Noted Landscape Architect Places Papers with NCSU Libraries

Media Contact:
dwhiscoe , NCSU Libraries, (919) 513-3425

The NCSU Libraries has received the drawings and papers of noted landscape architect Gil Wheless. A native of Durham, North Carolina, and alumnus of North Carolina State University's School of Design (now College of Design), Wheless is known for incorporating natural plants, earth, and stone into sites to appear as though nature itself had created the design.

During the 1960s, Wheless studied under renowned faculty members Richard Moore and Lewis Clarke, both of whom advocated an ecological approach to landscape design. While in school, Wheless also began working for A. E. Bye, one of the first landscape architects to promote the use of native plant materials and the restoration of native woodlands. Wheless then became a principal partner in Environmental Design Associates, established in 1969 and at one time one of the largest landscape architecture firms in New England. By tagging the firm with the environmental  title, Wheless and his partners signaled to potential clients the importance of relating materials and design to the land. The firm flourished and set the tone for this key movement in modern landscape treatments.

Wheless's clients and projects have included, among many others, the beauty and healthcare enterprise Chesebrough Ponds, the Dow Corning corporate headquarters, the Bronx VA Hospital, the Bridgewater Commons mall in New Jersey, Canterbury Green in Stamford, Connecticut, and the Parker Jewish Geriatric Center in Hyde Park, New York. He is also known for his residential work, which has included high-profile commissions from William F. Buckley, Jr. and Robert Rubin, and housing developments such as Crowne Pond Settlement in Wilton, Connecticut, and Springfield Farm in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

The paper and digital collection that Wheless has donated to the NCSU Libraries includes drawings, plans, photographs, sketches, news clippings, brochures, pamphlets, and other materials.

This collection is an important record of the influence of NC State's School of Design beyond the time of Dean Henry Kamphoefner (1948-1973) as students carried into their practices the principles they absorbed during that formative period,  explains Susan Nutter, vice provost and director of the NCSU Libraries. It also traces the seminal work of a celebrated landscape architect of the tentieth century and provides a very valuable addition to our Special Collections Research Center's growing body of materials on work that has changed the architectural culture throughout North Carolina and the nation. We are proud to make this collection available to scholars and to those in the public who are interested in the design traditions fostered by NC State University.  Wheless's drawings and papers join those of his mentor, Lewis Clarke .

Acquisition of the Wheless papers will also provide a powerful resource to support the teaching, learning, and research of NC State University faculty and students, especially in the College of Design. A guide to the Wheless collection can be found online and to access the collection itself, please contact the Special Collections Research Center at (919) 515-2273 or at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/research/requestinformation.html.