For our first installment of the Consilium Interview Series, we will be conducting staff interviews to give you a chance to meet some of the incredible members of our team. We recently conducted the following Q&A with Barnabas Kane, Senior Landscape Architect of Consilium Design.
Where did you grow up?
Rural burbs of NYC, Westchester County from 0-9. Extremely rural Northern Vermont, 9-18.
Were you influenced at an early age by architecture, landscaping, etc.? If not, what or who WERE you influenced by?
My major influence was my father, Tom Kane, he is a Landscape Architect. So, I grew up with a critical eye for art, design, architecture. And a huge appreciation for historic buildings, gardening and a love of nature.
What was your path to becoming a LA?
I interned at my Dad’s office during the summers, then worked for him full time after high school. I considered Industrial Design but settled on Landscape Architecture at UMASS Amherst.
How did you end up in Colorado?
I lived in Arizona for 23 years, camped all over the west. In 2014, we moved to Leadville, Colorado for my wife’s job and LOVED IT!
Where were you before joining CD?
I had my own Landscape Architecture firm in Arizona.
What do you like/love about what you do? What gets you passionate about a project?
Making sense of overlapping systems and energies, turning them into a beautiful functional product, problem-solving, identifying synergies, changing peoples lives.
Do you have a favorite project that you have worked on?
Naropa University in Boulder (not yet built), and the SW Wine Center in Cottonwood Arizona
Advice for people just starting out in LA?
Get good at presentation mediums. Learn as much as you can about Architecture. The tricky part is getting it built, not getting it designed.
Now some silly fun questions:
Dog or cat?
Cat
His/her name?
Tiger Lily aka Honey Badger
Favorite song (yes you have to pick just one)
Honky Tonk Woman