Sophie Muschel-Horton is an associate designer at Future Green Studio, where she has worked for 6 years, and our incoming visiting lecturer for the Spring 2023 semester. Her interdisciplinary background in science and art led her to the field of landscape architecture, where her designs merge interests in theory, history, and ecological function.
1. What was your undergraduate experience and how did it influence your decision
to pursue a MLA?
I majored in environmental studies, which was an interdisciplinary program at my school, so I also concentrated on art history, studio art, and geology. I then worked for the Prospect Park Alliance in Brooklyn, NY, where I first encountered professional landscape architects. I never knew landscape architecture existed as its own field before, but realized at that point it was a perfect segue from what I’d studied in college.
2. What activities do you pursue outside of work?
Outside of teaching and work, my favorite activities are backpacking off the grid and skiing—also my favorite forms of meditation.
to pursue a MLA?
I majored in environmental studies, which was an interdisciplinary program at my school, so I also concentrated on art history, studio art, and geology. I then worked for the Prospect Park Alliance in Brooklyn, NY, where I first encountered professional landscape architects. I never knew landscape architecture existed as its own field before, but realized at that point it was a perfect segue from what I’d studied in college.
2. What activities do you pursue outside of work?
Outside of teaching and work, my favorite activities are backpacking off the grid and skiing—also my favorite forms of meditation.
3. How do you like to start and end your day?
I start every day with a big cup of coffee, as I can’t function at all without it, and try to make sure I always save at least 10 minutes to read—either a novel or the New Yorker.
I start every day with a big cup of coffee, as I can’t function at all without it, and try to make sure I always save at least 10 minutes to read—either a novel or the New Yorker.
4. Do you have a favorite project you have worked on?
My favorite project in graduate school was a design for an artist residency program within the ruins of an old concrete factory in Napa Valley, CA. At work, my favorite projects have been seasonal installations for the Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens, and a number of design-build elements for the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, including an insect hotel.
My favorite project in graduate school was a design for an artist residency program within the ruins of an old concrete factory in Napa Valley, CA. At work, my favorite projects have been seasonal installations for the Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens, and a number of design-build elements for the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, including an insect hotel.
5. Do you have any pets?
I have two cats—Marcel and Rita—who are both excellent office assistants when I’m working from home.
I have two cats—Marcel and Rita—who are both excellent office assistants when I’m working from home.