Geoff di Girolamo, founding partner of Saunter Design and former founding partner of Surfacedesign, discussed his experiences in creating contemporary gardens in Hawaii and presented a series of built works in Hawaii and the mainland. The selected projects showcased Geoff’s exuberant and authentic approach to garden hardscape and planting and his desire to convey the unique cultural and ecological narratives from each project site.

Originally trained as an architect, the New York-based landscape designer’s practice is indebted to modernism and emphasizes sensitive responses to place and to culture. Some of Geoff’s recent endeavors include private residences on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, the Big Island, an art foundation/sculpture garden in Philadelphia and a landscape master plan and landscape restoration project at U.C. Santa Cruz.

Geoff is a professor at U.C. Berkeley and has served as a guest critic at Harvard, CCA, UCLA, and the University of Pennsylvania.  He is the recipient of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and the Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York.  Geoff was born and raised in San Diego, California and received his Master of Architecture degree from UCLA and a Bachelor of Art in Painting at UC Santa Cruz.