Peter Miniutti
Landscape Architect
Assoc. Professor of Landscape Architecture

Dept. of Plant Science
Program of Landscape Architecture, U-4067
The University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269-4067

phone: (860) 486-1940
fax: (860) 486-0682
email: peter.miniutti@uconn.edu

Education
Harvard University 1983
Masters of Landscape Architecture @ Graduate School of Design
Recipient of the Janet E. Webel Award for Design Excellence
University of Massachusetts 1979
Bachelors of Science in Environmental Design, Studio Option

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Experience:
Associate Professor, University of Connecticut 2000 -
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut 1994 - 1999
Instructor, Institute of Ecological Studies, New York 1992 - 1994
The Miniutti Group, LLC 1988 -
Johnson & Richter, Avon , Connecticut 1985 - 1988
The SWA Group, Boston, Massachusetts 1983 - 1985
Paul C.K. Lu Associates, Belmont, Massachusetts 1982 - 1983
Sasaki Associates, Watertown, Massachusetts 1980 - 1981

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Thoughts on Landscape Architecture:
The education of a Landscape Architect is generalist in approach. Landscape Architects are not architects, yet we must understand fundamental architectural issues. We are not engineers, yet we need to understand solutions to control forces of nature. We are not horticulturists, yet we must create appropriate planting strategies. We are not artists, but we create poetry. The profession of Landscape Architecture is a unique and challenging profession that combines ideas from an array of disciplines. Part-art, part-science, we create socially responsible landscapes, which combine function with aesthetics. The "social-art" of Landscape Architecture demands of its participants the ability to see, think, question, envision, and create.

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Graduate Students:
Matthew Bishop (current)
Thesis: Lands of Unique Value. A methodology for determining appropriate regional land use patterns.

Jennifer Kloter
Thesis: A Comparison of the use of the axis at Villa Lante in Italy and Charles Platt's Summer Residence in Cornish, New Hampshire

Ruth Klue
Thesis: Theory Visualized: Student Response to Technology-Enhanced Classroom Presentation.

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Undergraduate Courses Taught:
Senior Level - Advanced Design
In this studio, students are asked to apply their recently acquired knowledge (previous 5 semesters) as a point of departure for the development of an innovative "Design Process" which combines universally excepted methodologies with the individuals unique and personalized approach to the practice of landscape architecture. Course syllabus @

Junior Level - Seminar
This seminar provides a student forum to discuss relevant topics pertaining to the field of Landscape Architecture. Each week, a student gives a multi-media presentation and discusses the contribution by a significant professional to the field of Landscape Architecture. Course syllabus @

Sophomore Level - Fundamental Design
This studio course introduces the students to the theory of form creation. The first part of the course covers various theories pertaining to the creation of form. Once a basis for form giving is established, the students are asked to create abstract landscape designs that are based in theoretical constructs that satisfy program objectives. Course syllabus @

Freshman Level - Introduction to Landscape Architecture
In this lecture course, I communicate the breadth and diversity of the profession. This course combines traditional teaching methods with contemporary methods that emphasize active and spatial learning and the development of spatial skills. Course syllabus @

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Research (scholarship) Interests:
My scholarship, to a large degree, is expressed via my creative activity of the design, planning and implementation of landscape architecture. My work ranges from residential landscape designs with construction budgets in the hundreds of dollars to the development of natural resource management plans for entire ecological systems with cost implications in the millions. The scale and scope may vary, but the goal is the same, to create or preserve settings for human activities, that if designed properly, engage the mind and touch the heart, while allowing the original environment, both human and non-human, to sustain.

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Funded Research:
Title of Project: Location: Funding Source:
DEP Rail-to-Trail Guide Book Connecticut funded by State DEP
DOT Context Sensitive Design
(N.Garrick Co-PI) Connecticut funded by DOT
DOT Visualization Techniques New England funded by DOT
(N.Garrick, M.Westa Co-PI's)
Lands of Unique Value Mansfield, CT. funded by Town of Mansfield/UConn
Lands of Unique Value Scotland, CT. funded by Town of Scotland
Unionville Land Use Study Farmington, CT. funded by Town of Farmington

Note: Approximate value of funded research is currently $350,000.

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