Susan Child Oral History
In 2026 the Pioneers of American Landscape Design® Oral History series will highlight the life and career of landscape architect Susan Child, FASLA (1928–2018).
This series is an ever-growing, award-winning collection of thoughtfully produced videotaped first-person interviews with significant practitioners that currently features twenty oral histories. Each profile examines a designer’s personal and professional history, their overall design philosophy, and how that approach was carried out in their most emblematic projects. The deftly edited video segments include never-before-seen archival footage, new photography, and on-location videography. The final result also includes a complete transcript and a collection of approximately twenty illustrated personal recollections written by colleagues, collaborators, and friends.
Unlike the majority of the foundation's past oral histories that were undertaken with the participation of the pioneering subject, Child’s story will be documented and recounted via colleagues, scholars, clients, and family.
This oral history will highlight selections from Child’s diverse portfolio, ranging from the rehabilitation of Stan Hywet Hall Estate and Gardens in Akron, Ohio, and The Mount, Edith Wharton’s country residence in Lenox, Massachusetts, to groundbreaking designs for residences, institutions, and parks, including South Cove in Battery Park City, New York.
