BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 22

BSLA

/ MEMBER

EUGENE BOLINGER, ASLA
GROWING AN LA DIVISION IN AN ENGINEERING FIRM

F

or over one hundred
and fifteen years
Weston & Sampson has
provided infrastructure
engineering and
environmental
consulting to our
clients (oh, how
stuffy!). As the firm
sought to grow, it
began opening new
offices organically and
acquired small, likeminded firms. Through this
approach to expansion, new
services were introduced to the
organization. In 1999 Weston & Sampson
purchased a small, site / civil practice that
included landscape architecture.
I was part of that practice, and I found myself,
a landscape architect, among a small army of
engineering colleagues— and I never looked
back. As any designer who has worked in
an engineering firm can tell you, this could
have been a daunting position. Where our
engineering and scientific friends seek black
and white, we revel in the million shades of
grey. Where they seek the one possible correct
solution, we wrestle with slight variations of
subtle form.
And so it began: landscape architecture at
Weston & Sampson. Strong design, great focus
on client service, and visually compelling
graphics led to ribbon cuttings with smiling
Mayors high-fiving future voters, to the point
where it seemed that our next project was the
feel good story of the moment.
It’s quite likely that the practice would
have continued to perform well, helping

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BSLA

communities like Boston, Worcester, and
Framingham with their park and open space
needs. However, fate had other plans. In the
early 2000s, as other environmental firms
were cutting back and closing doors, Weston
& Sampson was still growing. I found myself
leading a 20-person group of engineers and
designers out of a Foxborough office. This
eclectic mix of professionals ranged from
roadway and structural engineers to architects
and landscape architects. The phrase “herding
cats” comes to mind. While the collaboration
between these disciplines was strong, the
ability to strategically lead in the best interest of
each group was becoming increasingly difficult.
After Michael Moonan and Cheri Ruane
joined me in the firm about a decade ago, the
landscape architecture practice grew to ten
people strong. As lovely as Foxborough is,
the urban-gravitating LAs (and even a few

I f o u nd my s e l f, a
l a nd s c a p e a r c h i t e c t ,
a mo n g a s ma l l a r my o f
e n g i ne e r i n g c ol l e a g u e s —
a nd I neve r l o o ke d ba c k .
architects) craved a downtown location with
a strong design studio vibe. The stars aligned,
and Weston & Sampson’s leadership approved
a new Boston office on Devonshire Street. Our
designers were quick to celebrate! No more
6’ high, forest green cube walls, no suburban
office park setting, no dirty looks from the
engineers when waist high drifts of trace paper
accumulated around a new design commission.
And most of all, we were in our realm, meaning
within shouting distance of many of our clients
and dozens of inspirational park, open space,
and urban design precedents.