OSD Leads Workshop for APA National Planning Conference

On April 25, OSD will be leading a mobile workshop at the Shepherd for the APA National Planning Conference, hosted in Detroit this year.⁠
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Simon David, Founder of OSD, will provide insight into the planning and design process for the Shepherd, which today serves as an anchor for the Little Village neighborhood and a catalyst for adjacent arts and community-based development. The project reimagined a once-derelict, three-acre city block as a new network of public spaces, outdoor art galleries, play areas, food and beverage destinations, and event spaces, all while navigating numerous challenges and requirements. ⁠

Learn more about the conference and register to attend on the APA NPC website.

Baisley Pond Park Residences Named as Finalist in ULI New York Excellence in Development Awards

March 2026 - Along with 14 other projects, Baisley Pond Park Residences has been recognized by ULI New York in the Adaptive Reuse category, as the city’s first-ever hotel-to-affordable housing conversion under the State’s Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA). Baisley Pond Park Residences establishes a replicable model for converting underused commercial assets into high-quality, climate-responsible, and socially inclusive housing that can be applied citywide and nationally.

"This year’s finalists represent the very best of what development can achieve in New York, projects that have creatively adapted to evolving market conditions while delivering meaningful social, economic, and environmental impact,” said Helen Hwang, Chair of ULI New York and Senior Executive Managing Director of the Institutional Investment Sales Group at Meridian Investment Sales, LLC.

Learn more about the finalists with ULI New York.

Architizer Names OSD to the Visionary 100 List, Recognizing Creators Changing How We See Architecture

February 2026 - Following recognition in the 2025 Architizer Vision Awards for both Flatiron & NoMad Streetscape Plan (Vision for Cities) and Stanton Yards Cultural Waterfront Master Plan (Vision for Landscape), OSD has been named to the Architizer Visionary 100 list. The list is a celebration of the world’s most innovative architectural thinkers: studios, individuals, and collaborators whose ideas are not only powerful, but powerfully shared. Together, they represent a snapshot of the profession at its most articulate, experimental, and engaged.

OSD Completes Aviation Garden at Baisley Pond Park Residences, Transforming a Former JFK Hotel into a Community-Centered Interior Landscape

December 2025 - OSD joined Slate Property Group and nonprofit RiseBoro Community Partnership, as well as New York State Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson, New York State Senator Leroy Comrie, New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, in celebrating with a ribbon cutting for Baisley Pond Park Residences on December 18.

As one of New York City’s most ambitious adaptive reuse housing projects, the project delivers 318 permanently affordable apartments for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers and represents New York City’s first hotel-to-residential conversion under the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA). Aviation Garden, the community hub at the heart of the project, adaptively reuses the existing poolhouse structure and retrofits its mechanical systems to support year-round planting and human comfort. It serves as a new model of adaptive reuse and biophilic design, demonstrating how buildings of the past can build lives of the future. Through creativity and sustainable design, existing environments can be retooled to support long-term habitation, ecological performance, and collective living.

Artnet Announces Lumana, a New Non-profit Arts Organization Founded by Philanthropist Jennifer Gilbert

November 2025 - Artnet announces Lumana, a non-profit arts organization founded by entrepreneur, philanthropist, and art collector Jennifer Gilbert as part of a larger effort to support arts accessibility in the city of Detroit. It will be housed at Stanton Yards, for which OSD is developing the master plan.

Cranbrook, which is located northwest of Detroit, will also be involved with Lumana. Gilbert plans to inaugurate the space with an exhibition focused on Cranbrook’s Detroit art collection.

With the addition of this key anchor, the 13-acre master plan for Stanton Yards continues to take shape, combining community, arts, parks, and waterfront recreation. Lumana’s 21,000 square foot structure formerly served as a site for ship building, then as a storage facility. SO–IL is adapting the space, which will feature a mixed metal and polycarbonate exterior.

Simon David Joins Architecture Panel for Sustainable Urban Design Summit

November 2025 - Principal Simon David was a panelist for the Sustainable Urban Design Summit in Detroit, a one-day event about urban resilience through sustainable urban design, mobility, neighborhood development and housing. Aligned with OSD's foundational "outside-in" ethos, prioritizing our connection with people and natural systems, including deep in the heart of our cities.⁠

Simon joined Stefano Boeri, Founding Partner of Stefano Boeri Architetti, Cody Hansen from Albert Kahn Associates, Janet Attarian from SmithGroup, and moderator Dan Pitera from University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Community Development for a conversation about architecture and its role in sustainable development. ⁠

Alice L. Walton School of Medicine Celebrates Grand Opening with Ribbon Cutting

October 2025 - In celebration of the new medical school’s grand opening, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine hosted a ribbon cutting on October 29. As a result of Alice's vision for a new kind of medical school—one that focuses on the whole person by integrating physical, mental, emotional, and social health to promote well-being—AWSOM is the culmination of years of dedicated effort. The project is a highly integrated environment of wellness, design, nature and art, and OSD is proud to have worked with an incredible team of collaborators and community partners to bring this vision to reality.

The Shepherd Arts Park Recognized with 2025 ASLA Honor Award in General Design

September 2025 - As part of the 2025 ASLA Professional Awards, the Shepherd Arts Park has been recognized with an Honor Award in the General Design category. Each year, the ASLA Professional Awards honor the best in landscape architecture from around the globe. This year’s jury described the project as a "modest yet socially impactful transformation." Since its opening in 2024, the Shepherd has welcomed new additions to the Little Village community, with the landscape serving as both backdrop and connector for arts, community, and play in the neighborhood.⁠

OSD is honored to accept this award with clients Anthony and JJ Curis of Library Street Collective. Many thanks to our collaborators on the project: Giffels Webster, Illuminart, Silman, McArthur Binion, Charles McGee Studio, Tony Hawk, Peterson Rich Office, Undecorated, Deep End Studio

Learn more about the Shepherd on the ASLA website, in Architectural Record, and look out for a feature in the September 2025 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine.

OSD Joins Detroit Month of Design for Panel Discussion on Adaptive Reuse & Tour of the Shepherd

September 2025 - Bringing together creatives, innovators, and visionaries from around the world, Detroit Month of Design celebrates 15 years of creativity, culture, and collaboration with the 2025 festival for the month of September. Events span every corner of Detroit, all highlighting the creative energy that makes Detroit a UNESCO City of Design.

Simon David, Founder of OSD, will join Melissa Dittmer, Head of Place for Michigan Central, and Lauren Hood, Founder of the Institute for AfroUrbanism, for a panel discussion about adaptive reuse on September 19, moderated by Ben Dreith, Dezeen US Editor. Adaptive Reuse as a Catalyst for Sustainable Cities will unpack how adaptive reuse directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—particularly in fostering sustainable cities and communities, advancing responsible consumption, and strengthening local economies. From reimagined industrial sites to neighborhood-scale interventions, Detroit’s extraordinary building stock offers opportunities to model innovative, equitable approaches to reuse for cities worldwide.

In addition, Simon will lead a tour of the Shepherd with Library Street Collective on September 20. As part of the tour, visitors will gain insight on OSD’s design approach, adaptive reuse strategies, and community-driven design.

Learn about additional events during the Detroit Month of Design.

326 Rockaway Ave opens in Brownsville, Brooklyn

August 2025 - We're excited to celebrate the opening of 326 Rockaway with our partners from Slate Property Group, RiseBoro Community Partnership, and Aufgang Architects! ⁠Located in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood, the 216-unit affordable mixed-use project looks beyond conventional housing models. Through a combination of sustainable design, supportive housing services, public art, and indoor and outdoor building amenities, the building nurtures a strong sense of community within much-needed housing.⁠

OSD designed outdoor spaces that create a shared community experience, inspired by historic Brooklyn landscapes that include Bed-Stuy stoops and Dutch farms. A network of social spaces centered on outdoor nature play, urban farming, picnicking, and gathering creates a renewed connection between people and place.⁠

Learn more about the project and its opening in the recent press release.

Alice L. Walton School of Medicine opens with inaugural class

July 2025 - Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) celebrated a significant milestone, opening its doors to the inaugural class of medical students on July 14!⁠ TIME Magazine and Architectural Record featured the project, highlighting the interwoven relationships between art and healthcare, and building and landscape with AWSOM.

It was about “making a handshake between those two things, uniting the community and landscape and elevating the qualities of each,” says Simon David, OSD Principal. “You see this concept in just about everything, from the massing of the building as a kind of big plateau, to the materials, which go from civic and honed to more crude and natural.”

TIME Magazine names Little Village on their list of The World’s Greatest Places of 2025

April 2025 - Two of OSD’s projects in Detroit are included in TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places of 2025, highlighting the adaptive reuse that has defined the neighborhood, along with community involvement, as it reconnects with the riverfront in the future.

OSD is longlisted for two projects for the international 2025 AZ Awards

April 2025 - AZURE longlists both The Shepherd Arts Park in Detroit and Cato Springs – Ecosystem for Health in Fayetteville

OSD receives Annual ASLA New York Design Award

March 2025 - The New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects has awarded OSD a Merit Award for The Shepherd Art Park, joining fellow award winners that includes Field Operations, SCAPE, AECOM, Hollander Design, Snohetta, and others.

The Shepherd Named Winner in Michigan ASLA Awards

January 2025 - We are incredibly proud to share that The Shepherd has received this year's Award of Excellence from the Michigan Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, "exemplifying superior social equity"! ⁠
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In addition, The Shepherd won a second award, an Honor Award for General Design. ⁠Congratulations to all this year's winners, and thank you to our clients Anthony Curis, JJ Curis, and Library Street Collective. And to our collaborators Giffels Webster, Peterson Rich Office, UNDECORATED, and Deep End Studio. ⁠

OSD Named Winner in Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards 2024

December 2024 - Stanton Yards is awarded winner in Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design for its adaptive reuse of a 10-acre waterfront site, set to become a diverse collection of social and ecological spaces. This project is in collaboration with Library Street Collective and SO-IL.

PBS News Hour features Detoit’s Little Village

November 2024 - PBS News Hour features Detroit’s Little Village, including the Shepherd and Stanton Yards.

OSD awarded Architecture MasterPrize Honorable Mention

October 2024 - OSD is awarded an honorable mention for the Architecture MasterPrize for Educational Design for Alice Walton School of Medicine. Congratulations to all of our collaborators!

Governors Island announces new waterfront events and food and beverage destination with Taco Vista

August 2024 - A new destination for Governors Island and NYC is announced by the Trust for Governors Island. OSD is collaborating with SHoP Architects on the design of two new waterfront restaurants and a cafe, with ample outdoor seating and events space. The project is the adaptive reuse of an old military building and will be situated next to the ferry stop.

Metropolis highlights Dune House, OSD’s waterfront cultural building for Stanton Yards

July 2024 - Metropolis highlights the recently featured Dune House building in Little Village, Detroit, a waterfront destination in a growing cultural network. The building is inspired by regional ecology and links the community with a long-forgotten waterfront experience.

Michelin Guide names Fouquet’s in best rooftop spots

July 2024 - Michelin Guide names OSD’s Fouquet’s Rooftop ‘Le Vaux’ one of the best rooftops and awards the hotel two Michelin Keys.

“The luxurious ambiance, complete with elegant seating and lush greenery, makes it an ideal spot for a sophisticated summer evening.” —Michelin Guide

Metropolis features OSD’s work in Little Village, Detroit

July 2024 - “The area’s history suffuses the place—both its wondrous and difficult times alike. Crushed bricks salvaged from the adjacent convent, which lay out artful reddish pathways, allude to shattered glass and decrepit structures, says David. “We wanted to harness some of the character of the East Village. It’s full of stories of communities past, and of dilapidation and decay and renewal.” —Sam Lubell, Metropolis

This month’s cover of The Architect’s Newspaper features OSD’s the Shepherd Arts Park

June 2024 - In the cover article for this month’s issue of The Architect’s Newspaper, Anthony Paletta writes: “The core of the development, covering much of a block, is knitted together via a landscape by OSD. Its principal, Simon David, explained his aim to ‘create an environment that flowed seamlessly into and from the neighborhood, offering an invitation to visitors and utilizing materials, plantings, and forms that felt fitting to the decay and regrowth found in nearby vacant lots.’”

OSD Principal Simon David to present at the Fay Jones School of Architecture

February 2024 - OSD will present recent work and discuss the power of multidisciplinary design as we collectively face a rapidly changing planet.

From hotel to housing: New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announce new housing for unhoused and those with low income

December 2023 - OSD, in collaboration with clients Slate Property Group, and A/E team Aufgang and Studio Parallel, design an adaptive reuse of a former hotel to provide housing for over 300 New Yorkers. The project emphasizes sustainability, community, biophilia, housing, and fresh food.

“Digging our city out of this severe housing shortage will require every tool in our toolbox, and our administration helped win an important fight to add this hotel conversions” —New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“This significant investment will help to bring our state one step closer to building the affordable, supportive, and sustainable homes that New Yorkers deserve” —Governor Kathy Hochul

“This conversion project provides us with a model for how to create new housing quickly, at a time where so many New Yorkers need an affordable place to live” —Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce

OSD named winner in Rethinking the Future’s Global Architecture & Design Awards for Urban Design

November 2023 - Rethinking the Future announces OSD as a winner in the Urban Design category for the master plan of Cato Springs in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Over 1,200 entries were submitted to this year’s international awards platform. The project has already broken ground and design is ongoing.

OSD breaks ground on a new 230-acre mixed-use community, integrating neurodiversity, accessibility, and nature-based living in the heart of Arkansas’ Ozarks

June 2023 - In collaboration with SLS, South Cato Springs LLC, the City of Fayetteville, Crafton Tull, and Core Architects, OSD has designed a master plan in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is grounded in health, wellness, and lifelong success for neurodivergent adults and other residents of Northwest Arkansas. OSD’s plan for the new mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood includes much-needed workforce housing, a town square, a center for the University of Arkansas Medical School (UAMS), urban agricultural areas, and open recreational spaces that tie into the region's bike paths. The project commences with a $3 million Community Project Funding award from the federal government secured by Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), and a matching $3.48 million grant from the City of Fayetteville.

"As Northwest Arkansas undergoes significant growth, we believe new development must find a way to enhance the quality of both the human experience and the natural environment. South Cato Springs presents an exceptional opportunity to create a new paradigm for inclusive living where neurodivergent adults can live and thrive in harmony with nature and the broader community, while honoring and revealing the beauty of the Ozarks." —Simon David

Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports on Alice Walton’s ambitions to improve access to health

May 2023 - The new Alice Walton School of Medicine is designed to improve access to health, nature, fresh food, arts, and education through a holistically integrated environment of indoor and outdoor spaces.

One of NYC’s most sustainable affordable housing projects breaks ground with iconic Brooklyn landscapes reimagined by OSD

May 2023 - OSD, Slate Property Group, and non-profit RiseBoro Community Partnership broke ground on one of the most sustainable affordable housing developments ever constructed in New York City. The mixed-use project at 326 Rockaway Avenue in the Brownsville neighborhood has been designed as an all-electric passive house that uses zero fossil fuel for heating and operations, and includes a rooftop solar array to offset energy use. Slate appointed OSD to design a welcoming, warm haven for those in need. With a landscape rooted in history and a program that encourages healthy food, exercise, and play, OSD designed an outdoor experience that nurtures the mind, body, and spirit as foundations of prosperity.

Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Arkansas celebrates with groundbreaking

March 2023 - Together with staff and the community of Bentonville, Arkansas, OSD and Polk Stanley Wilcox celebrated the commencement of construction on 14 acres of land dedicated to the new medical education facility. The ceremony featured remarks from newly appointed Founding Dean and CEO, Dr. Sharmila Makhija; Founder and Philanthropist, Alice Walton; and Principal of OSD, Simon David; among others. Designed to facilitate a holistic healing and learning environment outdoors, the 14-acre landscape is about the health of mind, body, and spirit, and features farm gardens, biking and walking trails, healing gardens, outdoor classrooms, and a 2-acre rooftop that combines a cafe, hill climb, overlook, and woodland amphitheater.

The Financial Times reports on the importance of play and art at The Shepherd

December 2022 - The Financial Times reports on the “The Playground Project - How the Art of Play Became a Global Movement for Good”, highlighting the work of The Shepherd.

Rochelle Riley, Detroit’s Director for Arts and Culture said: “There’s no question that art should be an integral part of the urban landscape, and not just because every child deserves to have access to it for free. Marry art and play and you have a unique opportunity to reinvigorate rundown areas and bring together communities. These spaces encourage us to slow down, to engage with the environment and with each other, to collaborate and come up with fresh ideas.”

Plans for Green City in Richmond, VA, unveiled

November 2022 - Plans for Green City have been recently unveiled in the latest step for this adaptive re-use project that aims to re-purpose the old Best Headquarters, and infuse the site with paths and destinations immersed in local ecology.

South Cato Springs Master Plan Revealed in Arkansas Democrat Gazette

October 2022 - OSD, in collaboration with Crafton Tull and Core Architects, has developed a master plan for over 200 acres in Fayetteville Arkansas, which creates a new home for SLS—a neurodiverse community—offering new models for living, working, and playing within the beauty of the Ozark’s Kessler mountain foothills. Congressional funding has been obtained for initial infrastructural work. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports on the unveiled plans.

Forbes Reports on upcoming opening of Hôtel Barrière Fouquet’s New York

August 2022 - OSD is working with hospitality group Hôtel Barrière Fouquet, Caspi Development, and MBDS interior design on a new 5-star hotel in Tribeca, NY.

The new five star hotel will bring lush outdoor spaces from sidewalk to rooftop, adding elegance and tranquility to a world class hospitality experience in the heart of Manhattan. Read the article in Forbes below!

Design revealed for Alice L Walton School of Medicine

June 2022 - The Alice L Walton School of Medicine releases details of its plans for an institution for health education on the Crystal Bridges Campus. The OSD-led landscape scheme at the new School of Medicine will be seamlessly fused to the Whole Health Institute and Crystal Bridges via a network of bike and walking trails weaving through a dense patch of Ozakarian forest spread across the larger campus. This, as a press announcement described, will create a “link between art, nature and healing for a holistic learning environment.”

OSD to Present at Architect’s Newspaper’s Outdoor Spaces Conference

May 2022 - OSD Principal Simon David will present at Architect’s Newspaper’s Outdoor Spaces Conferences, along with Snohetta, Sasaki, James Corner Field Operations, Terremoto, Nelson Byrd Woltz, Olin, and RIOS. Principal Simon David will join Field Operations’ Principals Megan Born and Sarah Astheimer for Panel 2: “The Past is Present is Future: Living Landscapes”.

OSD Principal Simon David Presents at Reinventing Public Space Conference

March 2022 - OSD will present at this the “Reinventing Public Space” Conference. University of Detroit Mercy, in collaboration with Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Architecture de Normandie are hosting a conference on public space and the potential for Business Improvement District’s to recast our open space as thriving social and ecological territories.

OSD Selected by NY State for Reimagine the Canals Initiativeve

February 2022 - OSD has been selected for multidisciplinary design services for NYPA’s Reimagine the Canals initiative, announced by The New York State Governor in January of 2020, which aims to adaptively reuse canal infrastructure to improve the health and well-being of New York’s Canal communities.

Reimagine the Canals’ core ambitions include: Economic Development, Renewed Recreational Opportunities and Resilience, and Regional Focus.

AIA New York Features the Shepherd for “In the News”

December 2021 - The Shepherd is featured ‘In the News’ by AIA New York.

New York Times Features New Art Campus in Detroit by Library Street Collective

October 2021 - The New York Times reveal OSD’s design for 2.5 acres of publicly accessible park and gardens in Detroit, as part of The Shepherd, a new Arts Campus developed by JJ and Anthony Curis of Library Street Collective. Included in the Arts Campus will be a new skatepark by Tony Hawk, a Sculpture + Play park dedicated to the Legacy of local artist Charles McGee, which is supported by Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, and the adaptive reuse of several historic buildings, led by building architects Peterson Rich Office and Undecorated.

OSD Awarded Architecture + Landscape Term Contract for Jersey City

OSD is thrilled to be awarded a term contract with Jersey City, NJ, for Architectural, Landscape Architectural & Engineering services!
We are honored to be joined by our teammates: One Architecture & Urbanism (ONE), Hatfield Group, Dagher Engineering, PLLC, DGA, Stuart-Lynn Company, Inc

OSD to present at walk bike places

June 2021 - OSD will present recent projects that transform streetscapes into social spaces at this year’s Walk, Bike, Places conference. The hybrid conference will be online and in Indianapolis, between Tuesday, June 15 - Friday, June 18. Look forward to seeing you there!

St John’s College features alum and OSD principal Simon David

May 2021 - OSD Principal Simon David discusses OSD’s creative process, the need for interdisciplinary practice in a time of climate adaptation, and the importance of learning from indigenous cultures.

OSD speaks at Urbanism Next Conference

March 2021 - OSD principal Simon David discusses recent visioning projects and the potential for crisis to positively change our cities and public space through human-centered design, with Jerome Unterreiner of ZGF Architects and Alessandra Galletti of Project for Public Spaces

OSD shares plan for streetscapes and waterfront connections in easton, pa

February 2021 - OSD presents their plan for Easton, PA. Working in collaboration with Easton Main Street Initiative and Pennsylvania Downtown Center as part of the Design for Distance program, the plan combines urban design and public art to create walkable and bikeable connections between the historic Centre Square and the city’s waterfront, thereby rebuilding the historic city grid and reconnecting the city to its riverfront edge once severed by urban renewal.

OSD Principal Simon David on Jury for World Landscape Architect Awards

February 2021 - OSD Principal Simon David is selected to serve on the World Landscape Architect Awards, and is honored to join an incredible group of international colleagues on the jury, including Chris Fannin (InSite), Claire Agre (Unknown Studio), Martin Koenig (Martha Schwartz Partners), and Monika Nair (Atkins)

OSD selected to the walton family foundation design excellence program

January 2021 - OSD is excited to be selected by the Walton Family Foundation’s Design Excellence Program as one of 22 firms nationwide to join or remain in the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program. Other firms included this year are Todd Williams Billie Tsien Architects, Marlon Blackwell Architects, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Modus Studio, and SCAPE. We are looking forward to continued work in the NW Arkansas region.

Architect’s Newspaper recognizes OSD in 2020 Best of the Best Awards!

December 2020 - OSD is honored to be recognized by Architect’s Newspaper for our work in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces and our client - Flatirion/23rd Street Partnership - for a master plan that reimagines streetscapes and public space during the COVID period.

OSD honored to be selected for PA Downtown Center’s Design for Distance

November 2020 - OSD|Outside is extremely honored to be working with Pennsylvania Downtown Center and Easton Main Street Initiative to develop a plan for social distancing in the City of Easton, Pennsylvania. OSD is one of four firms — including SmithGroup, Bergmann Associates, and Navarro & Wright — to be working with downtowns across Pennsylvania. We look forward to sharing more soon!

OSD receives award from Rethinking the Future Architecture Awards

November 2020 - OSD receives a Third Award for Urban Design for the proposal to double the area of Madison Square Park in the form of bicycle paths and pedestrian zones as a way to provide safe social distancing during the COVID period.

OSD receives AZ merit award

September 2020 - OSD receives a merit award from a field of over 1,200 projects for ‘Farm to City’, the design for Gotham Greens’ new urban agricultural developments in urban US communities, which provide hyper-local food for hyper-local neighborhoods.

AM New York covers OSD’s plans for Flatiron & nomad during COVID

August 2020 - AM New York reports on OSD’s plans for the Flatiron & NoMad district during the COVID period. OSD is working in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces on behalf of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership

OSD selected as finalists for the 2020 AZ Awards

OSD is selected as a finalist from over 1,240 entrants, from 47 countries, for Farm to City, a project that creates a new typology for hyper-local agriculture in re-emerging urban neighborhoods

OSD named in landizer’s international list of top 10 emerging practices

OSD is honored to be in great company with other excellent firms, as part of a list recognizing “some of the most promising emerging landscape architecture practices that exemplify innovative and experimental aspects of the landscape architectural profession. These firms often work across disciplines and scales, and manage to push the envelope despite their small size, geographical constraints or youth.”

the providence journal explores gotham greens’ new providence site!

Combining a revolution in urban agriculture and the infill of fallow urban brownfield sites, Gotham Greens’ Providence site is transformative for bringing hyper-local greens as well as improving urban conditions.

the chicago tribune covers the opening of gotham greens chicago

November 2019 - Gotham Greens’ latest greenhouse for Chicago and Midwest region is now open for business! This is the first of three projects with OSD that transform brownfields into productive centers of urban farming that provide hyper-local and hyper-fresh food. Read about all this new room for growth in The Chicago Tribune

ASLA’s the dirt covers Simon david’s recent talk on resiliency

OSD principal Simon David interviewed by france 24 about resiliency & climate change

September 2019 - In advance of the UN Climate Summit, Simon David speaks to France 24 about Manhattan’s resiliency plans, in the face of global warming and continued sea level rise

OSD Outside Selected as Finalists for NY park redesign!

July 2019 - OSD Outside very honored to be selected as Finalists for the revitalization of NY’s very first park - Promenade Hill Park - in Hudson, NY

OSD discusses multidisciplinary practice at national aia conference

June 2019 - OSD Outside presents at the National AIA, discussing multidisciplinary practice with Weiss/Manfredi, HR&A, and Sherwood Design Engineers

simon david teaches class on the future of mobility + urban communities

Spring 2019 - OSD Principal Simon David teaches graduate course on the relationship between emerging trends in mobility and urban communities. The course explores how, as designers, we can leverage transportation technology as a means to reshape our streetscapes and public space for a more accessible, economically vibrant, and community-enriching future.

Guest speakers include: Gehl Institute’s Executive Director Shin-Pei Tsay, Mobility-in-Chain’s Director Francesco Cerroni, Grimshaw’s Gregory Haley, The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy’s (ITDP) Director of Global & US Initiatives Mike Kodransky, Bjarke Ingels Group’s Hyperloop Project Leader Soren Grunert, NYC Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) Director of Freight Initiatives Ryan White, ONE Architecture’s Mat Staudt, and New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) Government Affairs Director Tara Gitter.

OSD outside Principal Simon David discusses Resiliency & Recreation at Dumbarton Oaks

May 2019 - OSD Principal Simon David presents on Resiliency and Recreation in the Age of Climate Change at Dumbarton Oaks annual landscape symposium, organized by Sonja Dumpelmann and John Beardsley

Gotham Greens site welcomed by RI Governor + Providence Mayor

March 2019 - The construction of a new site for Gotham Greens is welcomed by the Governor Gina Raimando of Rhode Island, and the Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence, ushering a new era of community-minded urban agriculture to Providence

OSD Selected as Finalist for Detroit’s 30-Mile Joe Louis Greenway!

January 2019 - The City of Detroit, DEGC, have selected OSD as one of four finalists for the Master Plan of the 30 Mile Joe Louis Greenway—a multimodal bicycle and pedestrian corridor that connects outer neighborhoods with the River & Downtown, integrating with existing infrastructure, connecting neighbors, districts, cultural events, and stimulating economic vitality throughout the Detroit area.

The team includes experts in community engagement, economy, transportation, arts, and engineering: CDAD, James Lima Planning + Development, Project for Public Spaces, Mobility in Chain, Giffels Webster, Playground Detroit, NTH and Stuart Lynn.

Finalists were OSD, WXY, Spackman Mossop Michaels, and SmithGroup

Simon David Serves on ASLA-NY Design Awards Jury

January 2019 - OSD Principal Simon David is serving on the ASLA-NY Design Awards jury this year, reviewing the great work coming out of Texas.

OSD Principal Simon David Invited to CityLab by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies

Simon David has been invited to CityLab, a global summit of mayors, government officials, and urban thinkers, who are examining the future of the urban environment. The event is hosted by The Atlantic, The Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

OSD Presents at ASLA Annual Conference on Landscape Architecture

October 2018 - OSD Principal Simon David speaks at National ASLA Conference in Philadelphia, on the future of interdisciplinary practice, with Catherine Seavett Nordenson (CCNY), Andrew Zientek (ASLA, Weiss Manfredi), and Jennifer Cooper (ASLA, Perkins+Will)

Simon David Teaches Design Studio on Coastal Resiliency + Equitable Growth

Fall 2018 - Simon David is co-teaching an Urban Design studio on the future of Mott Haven, The Bronx, with Mat Staudt, Director of ONE Architecture at NJIT, focusing on how equitable, community-centered growth, and climate change can be addressed in a community that is primed for development.

OSD Principal Simon David publishes co-authors article in Kongjian Yu’s Landscape Architecture Frontiers magazine about coastal resiliency

Summer 2018 - Simon David co-authors article on The BIG U, the East Coastal Resiliency Project, and Climate Change, with Bjarke Ingels + BIG, edited by Kongjian Yu

Humanhattan Exhibited at the Venice Biennale

Summer 2018 - The design of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, and future resiliency projects in the speculative phases of the BIG U project, are exhibited as part of Bjarke Ingels Group’s Venice Biennale show.

Simon David Presents at Architectural Record’s Innovation Conference in NYC

October 2017 - Simon David discusses coastal resiliency with Rebuild by Design’s Managing Director Amy Chester, and David Waggoner of Waggoner & Ball.

Other speakers include Shohei Shigematsu of OMA, Michael Kimmelman, Sharon Johnston & Mark Lee of Johnston Marklee, and Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi of Weiss/Manfredi.

OSD Principal Simon David presents to the Regional Plan Association

2017 - Simon David discusses urban design and coastal resiliency with the Regional Plan Association (RPA)