We had the good fortune of connecting with Diane Lipovsky and Stacy Passmore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diane and Stacy, what do you attribute your success to?
We don’t know if this is the most important factor, but we will say that people have been really excited by our name, Superbloom, which references the rocket of color that can blanket Western deserts in the spring and summer. The superbloom phenomenon only occurs under the most exceptional set of hydrologic and climatic conditions. We chose the name as a metaphor for design and our role as designers to set the stage for spectacular future conditions. We also love that the name pays homage to the amazing landscapes of the American West.

Perhaps more importantly, we’ve set a lot of intentions and high standards around collaboration and the ethic of partnership, which we forefront in our practice. We’ve been clear that valuing diverse and varied perspectives is essential to what we do and critical to our process. And when we need a particular range of thought or expertise outside our practice, we look for amazing external collaborators. We are so grateful to all the talented designers, architects, engineers and the like who have jumped in alongside us on our journey. We are thoughtful designers, but we also take big risks – and our experimental design approach has brought us recognition, winning design competitions and awards.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
With 30 years combined experience working in design, we wanted to create a vision for a new kind of practice, one that really looks to the future of design and merges ecology, design, art and deep research in innovative ways. Our practice is about the latent potential of design to lay the groundwork for flourishing ecologies and resilient communities.

We’ve been open for a year and a half and grown from a team of two to eight employees! Superbloom is a certified women-owned small business, and with our amazing team of designers and project managers, we specialize in large-scale landscape architectural projects for municipal, commercial, cultural and institutional clients. We focus on projects that transform communities and ecological systems such as public parks, museums, educational landscapes and nature centers. We are deeply inspired by the dynamic landscape of the American West, and we believe in the power of art and design to translate the experience and knowledge of place, connecting the past with our shared future.

As our name suggests, we’re interested in creating vibrancy and vitality. Our design process is about synthesizing the wide range of landscape systems into new forms of public space that will thrive in future conditions. This includes everything from interactive playscapes to climate–adaptive agricultural centers, pollinator gardens, nature centers, and regenerative green infrastructure. We work with passionate and forward-thinking clients to ensure that the landscape is the foundation of their project and driving force in the design process, to really add value in a big way.

Our business has taken off and exceeded our wildest hopes and dreams so far, but it hasn’t all been easy. We try to do things differently, and that requires patience and perseverance – this includes anything from testing new materials to challenging engineering design standards and creating new types of landscapes. Our 1881 Farm Park is one such project, where we are merging the past and future of agriculture. Our value of partnership also means we’re always synthesizing many different ideas, opinions and perspectives into the projects. This takes more time, empathy and vulnerability – but we think this approach really makes the projects sing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A trip to Denver naturally starts at the stunning tensile structure of the Denver International Airport, which was designed to reflect the lightness and peaks of the Rocky Mountains. For city stuff, we’d recommend a visit to Denver’s art museums, which showcase unique architectural styles like the Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by David Adjaye, the Clyfford Still Museum by Allied Works, and of course the Denver Art Museum. If you make it to Aspen, the Aspen Art Museum by Shigeru Ban is a treat.

We also love sending folks on a run or bicycle ride along the Cherry Creek Trail or the High Line Canal, or take a stroll at one of Denver’s many parks like Washington Park, Cheesman Park or Paco Sanchez. Most folks can’t help but be amazed by our gorgeous Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater. Colorado’s Front Range has many wonderful farm-to-table restaurants like Potager, whose menu changes every few weeks and features local farmers year-round; Uchi in Rhino, which serves fresh greens grown at the Altius Farms in the greenhouse above (designed by one of our great collaborators, tres birds workshop); and Boulder’s Black Cat, the largest farm-to-fork restaurant in the country. Depending on the season, we’d also send you hiking or skiing in the mountains – and not to be missed are Colorado’s incredible National Parks, such as Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mountain.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We started Superbloom because we wanted to connect more deeply with our Colorado community, broaden our perspective as designers, and include more people in the process. This has led to exciting conversations across disciplines from architects and scientists to artists, experts in sustainability, farmers, geomorphologists, developers…and so many more!! We have a deep respect for the work of Colorado’s farmers especially, such as the team at Denver Botanic Garden’s Chatfield Farm. In light of climate change challenges, they are really experimenting with the future of regenerative agricultural practices while providing an important community space for supporting science, creativity, and craft.

We have also been incredibly grateful to receive the generous mentorship and support of other emerging landscape architecture practices across the country like Agency Landscape and Planning, Merritt Chase, Civitas, and Atlas Lab who have paved the way for firms like ours.

Website: https://www.superbloom.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiosuperbloom/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-superbloom

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioSuperbloom

Other: Map: https://goo.gl/maps/4oZdnxiPxkyy7Fz39

Image Credits
Arch 11 – render #3
Rouxby Photo – founder and team portraits

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