Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Spotlight

Meet Allison, a Landscape Designer at McAdams and a former student of our UrbanPlan Workshop course.

Tell us about your academic journey and when you were introduced to the Pappas Real Estate Development Program.

I originally chose to come to NC State for their focus on environmental design in the field of architecture. During my second year 2 of my 4-year undergraduate Bachelor’s of Environmental Design in Architecture, I began to see the difference in the scope of thinking between the architecture and landscape architecture students. I remember feeling a sense of envy towards those landscape architecture students who seemed to naturally consider a much wider scope of factors in their designs. They looked beyond the immediate structure and took into account the entire surrounding environment, weighing its social and environmental impacts. As someone interested in sustainability and resiliency, I felt drawn to this broader way of thinking and pursued a minor in Landscape Architecture. Through that minor, in my fifth year Bachelor of Architecture, I was introduced to the PRP elective classes.

 What course(s) did you take? How did they shape your academic experience and professional development?

I took the ULI Urban Plan class during my fifth year of Bachelor of Architecture. It’s funny to me that I found this class during my last year at NC State because I think I was trying to find this area of design the entire time I was in school. This class led me to pursue a post-graduate career in urban design and landscape architecture. My passion lies in creating “places” versus “spaces” for people through sustainable development of the public realm. The Urban Plan class was invaluable in bridging the gap between my architecture and landscape architecture studies and the realities of real estate development. It provided a comprehensive overview of the financial, political, and social factors that shape urban projects. As an architecture and landscape architecture student, I understood design, but UrbanPlan gave me an understanding of the development process that drove the design. It allowed me to see how my design work fit into the bigger picture of a project’s viability. The interdisciplinary nature of the class in itself was crucial for preparing me for both of my careers as an urban designer and landscape designer, where I collaborate with developers, planners, and engineers on a daily basis.

What would you tell prospective students about the PRP program? What advice would you share? What are you up to now?

I would urge them to take the class! The Urban Plan class teaches you skills that are directly transferable to the real world as a professional. The class puts you in the driver’s seat of development, and you have to make tough decisions and see the impacts of them firsthand. Most of all, this class will help you learn how to make positive change in communities. Real estate development significantly impacts people’s lives, and this class equips you to make decisions that are both profitable and socially responsible!

Right now I work at McAdams in Raleigh as a Landscape Designer! In my career so far as an urban designer and landscape designer, I have worked on various projects that focus on placemaking in the public realm across all different project scales. The most fun part of my job has been the variety of project types I’ve gotten to work on, from large scale comprehensive and master planning to parks, streetscape, and plaza design.