Barrett Kays, FASLA
"When I finished my dissertation, I talked with different firms, and no one was at that time interested in stormwater. So I ended up starting my own firm." ‑ Dr. Barrett Kays, in Cals News, NC State University, Feb. 5, 2015
Dr. Barrett Kays is considered one of the field's top specialists in environmental sciences, groundwater, and soil design. Through the years, working through his own firm, Barrett Kays and Associates and later, Landis Inc., he has developed a unique expertise in soil design. This specialty was first put to use to bring back to life the Great Lawn of NYC's Central Park in NYC; Kays' soil and stormwater expertise turned the dry and decaying acreage of the 1990s to the lush and thriving recreational areas it is today. A similar project has been the restoration of the fountain of the famous Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia, where overflow of stormwater had for years been flooding the adjacent concert grounds. Dr. Kays' multi-disciplinary approach to landscape architecture is drawn from his three degrees: a bachelor’s in horticulture from Oklahoma State University, his NC State master’s in landscape architecture, and doctorate in soil science from NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
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