Don Vaughan

Don Vaughan is an American landscape architect based Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Contents

Biography

Vaughan was born into a family involved in the timber industry in Coos Bay, Oregon, United States.[1] His grandfather owned a logging company.

In 1965, Vaughan, received his bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon.[2] In 1984, he founded a landscape architecture firm, Don Vaughan, Ltd.[3] During the late 1980s, Vaughan left landscape architecture and focused on fine arts, receiving a fine arts degree from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver in 1989.[4] By 1999, the company name was changed to Vaughan Landscape Planning and Design and Vaughan's two sons, Mark and Jeff, joined the firm.[3]

Designs

Don Vaughan's park designs are often inspired by the Millicoma River in Coos County, Oregon where he spent his childhood summers.[4] These designs incorporate still ponds, waterfalls, and granite sculptures.[4] Don quit the profession for several years because he felt that landscape architecture was taken for granted by people and that landscape architects remained anonymous.[5] He earned his fine arts degree during this hiatus.[4] He then returned to the practice, feeling that he could more successfully incorporate art and meaning to his landscapes.[5]

One of Vaughan's more ambitious landscapes is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver. To help create an authentic Chinese garden, Don enlisted the aid of 52 Chinese artisans.[5] With the exception of the plants, all materials used to create the garden were imported from overseas.[5] When designing the gardens, a yin and yang approach was taken, meaning that there was a balance created between all of the objects in the garden.[5] For example, the intense classical garden was balanced by the passiveness of the large lake and landscape.[5]

Awards

An honorary Doctoral degree in Law was awarded to him by the University of Victoria in the Fall 2007 convocation.[6] He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.[2]

Other projects

References

  1. ^ Hawthorn, Tom (November 14, 2007). "An artist of the natural world". The Globe and Mail. http://tomhawthorn.blogspot.com/2007/11/artist-of-natural-world.html. 
  2. ^ a b "Profile: Don Vaughan, ASLA.". Landscape Online.com. http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article/7102. Retrieved October 23, 2007. 
  3. ^ a b "Vaughan Landscape Planning and Design Firm Profile". Vaughan Planning. 2007. http://www.vaughanplanning.com/profile.htm. Retrieved October 23, 2007. 
  4. ^ a b c d Moorhead, S. (1997). Landscape Architecture. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers. p. 200
  5. ^ a b c d e f Markings: An Anthology of Ideas. (videorecording) 1995. Toronto. Sleeping Giant Productions
  6. ^ a b c "Honorary Degrees For 3 at UVic's Fall Convocation" (Press release). University of Victoria. October 27, 2007. http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=864. Retrieved November 23, 2011.