As has come to be tradition over the holidays, I find myself reflecting on 2022 and looking forward to what undoubtedly will be a new year of uncertain challenges and celebratory highs.

Last year was—simply put—remarkable. After two and a half years of postponing our 10-year anniversary celebration, staff finally made it to the UK. For one week in June staff, spouses, significant others, kids and plus ones took a whimsical trip down my memory lane. While watching the team’s reactions to strolling through 1000-year-old city centers, cathedrals, colleges, lanes, mews, pub courtyards, and historical streets I took for granted will always be incredibly special and memorable, it was in fact the organic moments of raising a glass on a punt or having my oldest and dearest friend open up his office to allow us a peek behind the curtains of a design firm in London that really solidified how fortunate we are to have this amazing team.

In 2022, in addition to winning some remarkable new commissions, we continued to transform major landscapes through many of our ongoing projects. Our vision of ecological transformation at Springdale Green optimizes the role of landscape architects to heal an industrially scarred landscape, revealing the potential of a new urban ecology. After a landmark approval of a two-year permit process, construction has started at Paradox Cove, where we are blurring the line between art, landscape, and ecology to create a profoundly beautiful environment that is also ecologically performative and diverse. Fontaine Plaza and St. John Encampment Commons at Austin Community College Highland Campus represent a remarkable transformation from 80-acres of paved parking lot and failed mall-scape into entirely new urban experiences—creating places to come together, convocate, educate, and rise up.

As momentous as 2022 was in our firm’s history, perhaps one of the most profound projects for me personally was The Cupcake Tree campaign that was created in response to the closing of historic Pease Elementary. In celebration of the children, families, teachers, and staff, we worked in association with TreeFolks to grow 400 seedlings germinated from the acorns of the school’s beloved ancient live oak known as The Cupcake Tree. This magnificent tree served as a special place in the former students’ and staff’s hearts, where celebrations were had and cupcakes shared on birthdays and other major milestones. The saplings were disseminated to former staff and students as a celebration of fellowship, allowing the impact of the tree to continue to grow throughout our community.

In addition to the transformational projects and cultural events that took place within dwg., I am also grateful for our exceptionally impressive team of talented and thoroughly wonderful individuals. I am constantly amazed and inspired by the creativity that exudes from every pore of our team. No challenge is too big, and we continually raise the bar in everything that we do—from design, to sustainability, to volunteerism. We remain committed to investing our expertise within our local communities and professional organizations by logging hundreds of volunteer hours through boards, commissions, and partner organizations such as AIA, ASLA, DAA, ULI and more.

Looking ahead, 2023 presents tremendous opportunities. We continue to refine and focus our agenda of social and environmental change through design. We continue to amplify our belief in the importance of the public realm, green infrastructure, and art. We are greatly inspired by ASLA’s recently announced Climate Action Plan to increase the positive impact of the work we do. I look forward to pushing the boundaries and seeing our hard work in cities across the country continue to become a reality.

Cheers to a successful and adventurous 2023!

Onwards and upwards,

Daniel Woodroffe

President & Founder