HILLWORKS and Latent

The Architectural League’s annual Emerging Voices program spotlights North American architects, landscape architects, and urban designers who have significant bodies of realized work and the potential to influence their field.

David Hill founded the landscape design studio HILLWORKS in 2009. Located in Auburn, Alabama and working closely with Auburn University, a public land grant institution, the firm is grounded in the ecological and cultural landscape of the southeastern United States. HILLWORKS engages in design research on plant performance, including studies in phenology and novel ecologies, and the inventive reuse of land, such as community gardens and rewilding strategies. The studio’s projects across a variety of scales reflect a dedication to the regenerative power of the landscape. 

Katherine Darnstadt founded Latent in Chicago in 2010. Bridging the fields of architecture and community development, Latent utilizes participatory processes and leverages local assets to create design solutions in resource and budget limited environments. The practice’s portfolio includes small-scale urban interventions, new construction community buildings, adaptive reuse, neighborhood master plans, and speculative designs. Focused on accessibility, sustainability, and economic viability, the practice states that it is founded “on the belief that great spaces belong to our most vulnerable populations.”

The presentations will be followed by a conversation with David Godshall.  Godshall is a co-founder and principal of TERREMOTO, a 26-person landscape architecture studio with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He was a member of the 2024 Emerging Voices jury.