Over nearly six decades of practice, Robert Royston (1918-2008) shaped the postwar Bay Area landscape with visionary designs for public spaces. Early in his career, Royston conceived of the "landscape matrix," a system of interconnected parks, plazas, and parkways that he hoped could bring order and amenity to rapidly developing suburbs. The idea would inform his work on more than two thousand projects as diverse as school grounds, new towns, transit corridors, and housing tracts.

As an apprentice of Thomas Church, Royston gained experience with residential gardens that influenced his early designs for public parks. At a time when neighborhood parks were typically limited to playing fields and stock playground equipment, Royston created imaginative facilities for the American family, offering activities for people of all ages.

Royston, Hanamoto & Mayes, founded in 1958, grew to become one of the nation's most influential corporate firms. With his collaborative approach, Royston designed landscapes that set a high standard of inclusivity and environmental awareness. In addition to the many beloved places he created, his perceptive humanism, which passed down to his students, is Royston's enduring legacy.

About the Author

Reuben M. Rainey (Author)
REUBEN RAINEY, FASLA, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, taught landscape architecture history and theory for more than thirty years. A former professor of religious studies, Rainey has written on a wide variety of topics from Italian Renaissance landscapes to modern "healing gardens." He is the coproducer of the ten-part PBS documentary Gardenstory and codirector of the Center for Design and Health at the University of Virginia.

JC Miller (Author)
JC MILLER is a partner at Vallier Design Associates in Point Richmond, California, and director of the Landscape Architecture Certificate Program at UC Berkeley Extension. He worked for over a decade in the Royston office and, as a principal, assisted Royston in the design and execution of his final projects. Miller is the coauthor with Reuben Rainey of Modern Public Gardens: Robert Royston and the Suburban Park.

Book Information
ISBN 9780820357317
Author Reuben M. Rainey
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint University of Georgia Press
Publisher University of Georgia Press