Laura Starr

Principal

With over 25 years’ experience working in the New York City area, Landscape Architect Laura Starr is a local champion for sustainability, collaboration, and design excellence. As Chief of Design for the Central Park Conservancy, Starr worked intensively to forge consensus among diverse groups of stakeholders, renovating major destinations such as Harlem Meer, the West Side, and the Great Lawn. Entering the private sector, she collaborated on lauded landscape transformations exemplified by the Battery Upper Promenade, the award-winning designs for the Battery Bosque, and a pair of historic courtyards on Front Street at South Street Seaport. Starr’s leadership was transformative for the ASLA-NY, which she led as president from 2013 to 2014. Under her guidance, the ASLA-NY built new relationships with professional organizations
and the press, ran a successful fund-raising campaign to hire a full-time director, and rebranded itself into the optimistic, highly-connected, and urban organization it is today.

As a founding partner of Starr Whitehouse, Ms. Starr continues to nurture ties between the public, the city, and professional organizations. She has negotiated public/private partnerships both internationally, on master plans for Tel Aviv’s Park Ariel Sharon and Gazelle Park in Jerusalem, as well as locally, collaborating with BIG Architects on the innovative VIA 57 West development, just one of a series of innovative housing developments that make density livable and high-quality housing affordable for thousands of New Yorkers. Ms. Starr has contributed significantly to Sandy recovery efforts through her work with the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, as the Landscape Architect on The BIG U, a winning Rebuild By Design team, and leading the East Harlem Resiliency Project. She has run numerous public outreach workshops that gather vital community feedback and build informed consensus around a series of implementable plans that refortify lower Manhattan while strengthening neighborhood identity, and as a member of Manhattan’s Community Board 1, serves on the Board’s resiliency taskforce. Today, Starr is seen as a leader in the field of sustainable landscape design and a strong advocate for a city that is greener and more responsive to the needs of a twenty-first century public.

Representative Projects:

Park Design

Marsha P Johnson State Park, Brooklyn, NY
The Battery Projects, New York, NY
St. Mary’s Park Master Plan and Reconstruction, Bronx, NY
Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center, Jones Beach, NY
Arverne East Urban Nature Preserve, Queens, NY
Nissequogue River State Park Master Plan, Kings Park, NY
Park Ariel Sharon Concept Plan, Tel Aviv, Israel
Gazelle Park Concept Plan, Jerusalem, Israel
As Central Park Conservancy’s Chief of Design, initiated and directed numerous
designs including the restoration of the Harlem Meer, West Side landscapes,
and the Great Lawn.

Site Plans + Housing 

Halletts Point Waterfront Development, Queens, NY
Vine Street Waterfront Development, Philadelphia, PA
VIA 57 West Courtyard, New York, NY
Hunter’s Point South Affordable Housing, Queens, NY
New Rochelle Transit-Oriented Development, New Rochelle, NY
Seniors First: Weeksvillage, Brooklyn, NY
Hybrid Industrial/ Commercial Development, Brooklyn, NY
Gowanus Green Site Design, Brooklyn, NY
Vine Street Waterfront Development, Philadelphia, PA
Williamsburg High Rise, Brooklyn, NY
Thompson Park Amphitheater Concept Plan, Watertown, NY
Packer Collegiate Master Plan, Brooklyn, NY
United Nations International School Roof Garden and Entrance, New York, NY
Columbia University Lion’s Court Design, New York, NY

Climate Resilience Planning

Cloudburst Hubs Corona, Queens, NY
Climate Strong Communities, New York, NY
A Vision For A Resilient East Harlem, New York, NY
The Big U, Rebuild by Design, New York, NY
Mayor’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency Report, Manhattan and
Staten Island, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

Broadway Boulevard Plaza, New York, NY
East Village / Lower East Side Waterfront Access Study, New York, NY
DUMBO and Vinegar Hill Mobility Study, Brooklyn, NY
Randall’s Island Hell Gate Pathway, Randall’s Island, NY
Times Square Alliance, Urban Design coordination and event infrastructure, NY