The Modern Landscapes of Robert Royston

About this course:

Robert Royston (1918–2008) was one of America's most distinguished landscape architects during the post-war period. His design work and university teaching in the years following World War II helped define and establish California landscape modernism. Royston is best known for his public works, especially city parks, however, the San Francisco–based landscape architect also designed innovative gardens over the course of his long and productive career. These outdoor living spaces were enlivened by the shapes and rhythms of modern art and characterized by fine detail, attention to comfort, and beauty. In this talk, JC Miller will present Royston’s work with an emphasis on his residential projects, including his final commission, a series of gardens in Palm Springs. Join us for a live Q&A session with JC Miller immediately following the presentation. JC Miller is a partner at Vallier Design Associates in Point Richmond, California, and the former director of the Landscape Architecture Certificate Program at UC Berkeley Extension. He currently teaches the History of the Designed Landscape online for UCLA Extension’s Landscape Architecture Program. He worked for more than a decade in the Royston office and, as a principal, assisted Royston in the design and execution of his final projects. He is coauthor of Robert Royston, a volume in Library of American Landscape History’s Masters of Modern Landscape Design series.