October 2, 2023 - We are thrilled to announce that Doug Hoerr has been honored with the Garden Club of America Zone XI Horticulture Commendation. The accolade stands as a testament to Doug's contributions to the field of Landscape Architecture and his invaluable contributions to transforming landscapes across the country by creating settings that artfully blend natural and built environments.
Nominated by the Des Moines Founders Garden Club, Doug received this accolade at the Zone XI Meeting of the Garden Club of America in Chicago on September 20. His visionary designs, seamlessly blending natural and built environments, have left an indelible mark on private residences, streetscapes, and public institutions nationwide.
Join us in celebrating Doug's outstanding achievements, which continue to inspire and elevate landscapes across the country.
Press release via the Des Moines Founders Garden Club:
October 2, 2023 - Douglas Hoerr, Principal Architect and Senior Partner of the Hoerr Schaudt firm of Chicago has received a Garden Club of America Zone XI Horticulture Commendation for exceptional achievement in Landscape Architecture.
Doug has made significant contributions to the transformation of several communities, especially Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines Founders Garden Club* nominated Doug for this award and it was presented to him at the Awards Dinner at the Zone XI Meeting of the Garden Club of America (GCA**) on September 20, 2023 in Chicago, IL.
Doug has harnessed the power of plants across the country. His architectural landscape designs have been implemented at private homes, on corporate campuses, streetscapes, and public institutions.
Many people in Des Moines point to Doug and credit his work with the beginning of a green renaissance in the city. In 2005, he was commissioned by the city to transform a concrete median on Fleur Drive into something fabulous. Fleur Drive is the main corridor connecting the airport to downtown Des Moines. The resulting three miles of planters with seasonal changes welcome and wow residents and visitors to Des Moines just as his design on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue has. The project began a new era of streetscaping for the city.
In 2012, he once again turned paving material into something fabulous. The original Des Moines Public Library, a Beaux Art building on the downtown riverfront, was restored as the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Commissioned to design a garden for the building and faced with the challenges of removing a long-standing parking lot, restoring soil, all while striving for the building’s Platinum LEED designation, Doug created a stunning garden that both compliments the era of the legendary building and provides for the modern function of the World Food Prize organization.
In 2013, another commission was issued to Doug as the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden was re- inventing itself. Doug once again developed an exciting vision that greatly enhanced the garden and played a significant role in the city’s abilities to raise millions of dollars to turn the design into reality. The work included a terrace overlooking a boardwalk-spanned water garden; a shade tree Allee; and a hillside garden carved out of the east edge of the facility's 14-acre property, complete with a cascading water feature. A 175-foot oval celebration lawn and garden hosts arts and cultural events. Doug’s design is a classic before and after case study, and a huge success.
Doug’s creation of imaginative green spaces in correct places helped give the city a new vibe. These distinct and successful projects all required an artist’s eye and great architectural skill but mostly they flourish because of a plantsman’s body of knowledge and his ability to correctly apply it.
The Garden Club of America’s Zone XI Horticulture Commendation citation reads:
In recognition of Doug Hoerr’s invaluable contributions transforming urban and residential landscapes across the country by creating settings that artfully blend natural and built environments.
*Des Moines Founders Garden Club is a private nonprofit service organization, founded in 1938, whose purpose is to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening and to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment. Des Moines Founders Garden Club is a member of The Garden Club of America since 1942. https://www.dmfoundersgc.org/
**The GCA is a nonprofit national organization composed of 200 clubs with nearly 18,000 members who devote energy and expertise to projects in their communities and across the United States. Founded in 1913, the GCA is a leader in horticulture, conservation and civic improvement.