Julia Watson

Julia Watson (born 1977) is an Australian born author, researcher, lecturer, and landscape designer based in New York City.

Watson is the author of Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism, and teaches at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in New York.

Watson decided to pursue architecture in her teens, saying, "that decision came about in high school to console my parents who were worried because all I wanted was to be an artist."

Education Early in her education, Watson was exposed to a strong indigenous design methodology through the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at the University of Queensland. There, she was taught by Paul Mammott on Aboriginal environments, which "lifted a veil" on her perception of landscape.

After receiving her BA in Architecture and Planning in 1998, she completed her Graduate Diploma of Landscape Architecture (GDLA) at the Queensland University of Technology in 2001. She earned the highest distinction in the landscape architecture department, graduating as both a Charles Eliot and Olmsted Fellow (2008).

Career

Private practice While studying landscape architecture at Queensland University of Technology, Watson worked for John Mongard and Jacqueline Ratcliffe at John Mongard Landscape Architects as a landscape technician. She then moved to London, where she worked for Lord Kenilworth at Randle Siddeley Associates on multiple landscape projects. They worked on large-scale projects that merged Watson's human-centered design approach with a sensitive ecological approach, allowing users to engage with nature on both physical and spiritual levels. Studio REDE was framed as a design collaborative, bringing individuals from allied professions such as anthropologists, digital agencies, governments, and foundations to create partnerships with local communities with the goal of creating alternative co-management models. The studio focused on local, site-specific interventions and rewilding spaces.

Watson is currently principal of her eponymous studio, Julia Watson Studio, which is a full service landscape and urban design studio that combines the ethical qualities of Studio REDE with the rewilding goals of Watson Salembier. They also work on a commission basis and consult for Fortune 500 companies to align their missions with global sustainability goals.

Work Watson's interest in indigenous technologies is displayed through her work with indigenous communities, such as the proposal for Bali's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, wherein she collaborated with Stephen Lansing.

She has authored numerous papers on indigenous technologies and their possible implications for modern landscape architecture. This interest also extends to native planting schemes, having implemented place-based projects that implement indigenous planting such as Rewilding the American Meadow at New York's Rockefeller Center Plaza.

Notable projects Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens (2023) Dubai Central Business District Master Plan (2017) Bali UNESCO World Heritage Plan (2013–2014)

Lo-TEK

Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism, authored by Watson, is a compilation of indigenous land-based traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) from various groups around the globe. The information was gathered first-hand by Watson over seven years, and spotlights nature-based infrastructures such as the living root bridges of the Khasi people in India and the floating island homes of the Ma'dan in Iraq, made from qasab reeds. The book highlights TEK case studies from mountain landscapes, forests, deserts, and wetlands. The book has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Dwell, Vogue, Architectural Digest, and The Washington Post.

In 2020, Watson presented a TED talk highlighting some of these case studies.

Awards AIGA 50 Books 50 Covers Winner, 2019 ADC Annual Awards, Merit Honor, Publication Design, 2020 Arnold W. Brunner Grant for Architectural Research, 2022 Architecture + Design Independent Project Grant, 2022 Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition 2024