Peter Nelson

Background

About Peter Nelson

In a literal sense, Peter built his career from the ground up. From a fascination with plants—their colors, textures and functions— to jobs in nurseries and landscape construction, he gained knowledge of materials and the realities of working with them. When he discovered Landscape Architecture, he’d found his calling: working with nature to positively impact whole neighborhoods, campuses, and communities. As one of Fora’s principals and owners, Peter focuses on the high-level view of a project, making broad gestures or establishing the “big idea”. Specifically, he loves creating cohesive designs that are well integrated into the natural context of a site, drawing out its inherent beauty and then translating that into a design and project narrative. Philosophically, Peter’s work and practice is rooted in rigor and optimism. He sets a high bar, whether that be in the thoughtfulness of a design concept, in communication with the client, or in the finished built environment. He is proud to be doing work that contributes positively to climate change by greening our cities, adding tree canopy, and improving green infrastructure. Ultimately, he believes the success of that vision is carried by many voices, working in unison. Peter loves connecting people, nurturing creativity, and inhabiting the ‘middle space’ between the client, the site, and the design team.