Why PRAIRIE, and why FORM?
PRAIRIEFORM is equally a product of the prairie as it is a product of the city. With its grids of streets and sidewalks, its lawns, homes, and buildings, the city is very much a planned and designed environment. In contrast, the prairie is very much wild, rustic, and constantly evolving. The merging of PRAIRIE and FORM is an attempt to bridge these seemingly conflicting environments, and to recognize that we are working within a context that is neither pure prairie nor pure city, but a mix of the two.
To us, generating specific forms for a landscape is necessary, as it acknowledges the structured and planned nature of the city and suburbs, and it provides the context-specific bones of the landscape. With that form in place, we can then take cues from the wilder, more rustic aspects of the prairie, choosing plant materials that soften the form, convey a sense of movement, and that will evolve over time.