Joy Lyndes, Principal of Coastal Sage Landscape Architecture, was named a “woman of influence” by The Daily Transcript. Lyndes focuses on natural resources and sustainability with each of her landscape architecture projects. Before founding Coastal Sage in Encinitas, she owned a landscape architecture firm in Arizona, where she said water conservation and environmental stewardship have long been important issues.
Beyond the now-common practice of sustainability within landscape architecture, Lyndes is also mindful of the social, cultural and historic framework of a place.
“When we design spaces outdoors, we look at it in terms of the ecology and environment, and also socially — what is the social and cultural context? It’s a very wholistic way of looking at the design of our communities,” she said.
She has planned and designed complex and high-profile projects throughout the Southwest, including parks, museums, university facilities, offices, hospitality properties, residential areas, and medical campuses One area of special is working with indigenous people and tribal communities in Arizona and Colorado, focusing on designing culturally sensitive community spaces, including ceremonial spaces and places for elders and children to interact.
For the Pascua Yaqui Education Center in Pima County, Arizona, Lyndes worked with tribal representatives who stressed the importance of using specific plants, geology, animals, symbols, associations and landforms within the design. The resulting ceremonial space and learning garden uses specific materials to support hands-on learning in the preservation of the Yaqui culture and heritage. For example, visitors to the garden can learn how the tribe uses native plants.
Lyndes also holds credentials as a historic preservation specialist for the assessment, planning and design of historic and cultural landscapes.
She was recently selected by the city of Carlsbad for historic landscape planning and design of the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park. In addition to creating recreational space, the design aims to preserve historic landscaping, educate the public about the property’s rich history and modernize areas to make them more accessible.
“One thing I like to do is approach every project by looking at the layers of history of the land over time,” she said. “It’s really looking at a project from the perspective of what’s significant about the history of this property, what still has integrity, what should be preserved in place, and looking at the historic document to research where we may have the opportunity to re-create of reconstruct.”
Lyndes is also active in the community. She serves as the San Diego chapter director and government affairs liaison for the California Council of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and she is completing a second term on the Encinitas Environmental Commission, where she helped initiate the inaugural Encinitas Cyclovia event this year. Since 2015 she has taught WaterSmart Water Conservation Workshops, which educate citizens on water conservation design for their homes.
-Jennifer Chung Klam
