No Metal Edging

and Other Ways in to an Aesthetic for the Next Civilization

In some sense, our practice is guided by a propensity to gently challenge dogma. Ways of seeing, drawing, building and maintaining landscapes are often entrenched. Making a habit of questioning received information, especially when that information creates negative externalities, has led us on a happily idiosyncratic design derive. Join us for a discussion of some of the ways we refine our sieve, and a collective dreaming session about where things might flow from here.

Alain Peauroi – CO-Founder and Partner — San Francisco Office

Alain Peauroi has over 20 years of experience in the field of Landscape Architecture. Alain received a BA from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Landscape Architecture and a master’s in Industrial Design from Design Academy Eindhoven. In the past 10 years, Alain has been responsible for the establishment and development of the firm Terremoto, heading the Construction Documentation and Construction Administration divisions and co-leading the SF office. He is responsible for the construction of a wide range of residential and public facing projects, including 17th Street Plaza, Forest Paths, Scribe Winery, Sea Ranch and Café Ohlone.

Alain has a resolutely strong understanding and natural interest in construction and the construction process. He has a talent for trouble shooting design details, an ability to understand complex grading and has invaluable experience in knowing how to push projects forward. His belief in the collaborative process of working closely with clients, architects, engineers and fabricators has yielded positive results and recognition as an innovator when it comes to solving complex site design challenges.

If you weren’t in the architecture field, what would you be doing?
Being a Topo Anthropologist, researching how elevation affects culture. Why the Dutch who exist at sea level are different than an indigenous tribe in Peru inhabiting high elevation land in the Andes.

How do you take your coffee?
Do you want some coffee with that cream.

What is your news source?
SFGATE‐ Small town news paper that keeps me protected from the bad and only informs me of local gossip.

Outside of architecture, what is your strongest architectural experience?
Studying in South Africa where I learned right away that landscape architecture is completely useless profession to the majority of the population whose water features are wells for drinking water, pathways are defined by the routes to the river for bathing, fire features are burned in trash drums to bonfires to keep warm and outdoor kitchens are open fires with old rusty pans. This has kept my perspective humble but also made me grateful that I’m able to practice such a novelty profession and make a living doing it.

What is your favorite season?
Fall, the winds blow from the east making everything just a little bit better.

Story Wiggins – Partner – San Francisco Office

Story Wiggins is landscape architect with a background in historic preservation and land stewardship. Story received a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley and a BA in Historic Preservation and French from the College of Charleston. During her time at UC Berkeley, she worked for the National Park Service in their Cultural Landscape Program.

Story joined Terremoto’s San Francisco office in 2016, where she leads projects of various scales and types, including high-end residential, commercial, institutional and agricultural. Her work has been featured in LAM, House Beautiful, Gardenista and Architectural Digest. She has lectured at UC Berkeley, Auburn University, Harvard’s GSD and the Conway School.

Story is co-lead of the Terremoto’s ‘Land and Labor’ internal working group, which advocates for the building and gardening trades and trades people that make our projects possible.

What was your first car?
A white 1989 Volvo 240 GL named George.

What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
N.K. Jemison’s The Fifth Season, the first of her Broken Earth Trilogy. I don’t usually go in for fantasy, but this had me hooked. The earth is an active character in the book, with seismic activity and geology looming large. It’s both an escape and a mirror. I would recommend.

How many times have you been to Maine?
Only once, embarrassingly. I visited a friend on Lake Mooselookmeguntic, an unforgettable name for an unforgettable place.

What was your first job?
I became a small business owner when I opened a lemonade stand on the Cliff Walk in Newport, RI at age 9. I made enough money slanging incredibly sugary refreshments to tourists to buy a horse after three summers. I peaked early.