Julie Bargmann facts for kids

Julie Bargmann (born in 1958 in Bergen County, New Jersey) is an American landscape architect and teacher. She is known for her special way of designing outdoor spaces. Julie is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Architecture. She also runs her own company called D.I.R.T. (Dump It Right There) Studio. She was the first person to win the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize. This is a very important award for landscape design.

Career of Julie Bargmann

Julie Bargmann was one of eight children. She first studied sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University. Then, she earned a master's degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University in 1987.

After finishing her studies, Julie worked with another famous landscape architect, Michael Van Valkenburgh. She also taught at the University of Minnesota. In 1992, Julie started her own design studio called D.I.R.T. Studio. It is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The main goal of D.I.R.T. Studio is to change "ugly duckling" sites. These are places like old, polluted industrial lands. Julie's team turns them into useful and beautiful outdoor spaces. For example, they have changed old landfill sites into public parks and playgrounds. Soon after starting D.I.R.T. Studio, Julie also began teaching at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

In 2021, Julie Bargmann gave the yearly Daniel Urban Kiley Lecture at Harvard University. This is a special talk given by a leading expert in the field.

Key Projects by Julie Bargmann

Julie Bargmann has worked on many interesting projects. She often takes difficult sites and makes them new and exciting.

Vintondale Reclamation Park

A view of Bargmann's collaborative Vintondale Reclamation Park project.

Julie worked with artist Stacy Levy and local people in Vintondale, Pennsylvania. They changed a stream and land that were polluted by acid mine drainage. This pollution came from old coal mines. They turned the area into the Vintondale Reclamation Park. It is now a place where people can enjoy nature.

Ford Motor Company Plant

In 2000, Julie Bargmann worked with architect William McDonough. They created a plan for the very polluted Ford Motor Corporation plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Their plan used special methods, like using plants to clean up the soil and water. This project helped make the large industrial site much cleaner.

Urban Outfitters Campus

About ten years later, the head of Urban Outfitters (URBN) hired Julie. He wanted her to design a campus that would bring all the company's different brands together. This project was at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Julie's team used recycled materials found on the site. These included old concrete, bricks, and rusted metal. This created a unique and layered environment. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) gave this project an award in 2014. They praised Julie for making the landscape open to the public. This meant that a private company's land became a part of Philadelphia's public space. It showed how old industrial areas can be redeveloped in a good way.

Recent Work

Julie Bargmann continues to work on new projects. She is working with architect Marlon Blackwell in Fort Worth, Texas. She is also designing landscapes for a neighborhood in Detroit called Core City. One of her designs there is a parking lot that feels more like a park.

Awards and Honors

Julie Bargmann has received many important awards for her work:

• Fellow of the American Academy in Rome for Landscape Architecture (1990)
• National Design Awards for Environmental Design (2001)
• University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Urban Edge Award (2007)
• United States Artists Fellow (2008)
• Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize, awarded by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Julie Bargmann para niños

• List of fellows of the American Academy in Rome (1971–1990)