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Faculty Dean Abbott Roger Clemence Ann Forsyth Clint Hewitt John Koepke Rebecca Krinke Roger Martin Kristine Miller Laura Musacchio Lance Neckar David Pitt Robert Sykes Adjunct Faculty Joseph R. Favour Robert J. Gunderson Jon Kingstad Richard Murphy, Jr. Patrick Nunnally Peter Olin Sharon Pfeifer Dan Shaw Lecturers Research Fellows  faculty+staff main page | |||
Jim Robin Jim Robin has actively worked in the profession of landscape architecture since 1965. Previous to that he was an arborist, and he's happy to tell you that the first job he ever had in the 1950s was working for a man who grew gladiolas. For almost thirty years Robin has been in private practice, running his own design/build firm. He admits his practice is untraditional. "My clients often expect me to stay with a project from start to finish," he says, noting that he has had some clients for twenty years. During that time, Robin's projects have ranged from residential design to corporate plazas, playgrounds, and city streetscapes. Some of his recent notable work has occurred at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where he has redesigned and rebuilt several popular attractions. Because of his work, Robin has developed a reputation as an imaginative designer and innovator in site detailing. He and architect Ed Bell developed the U-shaped bicycle racks that the University adopted and that have become ubiquitous on campus and elsewhere. Fanciful play structures, specially designed light fixtures, and unique paving creations are just a few of the inventive details he has created. In addition, Robin and a chemist partner hold several US patents for using iron and a microbial inoculant to bind excess phosphorous and sulfur in water. Their inventions are being used to cleanse highly eutrophied lakes and wastewater treatment facilities. Another unique distinction held by Robin is that in 1970 he and Bruce Johnson were the first two graduates from the University's new landscape architecture program. "It was like being tutored in landscape architecture and classes were much more informal. Herb Baldwin's classes in theory were in the coffee shop in the Dinky Dome." Robin has been a periodic instructor and guest critic at the department since soon after his graduation. He currently teaches in the landscape detailing class, where he applies the range of his knowledge and experience. In addition to working and teaching, Robin is also a painter and exhibits his watercolors at local fairs. However, there's more. "My one other passion is hot rods," Robin admits. [He has a '37 Ford and a '48 Mercury]. "And this is the one absolute tie to all of it: everything I do is a custom creation." | |||
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