Designing, constructing and maintaining the outdoor features of residential and commercial properties call for an artistic eye, but also require an understanding of science and engineering.
After 35 years of experience as a landscape architect, Katherine Field can visualize fairly easily what a site could become.
“I try to let the site speak to me,” she said. “After all the experience I have, I have a good relationship with the land. I can feel what its natural state is.”
Field, who owns Katherine Field and Associates Inc., initially expected to pursue medicine. But a love of plants and the outdoors, as well as architecture and design, turned her in a new direction.
The company she founded in 1981 specializes in landscape architecture and site planning for luxury residential properties, but also has experience in commercial and institutional projects.
Field entered the Rhode Island market almost by accident. After receiving her degree in landscape architecture from the University of Arizona, she had intended to find work in Miami, but instead took on assignments through friends at what was then called Newport Collaborative Architects (now Northeast Collaborative Architects).
“It snowballed into steady work,” said Field. “I started getting small jobs. Then the small jobs led to bigger jobs, and I entered a competition for the Holocaust Memorial Garden [at the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center], and won that.” Over time, through client referrals, the company grew.
She works with clients throughout the process, asking questions about how they plan to use their outdoor spaces, including whether they entertain, and if so, will the events be aimed at corporate attendees and through what seasons.
For some property owners, the house may be a vacation home that they visit for weeks out of the year. All of these factors influence the design choices.
“I want my projects to just be moments of sheer joy whenever someone is there,” she said. “I’m thinking about every dimension of the experience. If they’re outside in the summer, and it’s really hot, where are they going to escape to?”
A portfolio of her firm’s work on the website www.katherinefield.com reveals what she describes as her style: clean lines, contemporary details and outdoor spaces that take their cues from the surrounding architecture.
Field works with stone and other natural materials, and often incorporates her own furniture and decorative designs into the landscapes. At other times, she said, she works with designers on custom details.
The field, and her business, tap into the different parts of her personality, which is what has made for a long, satisfying career.
“I really love what I do,” she said. “I love nature. I feel really at home in nature. To me, that’s like a spiritual place. But I also love studying architecture, I’m a designer. I’m also an artist.” •
