Kathryn Gustafson
Kathryn Gustafson FRIBA (born 1951) is an American landscape architect. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry, France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. She has won awards and prizes including the Millennium Garden Design Competition.
Kathryn Gustafson

Txllxt · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1951 · Yakima.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Education
- University of Washington · Fashion Institute of Technology · Higher National School of Landscape
- Known for
- Diana and Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain · Gardens of the Imagination · Lurie Garden
- Honours
- Jane Drew Prize
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Kathryn Gustafson FRIBA (born 1951) is an American landscape architect. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry, France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. She has won awards and prizes including the Millennium Garden Design Competition.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Kathryn Gustafson. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3194099 · wikipedia · Kathryn Gustafson
In this article
Early life
Early life
She is known for her ability to create sculptural forms, using earth, grass, stone and water.
Kathryn Gustafson studied at University of Washington, Fashion Institute of Technology and Higher National School of Landscape. Works named in the authority record are Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Gardens of the Imagination and Lurie Garden. Distinctions recorded are Jane Drew Prize.
Gustafson was born and grew up in Yakima, Washington in 1951, her father was a general surgeon. The basis of her designs comes from her memories of past settings. The region around Yakima is a desert-like plateau surrounded by mountains. According to historian Thaïsa Way, "Patches of farms sustained by a complex system of water canals providing irrigation throughout the valley offered lessons not lost on Kathryn." At the age of 18, Gustafson attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where she studied applied arts for about a year. She then moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. After graduating from the Fashion Institute, Gustafson moved to Paris to be a fashion designer. Gustafson turned to landscape design. She was educated at the Ecole Nationale Superieure du Paysage in Versailles, where she graduated in 1979.
Design work
Design work
Gustafson’s work is predominantly civic, institutional, and corporate, including parks, gardens and community spaces. Her award-winning projects include Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, Bay East and Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Recent projects include Valencia Parque Central, the Novartis Campus in Basel and Marina One in Singapore. She has become known for her creations of sculptural forms. Her work has been compared with the designs of landscape architect Isamu Noguchi. Her sensitivity to the relationship between land and sky is encapsulated in her longtime motto, "the sky is mine." Gustafson is slated to recreate the area around the Eiffel Tower for the Olympic games in 2024. The total cost of the overhaul would be 72€ million which would be funded by revenue.
Firms
Firms
Gustafson Guthrie Nichol was established in Seattle and founded by Gustafson, Jennifer Guthrie, and Shannon Nichol. Gustafson Porter + Bowman, founded by Gustafson and Neil Porter in 1997, is situated in London. Since 2011, the firm has been based at 1 Cobham Mews Studios. The firm has international projects in the UK, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Notable works
Notable works
• Landscaping for Shell Petroleum Headquarters, 1992. • Rights of Man Square, Évry, France, 1991. • LeMay Museum • L'Oreal Factory • Corixa Headquarters • Arthur Ross Terrace, American Museum of Natural History, 2000 • Lurie Garden, Chicago, 2004 • Diana Memorial Fountain, London, 2004 • University of Michigan: Museum of Art • Washington Canal Park, Washington, D.C. • Lakeshore Residence • Esso Headquarters • Garden of Forgiveness
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Works and production
Works and production
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count.
Reception and standing
The scholarly and documentary record stands as follows. Institutional cataloguing adds that kathryn Gustafson is recorded as having received Jane Drew Prize.

London - Hyde Park - Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain 2004 by Kathryn Gustafson - View SE
Txllxt
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3194099: Kathryn Gustafson
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Kathryn Gustafson”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Selected awards
• Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture (2012) • American Society of Landscape Architects Design Medal (2008) • Royal Designer for Industry U.K (RDI: 2005) (RDI: 2001) • Remarkable Garden (2004) • Chrysler Design Award (2001) • Honorary Fellow RIBA (1999) • Jane Drew Prize (1998) • National Design Award in Landscape Architecture, Cooper-Hewitt (2011) • EU Prize for Cultural Heritage in Conservation (2010) • International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum (2007 and 2009) • AIA/UK Excellence in Design Award (2008) • Medalist, French Academy of Architecture (1993)
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q3194099: Kathryn GustafsonWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Design
11,558 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Katherine StinsonDesigner
- Kathleen James ChakrabortyDesigner
- Kathleen King von AlvenslebenDesigner
- Kathryn FindlayDesigner
- Kathryn H. AnthonyDesigner
- Kathryn McCamantDesigner
- Kathy WaghornDesigner
- Katja AßmannDesigner
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Kathryn Gustafson?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.