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Interview with
Ronald Gregory
by Joan Hacker
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V5: V5: How did you begin to practice landscape architecture?
RG: I had taken some vocational interest tests when I was in college because I did not know at the time what I wanted to do. Surprisingly, I scored very high in architecture, something I had never given a moment’s thought to. I always thought buildings just happened, that other people did them. So for awhile I just went around looking at buildings going, "Wow, this is
architecture." In fact, I applied to the school of architecture at UC Berkeley and was turned down, probably for the reason that in my first year
in school I managed to have too much fun, I guess, and was dismissed from school! But I spent a year at a junior college and then got back into Berkeley. The School of Architecture was very huffy, I guess, and said, "We do not accept disgraced people." Later, as I was going through the school handbook, I discovered Landscape Architecture, something I knew even less
about than architecture, and they obviously had lower standards because they accepted me! (laughs) I found that for me it seemed like a neat thing because clearly I had the proclivity towards this type of work, but I also appreciated the outdoor aspect, since I am a very outdoorsy type of person. I saw this as being more appropriate for me than architecture, and I think it has worked out because I still like what I do.
V5: What was it like going to school at Berkeley?
RG: Late sixties, early seventies? Insane! (laughs) Berkeley was the hotbed of rebellious student activities. It was an interesting experience to say
the least.
V5: What was the Land Architecture program like at that time?
RG: It was probably no different then it is now, in general, although I am sure there are some subtle changes. The fact that the school was stranger at
that time than it has been at any other time, before or since, it did not really affect studies. The political climate just affected everything outside the classrooms and studios.
V5: Who where the influential professors at Berkeley for you?
RG: I think the most influential was Russ Beatty. He was in charge of plant materials, and I do not think it was just the plant materials aspect,
he was a mentor of sorts. I got my first job very quickly, even before I graduated, at the City of Burbank. I left there after a couple of years
because I felt that my personality was not suited for working for a municipal agency and it was hard for me. For awhile I discovered that there
was such a thing as an economy and I did not realize that we were having a recession back in 1974 and 1975. So after traveling around a bit
and finding out that I could not get a job again, I felt disenchanted with landscape architecture and I met with Russ Beatty to discuss what this profession was all about and was it worth pursuing. So I think he was my most important faculty influence.
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View from residence at Vintage Country Club, Indian Wells, California.
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Mirage Water Features, was the contractor for the fountain.
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Vally Crest Landscaping, contractor.
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V5: We spoke earlier of your post graduate work, which included golf course design at Harvard. How does that fit in with your residential work?
RG: Residential work is just a percentage of the work we do. Most of our work is commercial, such as resort-oriented properties, country clubs,
production housing and shopping centers. Several years back our firm started to get involved with landscape design for golf courses. In fact, Ken Alperstein, a former employee, who left our firm after we had finished our second golf course landscape design, The Quarry in La Quinta, California, came back and formed a partnership with Bill Kortsch, Vice President at RGA, and myself. So essentially we have a sister company called Pinnacle Design Company, which does work strictly on golf courses. Ken and I had attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s program in golf course architecture so we would have a better grounding in what golf course design was all about.
V5: What was that like?
RG: Well, it was very brief, (laughs) but a lot of fun. It was fun to hang around the Harvard campus and feel like a Harvard boy and to know briefly
what it was like to be Ivy League. (laughs) So we just learned the basics about golf course design and we feel that it has helped us as far as
landscape architectural design that we do in working with golf course architects.
V5: How would you characterize the design process that you use within your studio today?
RG: We try to figure out what our goal is first and what we are trying to accomplish. Then we come up with a design that we feel is fun and go with
our first intuition as to what we think would be a good idea. Then we work together and go over the design to determine whether this design works or not. If it does work, we decide on how we can make it work a little better, smooth off the rough edges and come up with a conceptual design that we try to work out with the client, because the client is the person who ends up
with the finished product. We just want to make sure that we are coming up with something that has an attractive quality to it and not only fulfills
the client’s needs, but also meets budget. That is very important to us, because with our first pass, we will generally prepare a cost estimate
as well. In that sense we feel that we provide a very professional service with our design process.
V5: What are some of the determining factors for plant and material selection for a particular project?
RG: Well, whether they will live or not. (laughs) It makes us look much better if the plants live. I think we try to, based on our experience, come up with the type of feeling that we want the plant material to present to people looking at it. In that sense, we feel that what we do for a living is essentially an applied art form. So working with the selection and layout of plants is an art form and we know that by the selection and layout of different types of plants, we can achieve a unique feeling and quality for that particular layout. Another consideration is the needs of the client. If it is a residence and we are dealing with snowbirds, it would be silly to come up with plants that do their best in summer when the owners are not here. That is one example of where the palette of materials that we select from has to be oriented towards the needs of the client. Also, if it is a
school that has relatively low maintenance capabilities, we try to select plants that are more "bullet proof", as we call it, and that might be the
chief criterion for selection.
V5: You mentioned earlier that you are vice president, Bill Kortsch is an architect. How has that worked having the input of working with an
architect?
RG: Bill is chiefly responsible to keep our engine working on time, or should I say engine running and on time. In that sense, Bill is perhaps less
involved with the design that comes out of this office, but more concerned with the designs being properly done, on time and within budget. He makes sure that the office runs properly; that would be his chief function.
V5: Do you feel that his background in architecture has had an impact in your studio?
RG: Yes, it has been very helpful with our hardscape or construction drawings, because Bill reviews them before they go out. And the fact that he is more disciplined and steady than I! (laughs) He takes the time to check details very carefully to make sure they are as correct as we would like
them to be before they leave the office. That is very helpful.
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