CHRIS MERRITT

Chris is trained as a landscape architect whose work focuses on landscape design projects with implementation in complex infrastructural, ecological, and cultural contexts. He has a particular interest in the craft, form, and material of landscape projects that express unique character and high quality. His previous project experience ranges from planning and urban design to detailed site design with public agencies, institutions, and private developers.

Chris has received recognition of his work with awards from the Urban Land Institute, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Institute of Architects, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. His work has been in exhibits in Boston, New York, and London and has been published in Landscape Architecture Magazine, Environment and Landscape Architecture of Korea, and a variety of online media publications.

Chris studied landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Purdue University. For his academic work, Chris was named an Olmsted Scholar, Harvard Community Service Fellow, and was a Research Associate with the Harvard GSD's Office for Urbanization. He has lectured and been a design critic at schools in Boston, Florida, and Indiana.

Chris is also the co-founder of a monthly event series in Orlando, Florida focused on urban issues titled "Rethinking the City."

More about Merritt Chase: 

Merritt Chase is a landscape architecture and urban design firm rooted in the regional landscapes of the Midwest and Appalachia. Founded in 2017 by American designers Chris Merritt and Nina Chase, we work locally and have been recognized nationally for our public space designs, placemaking initiatives and research. We believe in the power and value of great urban outdoor places. Parks, plazas, playgrounds and streetscapes are the communal spaces that make cities lively and diverse, and we are dedicated to positioning these urban landscapes as the foundational building blocks of cities. 

We work at multiple scales and phases of projects, from conceptual master plans to constructed spaces, from temporary pop-ups to permanent landscapes. We seek projects that layer research, culture, ecologies, and economies to create unexpected public spaces in cities. We work with clients and communities through a clear design process to realize innovative and thoughtful public spaces. We have expertise in landscape architecture and urban design, but we recognize that residents know their own environments best. We approach every project with open minds, open ears and a desire to identify opportunities. Our process-based approach provides stakeholders with a framework for making decisions and results in sustainable public spaces that are unique to their context and reflect the residents that inhabit them.