JUSTINE HEILNER LANDSCAPE

Our design philosophy is based in the understanding that every designed place is part of a larger ecological system that includes humans, plants and animals.

Our aim is to create landscapes that connect people with the soul of their environment. Through thoughtful planting and material choices, and the work of skilled craftspeople and installers, we collaborate with our clients to produce unique spaces that are captivating, functional and sustainable.

Justine Heilner’s work is rooted in a childhood spent living near forest, learning about nature up close, and further developed by the world of landscape photography and sculpture. After years of observing and noticing the qualities that define a place – geology, plants, animals, light, texture, movement, color, she wanted to engage with the landscape in a new way. Each project is approached with thoughtful observation, bringing her unique sensitivity to the particularities of each site, and ensuring that the designed landscape takes root in its setting, while also enhancing its connection to the people who use and live in it.

Prior to starting her own firm, Justine worked at the well-known New York-based firms Field Operations and Michael VanValkenburgh Associates. During those years, she was a designer and/or project manager on a range of projects including: The Highline - an elevated park on the West Side of Manhattan, The University of Puerto Rico Botanic Garden Master Plan, Friends of Eastern State Penitentiary Park - a neighborhood park in Philadelphia, Arroyo Parkway - a streetscape for an arts corridor in Pasadena, Princeton University's Campus Master plan and site design, A 300-acre private estate for an art-loving client in upstate New York.

In addition to practicing landscape design, she teaches in Pratt’s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design program, and is a visiting critic at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, PENN Design, Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation, and City College of New York’s Landscape Architecture program.