture and landscape architecture courses while building his practice, which he opened in 1990. He’s made a career focusing on the relationship between modern architecture and seasonal gardens.
As he says, “The garden has ephemeral qualities: It can be a clock or a calendar, and it can mark the passage of time in a beautiful way. Architecture obviously weathers overs the years, but gardens are dynamic and change with the seasons.”
Why architecture?
I’m a landscape architect, but I’ve always had a real love of architecture. I started my career in college as a graphic artist, and enjoyed that, particularly the compositional aspect of it. I think my work has a strong architectural and ordered component to it. However, I’m also fascinated by the juxtaposition of buildings with plants, and the idea of a garden.
Why did you choose to practice in Virginia?
I moved from working in Dan Kiley’s office in Charlotte, Vermont to Charlottesville in 1985 to teach in the architecture school at the University of Virginia. I really loved my time at the University, as well as the opportunity to learn more about the Virginia landscape. I lived in New England prior to that, so the idea of a four-season climate like Charlottesville’s, as well as its diversity of plants, was attractive. At one point I thought about moving back to Boston, but decided not to, because the idea of practicing in a beautiful place became the priority. I could have a practice here in a place that didn’t have a lot of modernism—that was going to be my focus—and have an opportunity to work with a plant palette that was broad and rich. Throughout my time in Virginia, I have been interested in developing a “Southern modernism,” if you will. This is the idea of taking components that are deeply rooted in history, and working to bring them out in a way that transforms the site and makes it into something new. I like that juxtaposition of old and new components, and there is a lot of that in my work.
What was your childhood like, and how did it lead you to design?
I grew up on a farm in Iowa, and at the time I really could not wait to leave that environment. However, looking back on it, I find that this background may have helped me more than anything else in my career. I, unknowingly, learned the craft of landscape architecture through planting, building and cultivation. My mother was also quite influential on me. She is an artist and taught me a love for drawing and for making things. She also has a really strong interest in the environment and place, so she would drag our family to historic houses and parks. That was where I first began to fall in love with the landscape, the natural environment and gardens in particular.
I grew up in a minimalist landscape of farm buildings and elemental cubic forms set on a flat ground plane. There is a geometry to these buildings that mirrors a pinwheel, with a central courtyard opening out to the landscape beyond. Order is present in the agricultural landscape in the windbreaks, orchards and the fields that surround them. These elements are all organized in a very clear hierarchical way, yet one that is sort of ambiguous about the center, about the place itself. That structure certainly has an influence on the work that I do today. In my work I am always working to see how I can do the most with the least, striving to work within an economy of means. I think that my minimalist sensibility really traces back to my days in Iowa.
Tell us about your college experience. Was there a stand-out teacher who had a lasting impact on you?
My undergraduate college experience was mostly focused on learning the craft of landscape architecture from a technical standpoint, but my graduate experience at Harvard was much stronger, in terms of design and theory. There, I was exposed to some great professors, including Michael Van Valkenburgh and Laurie Olin, who influenced my work. But probably the people who have been most influential have not necessarily been the academics, but the individuals who I’ve had the pleasure and privilege to work with over the years. First, I have to acknowledge Dan Kiley. When I left Boston to work for him in the ’80s, it was a transformational experience. I was working for a real master, who thought about landscape as a seamless extension of architecture. He structured gardens using trees and plants in a very clear, simple geometric order. In addition, my first project as a solo practitioner was working with the architect WG Clark on the Lucy Daniels Preschool project in North Carolina. WG is an avowed modernist, and very rigorous, not only about architecture, but also landscape and place making. So it is actually these practitioners who continue to influence my work today.
On process: How does it begin?
That’s a difficult question. I think every project in a way is unique due to the site and the client’s desires. I am always trying to look at each one holistically and see what opportunities there are. Obviously, there are always constraints: the limitations of the site, the budget and the plants that will grow in the particular location. There are all sorts of environmental aspects that have to come into play, but I find all those restraints and constraints to be liberating and allow me to really focus on the space.
Design really begins with the diagram, with trying to think clearly about how the space will work. In a way landscape architecture is like art, and a little bit like architecture, but there’s also this idea of function. It has to somehow work. You can make the most beautiful garden or place and yet if it doesn’t work, if it doesn’t accommodate the needs of the client, then it’s really not a good design. When I was working for Kiley he would constantly be after us about making sure that the diagram was right first. Then the rest of the components—the plants, the materials, the water and the other details—could come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. My approach is to take a holistic view of each design, approaching each project with an open mind and listening attitude, and allow the client to be a big part of the design process as well.
What inspires you?
It’s probably clear that I’m inspired by art, by architecture and by landscape. I have been particularly influenced by the work of the architect Carlo Scarpa and also by the minimalist artist Donald Judd. However, I’m also inspired to see other people succeeding and starting off in their career, and that’s one thing I’ve been recently involved with in Charlottesville. I recently became a board member working with the New City Arts Initiative, an organization that is focused on providing residency for fledgling artists by giving them studio space at The Haven, as well as connecting them with other artists. I’m excited about the opportunities in Charlottesville for supporting the arts and for enriching the lives of others through art and beauty.
What are you working on now?
We are working on a number of projects in diverse locations. In Miami Beach, we’re designing a garden roof terrace 22 floors in the air—a very exciting project. We are working in Sag Harbor, Long Island, on a garden for a church that is being renovated into a residence. We also have a project on the water in Annapolis, Maryland. Closer to home, we are working on a design I’m very excited about: a master plan for a farm that will be focused on sustainable agriculture outside of Madison, Virginia.
