Judith Stilgenbauer, ASLA, is a professor in landscape architecture and urban design. Her creative work in teaching and applied research focuses on the role of process, performance, and placemaking in ecological urbanism and public open space design across diverse spatial and temporal scales. Stilgenbauer’s recent design research has focused on urban land-water relationships and adaptive coastal resilience design. She is a Principal Investigator with the University of Hawaii Community Design Center (UHCDC).

Judith Stilgenbauer serves as Director of the Master of Landscape Architecture program. Stilgenbauer is a director on the national American Society of Landscape Architects’ Board of Trustees. She further serves as a member of CLARB’s Foresight Network and the City & County of Honolulu’s Board of Parks and Recreation.

Research & Creative Work

01_South_Shore_Project_Stilgenbauer_webSouth Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network: Resilience and Connectivity by Design (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2020)

02_South_Shore_Project_Stilgenbauer_webSouth Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network: Resilience and Connectivity by Design (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2020)

03_South_Shore_Project_Stilgenbauer_webExcerpt from South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2020)

04_South_Shore_Project_Stilgenbauer_webExcerpts from South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2020)

05_Lake_Wilson_Project_Stilgenbauer_webExcerpts from Lake Wilson—Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area Study and Proof-of-Concept Design (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2019)

06_Lake_Wilson_Project_Stilgenbauer_webExcerpts from Lake Wilson—Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area Study and Proof-of-Concept Design (UHCDC/ Stilgenbauer et al., 2019)

07_228_Memorial_Project_Stilgenbauer_webExcerpt from 228 National Memorial Park project, Chiayi, Taiwan (Stilgenbauer et al., 2009 - 2013)

08_228_Memorial_Project_Stilgenbauer_webPhoto of memorial room at inauguration, 228 National Memorial Park, Chiayi, Taiwan (Stilgenbauer et al., 2009 - 2013)

10_BUGA_Munich_Project_Stilgenbauer_webPhoto of sunken gardens at Landschaftspark Riem, Germany (as office head & project lead at RSL, Munich, Germany, 2001 – 2005)

09_BUGA_Munich_Project_Stilgenbauer_webPhoto of theme garden during BUGA 2005, Germany (as office head & project lead at RSL, Munich, Germany, 2001 – 2005)

Areas of Interest

Landscape architecture
Public open space design
Coastal resilience
Climate and SLR adaptation
Ecological urbanism
Sustainable urban design
Brownfield development
Green infrastructure
Nature-based solutions

Professional Experience

Prior to beginning her first US tenure-track faculty position at UC Berkeley in 2003, Judith Stilgenbauer had garnered recognition and gained substantial professional experience in Germany. She headed the Munich office of the Rainer Schmidt Landscape Architecture firm, where she played a lead role in numerous master-planning and realized urban landscape design projects. With her own studio, in which Stilgenbauer participated in urban/landscape design competitions in Asia and America, she was awarded first prize and the commission to design the 15-acre “228 National Memorial Park” in Chiayi City, Taiwan—a project that was opened to the public in 2012. Based on these and other prior professional experiences and her research expertise, since 2018 Stilgenbauer has been awarded a combined $975,000 in grants to conduct various large-scale applied design research studies. As Principal Investigator with the University of Hawaii Community Design Center (UHCDC), she has led research and design teams in work that includes the following award-winning projects: Lake Wilson—Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area Study and Proof-of-Concept Design (2019), South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study: Resilience and Connectivity by Design (2020), Community-Participatory Proof-of-Concept Design for ʻAʻala Park (2022), and Waikiki Resilience and SLR Adaptation Project (2023).

Judith Stilgenbauer is a member of the Architektenkammer Rheinland-Pfalz (Architects Association, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). From 2013 to 2014 she served as the President of the Hawaii Chapter of ASLA. Currently, Stilgenbauer is a member of the national ASLA Board of Trustees, national ASLA’s Climate Action Committee, CLARB’s Foresight Network, and the City and County of Honolulu’s Board of Parks and Recreation.

License(s)

Professional license as landscape architect, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (No. 16389) since 2002

Recent Professional Awards

2021 Urban Design Award, Hawaii Chapter of the American Planning Association
Project: South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study: Resilience and Connectivity by Design
Team: University of Hawaii Community Design Center (UHCDC), Principal Investigator: Judith Stilgenbauer, et al.; client: State of Hawaii Office of Planning

2021 Award of Excellence (Analysis and Planning Category), Hawaii Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Project: South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study: Resilience and Connectivity by Design
Team: University of Hawaii Community Design Center (UHCDC), Principal Investigator: Judith Stilgenbauer, et al.; client: State of Hawaii Office of Planning

2021 Honor Award (Research and Communication Category), Hawaii Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Project: Lake Wilson: Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area Study and Proof-of-Concept Design
Team: University of Hawaii Community Design Center (UHCDC), Principal Investigator: Judith Stilgenbauer, et al., client: State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Parks Division

2018 Po‘okela Award, Hawaii Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

Selected Publications

McBride, J., Stilgenbauer, J., Lacan, I, Cheng, S., Medbury, S., McBride, D., Reconstruction of Urban Forests – Post World War II and the Bosnian War, Springer Nature, 2021

Stilgenbauer, J. (PI), et al., South Shore Promenade and Coastal Open Space Network Study: Resilience and Connectivity by Design, UHCDC & State of Hawaii Office of Planning, 2020

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “[Eco]Logical Urban Placemaking for Climate-Change-Resilient Honolulu Waterfronts,” in Urban Infill Vol. 8: Variability & Urban Change; Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, eds., Kent State University, 2020

Stilgenbauer, Judith (PI), et al., Lake Wilson—Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area Study and Proof-of-Concept Design, UHCDC & State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2019

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “[Eco]Logical Urban Placemaking: Connectivity and Climate Change Resilience by Design,” in IFLA World Congress Proceedings, 2018, pp. 393-400

KFVE Voice of the Sea TV episode featuring Judith Stilgenbauer et al.: “Designing Future Coastal Communities”, premiere dates: October 20 and 21, 2018

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “Processcapes: Dynamic Placemaking,” in Now Urbanism: The Future City is Here; Jeff Hou, Ben Spencer, Thaisa Way, Ken Yocom, eds., Routledge, 2015, pp. 92-106

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “Degraded Sites Made Rich and Productive,” in Landscape Architecture China, Vol. 4, 2012, pp. 88 – 91

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “California Academy of Sciences,” in Topos: The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Issue 78, 2012, pp. 82 – 85

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “CIVIC (agri)CULTURE,“ in Ground Up: Landscapes of Uncertainty; Jensen, S., Kapitulnik, M., eds., 2012, pp. 64-69

Stilgenbauer, Judith, McBride, Joe R., “Reconstruction of Urban Forests in Hamburg and Dresden following World War II,” in Landscape Journal 29(2), 2010, pp. 144-160

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “228 National Memorial Park,” in 1000X Landscape Architecture; van Uffelen, Chris, ed., Braun, 2009, p. 1003

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “Digital Design and Competitions,” in Digital Design in Landscape Architecture 2008; Buhmann, Pietsch, Heins, eds., 2008, pp. 82 – 87

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “The Return of an Archetype: San Francisco’s Octavia Boulevard,” Topos: The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Issue 53, 2005, pp. 74 – 79

Stilgenbauer, Judith, “Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord,” Places, a Forum of Environmental Design, Vol. 17, Number 3, 2005 EDRA/Places Awards, pp. 6 – 9