Five Minutes with Cullen Meves
MKSK welcomes Associate Landscape Architect and Urban Designer, Cullen Meves.
Designing purposeful, energized, enduring spaces is Cullen’s passion. Her deep appreciation for the full spectrum of design from urban planning through landscape architecture brings a broad-based perspective to her work. We sat down with Cullen to better understand what inspires her.
When you are designing public spaces, what element do you strive to bring to each design?
Longevity and endurance of place are outcomes I look to achieve with every project we work on in the public realm. Resiliency and sustainability are terms that are used ubiquitously these days. A foundational principle of creating something that will be sustainable, is a space that is carefully considered in its balance, programming, time-scale flexibility, and ironclad detailing so that it can weather decades, if not centuries, of use and enjoyment. To me, that is resilience.
Where do you think your appreciation for design endurance emanates?
My family has a tradition of what I would call hobby carpentry. My grandfather, uncles, and father are all skilled furniture designers and carpenters in their spare time. I took an interest in woodworking and craft early. I have been designing furniture with my father since high school. A number of pieces we have designed and built together adorn our home. From the selection of the wood species, to the design of the joinery, to the dimensioning of the detailing and assembly, the underlying spirit behind every piece is creating something that will last a hundred years. I take that same ethos into the design of landscapes and public spaces.
How do you take something as specific as furniture design and extrapolate that to the broader process of design for public space?
For me, that is where the seamless connection from planning to design is crucial. There are many fantastic places that are built with a single vision in mind, but I believe true endurance of place is achieved through the broader concepts of connection to people and connection to systems. Each place we help design will have the footprints of millions of people using, accessing, working in, and enjoying that space. Similarly, that space has been a critical, interconnected part of countless physical, social, and ecological systems. Gaining an understanding of this rich network of use and function helps to both ground and inspire what will come next. That understanding and appreciation for time-scale design is a critical component of every design process.
What do you think are the essential components to achieve lasting spaces?
It comes down to connection – people need to feel a sense of connection with that space long after the construction fencing is removed. When I work with a client, public agency, or community, I want to hear their stories, their connections, and their motivations for wanting to revive a space or bring a new project to life. I never approach a project as a blank slate – there is always a history and a myriad of perspectives and personal connections that should be understood to set the stage for the great work that will come ahead. Working with people to understand their values, their culture, and their vision is what fosters that intrinsic character and sense of place that enables those qualities necessary for longevity: ownership, identity, and pride - and of course some rock-solid joinery.
Based in Cleveland, Cullen will lead the management of MKSK’s northern Ohio projects building on her community knowledge of the area on projects such as the Cleveland Innerbelt Bridge and Gateway projects, Cuyahoga County Towpath Trail, and Cleveland Metroparks Red Line Greenway Trail. Cullen holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Virginia Tech, 2013 and Dual B.S., in Landscape Architecture & Agriculture/Horticulture, The Ohio State University, 2007.