An endowment supporting learning beyond the studio
PLOT Studio has established the PLOT Studio Endowed Fund for Excellence at Auburn University. The fund will support study away opportunities for landscape architecture students in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.
Landscape architecture students learn to understand a place through its story, including its history, context, function and the ways people experience it. Study away allows students to observe those relationships firsthand and bring what they learn back to the design studio. The fund is intended to provide lasting support for those experiences.
For PLOT founding principal Matt Phillips, the commitment builds on a longstanding connection to Auburn University. Phillips earned both his Bachelor of Science in horticulture and Master of Landscape Architecture at Auburn and serves on the Landscape Architecture Advisory Council.
“Our state depends on the landscape architects educated at Auburn University. Auburn is an important part of my story, and I want PLOT to be part of what comes next for its students,” Phillips said. “When you spend time in a place, you begin to notice how it works and uncover the layers that tell its unique story. We want to help students build that habit of looking closely and carry it into the places they will design.”
The commitment also reflects PLOT’s approach to practice, which begins with understanding a site’s history, culture and environment. Supporting study away extends that belief to students as they develop their own ways of observing, questioning and designing.
Ryan Collins, principal at PLOT Studio, said the endowment represents an investment in both future designers and the profession they will help shape.
“We want PLOT to invest in landscape architecture in ways that will reach beyond our practice,” Collins said. “Experiencing unfamiliar places can change how a student sees the world, works with others and approaches design. If PLOT can help make those experiences more accessible through this award, that would be an important contribution to the future of the profession.”
Rob Holmes, associate professor and undergraduate landscape architecture chair at Auburn, said experiences beyond campus can provide students with an entirely different perspective on their future work.
“We are incredibly appreciative of PLOT’s investment in our students,” Holmes said. “Studying landscape architecture beyond the classroom can be a transformative experience. It allows students to consider their future work from the perspective of another culture while being immersed in that culture and learning from some of its best designed landscapes.”
Through the PLOT Studio Endowed Fund for Excellence, future landscape architecture students will have greater access to experiences that expand their understanding of place and strengthen the perspective they bring to their education and careers.
About PLOT Studio
PLOT Studio is a landscape architecture firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. The studio’s design process brings research and analysis together with an understanding of each site’s history, context and environment. Learn more at plotstudiola.com.
About Auburn University
Auburn University is a leading public, land-, sea- and space-grant institution ranked among the nation's top public universities and home to more than 35,000 students. Auburn is recognized for its exceptional student-centered education, transformational research and creative scholarship and extension programs that improve lives and foster economic growth. Guided by a culture of excellence and innovation, Auburn is dedicated to advancing communities in Alabama and beyond. Learn more at auburn.edu.
