Even in Landscape Design, Form Follows Function

Glen Schmidt had this crazy idea when he decided to go out on his own 40 years ago as a landscape architect – instead of just looking nice, landscaping should have a function.

Back in 1983, it was simply saving water.

Since then, it has evolved to become what’s known as sustainable design and involves everything from using environmentally friendly materials and plants to shading and low-water irrigation systems.

“Sustainability really wasn’t a word yet in 1983,” Schmidt said. “The idea that we could combine the artful with the sustainable was really missing. That was what really started this adventure and that is still our core value now.”

From the one-man shop that Schmidt started 40 years ago in a corner of someone else’s studio in the Gaslamp Quarter, with a desk and a drafting board, Schmidt Design Group has grown to a staff of 39 and worked on some of the most recognizable projects in San Diego County.

“It’s been a learning adventure and the growth was to serve our clients. That’s always been our goal – to be innovative, and sustainable, and the growth has come through our clients,” Schmidt said. “Growth is not our mission, but in response to serving our clients.”

Biodiversity

Among its most notable projects of late, the firm is working with Hines on the design of the $3 billion Riverwalk master-planned community along Friars Road in Mission Valley. The goal is to develop a walkable community that celebrates the San Diego River.

Several neighborhood parks and open-space corridors are included in the design for picnicking, dog parks, open play, and overlooks.

A linear park will connect Friars Road to the San Diego River and a proposed 80-acre regional park south of the river. Two civic plazas are also planned within the development.

As subconsultants to Clark Construction and Design Consultants, Schmidt Design Group is also working on the landscape design of San Diego State University’s redevelopment of the 160-acre site of what had been Qualcomm Stadium.

A signature project for Schmidt was the 14.3-acre Civita Park that is part of the 230-acre Mission Valley community by Sudberry Properties and the recently completed 1.3-acre Creekside Park in the Civita development.

Creekside Park is part of a network of parks in Civita that will stretch from Friars Road in Mission Valley to Phyllis Place in Serra Mesa. It includes elevated walkways, a children’s play area, picnic areas and an off-leash dog run.

The firm also did the landscape design for the San Diego County Youth Transition Campus in the Birdland neighborhood – a detention and rehabilitation center for young offenders that opened in February 2022, replacing the former Juvenile Hall.

“The site design was to create a more campus-like environment, one that felt like a traditional schoolroom,” said JT Barr, principal and managing partner of Schmidt Design Group who is set to step in to take over the day-to-day operations of the firm.

“The emphasis of the site was to draw nature into the campus,” Barr said.

The design included a wide range of native plants that would draw bees and wildlife onto the campus.

“We are seeing globally a shift toward more use of native plants,” Barr said. “It’s a way we can encourage habitat preservation.”

Schmidt Design Group

Founded: 1983
President and founder: Glen Schmidt
Principal and managing partner: JT Barr
Headquarters: Point Loma
Business: landscape architect
Employees: 39
Annual revenue: undisclosed
Website:  www.schmidtdesign.com
Contact: 619-236-1462
Notable: Schmidt Design Group has received numerous national, state and regional awards, including 15 Orchids from the San Diego Architectural Foundation, 36 from the American Society of Landscape Architects, 41 from the American Public Works Association, and 14 from the California Parks and Recreation Society