By Kimi Eisele

There is barely an open space in Mark Frederickson's office. Landscape designs, architectural drawings, urban plans, posters, charts, files, books and a sofa with a large red cushion advertise this as a working area, where problems are solved and ideas synthesized.

But this is just one of his creative work sites. Because for Frederickson, a professor in the School of Landscape Architecture, often the best landscape design efforts happen in real-world settings when diverse groups of people think, solve problems and create plans together.

That's why, nearly 15 years ago, he formed the Tejido Group, a program that allows faculty, students, and professionals to work collaboratively on authentic design projects. The name "Tejido," which comes from the Spanish verb "to weave," speaks to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the design and planning processes, says Frederickson.

Housed in the School of Landscape Architecture in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Tejido provides students with hands-on experience in the field. "Our graduates were getting out of here very, very green," Frederickson says. "We wanted to introduce students to the reality of the profession."

Students involved in Tejido have gained valuable practical knowledge working for actual clients. Past projects range from a resort master plan for the Cuisinart Corp. in Anguilla, British West Indies, to harbor revitalization and waterfront development programs in Panama to small town revitalization plans in Clarkdale, Jerome, and Camp Verde, Ariz. Other projects have involved urban design, sustainable tourism planning and design, and transportation corridor planning. Recently, Tejido created the master plan for Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon after wildfires destroyed much of the community.

Tejido projects must contain three main elements, Frederickson says. The first is pedagogic value: "We look for projects that are challenging, messy, with real world issues."

Second, the group only takes on projects that could make favorable impacts on the environment and culture. The third criterion is based on client need. "Our clients often don't have two nickels to rub together," Frederickson says. "We can do affordable work."

Tejido purposely does not compete with practicing professionals, Frederickson says. In fact, the student work projects often create opportunities for professionals, who then get contracted to complete a job after a master plan is created.

Master plans generated by Tejido provide complete design strategies with designs, case studies and possible sources of funding to enable clients to complete the project. Throughout their projects, students are mentored by faculty members, who "help them avoid pitfalls through design reviews almost daily."

Frederickson said that when students can see the tangible impact of their work, they're often much more interested in doing it. "Things that are real lure them. Students can see that this is a true profession. They can have a positive impact on the world. This gives them a lot of confidence."

It also gives them a lot of options for the future. "They put out such a superior product," Frederickson says. "We're getting inundated with requests."

Lately, many of those requests have come from municipal governments in the state wanting to revive their towns. Landscape architecture offers a powerful way to transform lives and communities, Frederickson said. He gives an example of one small town in Arizona that wanted to revitalize by building a historical museum. "You could put up a pretty building, outline important historical events and a changing culture that you might visit once a year."

But a more effective way to revitalize the community, Frederickson argues, would be to develop a system of parks, streetscapes, bike trails, pedestrian walkways, street furniture and greenways. Landscape re-designs such as this offer economic, social and environmental benefits to a community, he said. "If your house is next to the park, it appreciates the value of your home. Near parks, people gather outside…not in front of their televisions. Greenways can preserve natural ecosystems. With just a museum none of that would have happened."

In their design process, Tejido uses four main methods, beginning with a site inventory. In Show Low, Ariz., where the group is currently creating a master revitalization plan, "They walked every street, alley and path in town" to inventory existing native vegetation to land use, wildlife habitat, water run-off patterns and other existing landscape features. The young designers also analyze other projects as case studies, evaluating ideas and designs from elsewhere that might be applicable. They then conduct surveys and structured interviews with clients ­ city officials and community members, in the case of Show Low ­ to determine what people want. From those interviews, surveys and discussions, the students get ideas which they then synthesize into a variety of concepts to present back to their client.

One of the most important things students learn is how important it is to gain the trust of their clients. "They go in with strikes against them," Frederickson says. "First people say, 'You're just students,' then 'You're from the University' and then 'You're outsiders.' The students have to gain credibility with their clients and communities through site work."

Frederickson says that such a comprehensive process teaches students the many steps of design. "Their work impacts people's lives, the economy, ecology. It's more than graphite on paper."

It's also "more than just adding vegetation to an area," says Greg Gorby, a second-year graduate student in the department and a member of the Tejido Group. Gorby is working on a project to redesign part of Salpointe High School in Tucson. "Salpointe's an old school rich in historical value. But it's old. It was constructed piecemeal and its facilities aren't cohesive," he says. His team is working to create new facilities for classrooms, improving athletic space and creating a more prominent area for the fine arts department. They also hope to add "flexible space" that can be used for a variety of activities and events.

While Salpointe is often celebrated for its academics and athletics, it also has a top-rate fine arts program. To celebrate that, "We're creating a physical plaza at the visitor's entrance that's geared toward the arts."

Working with real clients who have real economic, functional, and natural constraints, Gorby says, is the highlight of working with Tejido. "Those constraints help us to problem-solve. And that's what landscape architecture is about."