UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Stuckeman School’s Department of Landscape Architecture in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture welcomed Sara Hadavi, most recently an assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning with the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University, and Martin Holland, who was an associate professor and undergraduate program coordinator in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph (Ontario), to its faculty as assistant professors for the fall 2024 semester.
“We are thrilled to welcome both Hadavi and Holland to our faculty at the Stuckeman School this fall. Both their global experiences and critical scholarship in landscape architecture in relation to health and historical preservation, respectively, bring additional exceptional assets to the department, school and University,” said Chingwen Cheng, Stuckeman School director.
Amaryllis Park, who joined the department as an assistant teaching professor in fall 2022, was also promoted to assistant professor of landscape architecture.
Sara Hadavi
Hadavi taught master’s and advanced-level studios at Kansas State where she was a faculty member from 2019 to 2024. She previously taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Hadavi’s research interest lies in the planning and design of everyday urban landscapes through interdisciplinary work, linking environmental psychology, planning and design to improve neighborhood satisfaction, wellbeing and quality of life in urban environments. Through her teaching and scholarship, she examines urban greening in high vacancy areas and explores ways to improve equity and quality of life in racially segregated communities. Her recent research efforts have focused on social dimensions of resilient urban food systems including community health and food insecurity.
Hadavi has co-authored several papers in both peer-reviewed and professional journals and has written chapters in two publications: “Handbook of Quality of Life Research: Place and Space Perspectives,” edited by Robert Marans, Noah Webster and Robert Stimson and published by Elgar Publishing this year, and “Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Geography,” edited by Daniel R. Montello and published by Elgar in 2018.
She is the co-chair of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s People-Environment Relationships track and she serves on several American Society of Landscape Architects professional practice networks and committees.
Originally from Tehran, Iran, Hadavi earned her bachelor of science in landscape engineering from the University of Tabriz and a master of science in environmental design from the University of Tehran. She spent the next five years as a freelance designer for several planning and architectural design firms in Iran before coming to the United States to continue her studies. In 2015, she earned her doctorate in landscape architecture from the School of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Michigan before moving on to receive her master of landscape architecture from UIUC in 2019.
“I’m excited to welcome Sara to the faculty. Her expertise in community planning and design adds richness to our department’s mission of social and environmental good,” said Roxi Thoren, professor and head of the Department of Landscape Architecture. “She brings a valuable global perspective to our program, and her research and teaching strengthen our commitment to educating global citizens and leaders.”
Martin Holland
Holland joined the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development in 2017 where he taught history, theory and design studio courses. Prior his time in Ontario, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Clemson University for three years where he taught several classes including an introductory landscape architecture course and studio courses focused on technical graphics, basic design principles and site design. He also served as a visiting instructor in the Department of Art at Monmouth College in 2013-14.
Holland’s research interests include the role of commemoration and memorial practices within the built environment, landscape history, landscape conservation and preservation, design pedagogy and the role of experiential learning within the design fields.
In 2022, Holland coauthored “Representing Landscapes: One Hundred Years of Visual Communication” with Nadia Amoroso, published by Routledge. He also authored or coauthored several book chapters and journal articles on topics such as hybridized landscapes, landscape architecture history, environmental design and urban agriculture.
Holland has been involved with several professional organizations over the course of his career including the Landscape Research Group, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Society of Architectural Historians, Environmental Research Design Association, Library of American Landscape History and the American Society of Landscape Architects. In 2014 he joined the Alliance of Historic Landscape Preservation and currently serves as the organization’s president.
In practice, Holland worked at several design firms including Rosborough Partners in Libertyville, Illinois; EDAW, Inc. in Atlanta; Peter Walker and Partners in Berkeley, California; and D.I.R.T. Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was also a planning associate with the MSM Regional Council, a private, non-profit regional planning and research organization in Princeton, New Jersey.
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Holland holds a master of landscape architecture from the University of Virginia, a bachelor of design in environmental planning from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Dalhousie University, Halifax.
“With his research on landscapes of memorial and commemoration, Martin brings a critical perspective to our landscape history and theory courses, expanding the conversation on whose histories get embodied in our public landscapes,” Thoren said. “He has worked at some of the most respected design firms in the country, and his professional expertise will enhance our program’s commitment to design excellence.”