Interview Series: Bridging Academia and Practice

An Interview with Michelle Delk, FASLA, PLA

by Sara Hadavi, PhD, ASLA

As landscape architecture continues to respond to rapidly evolving social, environmental, and economic challenges, stronger connections between professional practice and academic education are increasingly important. Engaging practitioners in teaching offers valuable opportunities for students to learn from real-world experience while helping bridge the gap between academia and practice.

Through this interview series, the ASLA Education & Practice Working Group highlights perspectives from practitioners who have taken on teaching roles and shares their experiences navigating the intersection of practice and education. Collectively, these conversations aim to shed light on different forms of engagement and offer insights for professionals who may be interested in contributing to landscape architecture education.

We are delighted to feature Michelle Delk, FASLA, PLA, as the second interviewee in this series. You can find the previous interview with Jessica Henson, ASLA, RLA, AICP, here.

Michelle Delk, FASLA, PLA, at University of Pennsylvania

Thanks for accepting our invitation. I would like to start with your background and career path. Can you briefly describe your professional journey in landscape architecture and what led you to transition into teaching?

I grew up in rural northern Iowa, where I was fascinated by the land and spent much of my youth outdoors. Though I initially thought I would pursue engineering, my interests in art and landscape ultimately guided me to landscape architecture. I was particularly influenced by earthwork and land artists whose practices demonstrated how working with the land can communicate ideas, shape experience, and create meaning at both human and broader scales. After earning my Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver, I entered professional practice-first at Civitas and later joining Snøhetta in 2013-where I now lead the landscape architecture practice across the Americas.

Alongside my full-time practice, teaching has emerged as a meaningful extension of my professional work. Early in my career, I taught design studios intermittently as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado, an experience that deepened my engagement with academia and reinforced my interest in mentorship. Today, I am the Laurie Olin Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and also continue to participate as a guest critic and invited lecturer at universities internationally, using those opportunities to help students navigate the transition from conceptual exploration to the realities of professional practice-a transition I found challenging early in my own career.

How has your own education in landscape architecture shaped your approach to teaching?

My education in landscape architecture taught me not only how to think creatively, but also how to think strategically. I learned to understand landscapes as large, complex systems shaped by ecological, cultural, social, and economic forces, and to see landscape architects as uniquely positioned to curate ideas-bringing together multiple voices, disciplines, and forms of expertise into a cohesive vision.

Those lessons strongly shape how I approach teaching. In the studio, I emphasize learning how to read places deeply, engage people thoughtfully, and manage complexity while still finding clarity. I encourage students to develop confident, informed points of view and to understand design as both an exploratory and collaborative process. Equally important, my education taught me the value of curiosity and experimentation. I try to create a studio environment where students feel comfortable exploring, testing ideas, and having fun with the work, understanding that discovery is a critical part of learning.

On a personal note, I was very nervous and not a particularly strong public speaker early in my education. With time, practice, and supportive mentorship, that changed. I share that experience with students to reinforce that confidence is built and that growth is an essential part of both education and professional practice.

The AIA Colorado 2025 AIA Practice & Design Conference

What motivated you to take on a teaching role?

I've always valued the transformative role that educators and mentors played in my own academic and professional development, and teaching feels like a natural extension of that influence. Much like my role at Snøhetta, I see teaching as an opportunity to encourage exploration, foster the exchange of ideas, and help people learn how to build a clear and compelling narrative-one that brings others along and builds support around a vision.

Working with students is also incredibly refreshing. Their curiosity, energy, and openness to new ideas create space for experimentation and discovery, and teaching allows me to explore those questions alongside them. It offers a welcome counterbalance to the administrative and managerial aspects of professional practice, giving me time to reconnect with the core creative and intellectual impulses that drew me to landscape architecture in the first place. At its best, teaching is a reciprocal process, and I find that engaging with students continually sharpens my own thinking while reinforcing the values I bring back into practice.

Was teaching something you had always considered, or did it emerge organically?

Teaching emerged organically for me. I've always enjoyed working collaboratively with others, and teaching feels like a natural extension of the way I practice-through dialogue, shared exploration, and collective problem-solving. As my career progressed, I realized that the lessons learned in practice, particularly around navigating complexity, strategic thinking, and developing a professional identity, could be especially valuable to students approaching the threshold of professional life.

Teaching also challenges me to clarify my own thinking. In order to give constructive feedback that genuinely helps students move ideas forward, I have to articulate design intentions, processes, and critiques with precision and care. That exchange not only supports student growth but also sharpens my own approach to design and collaboration in practice.

At the ASLA New Jersey Conference

What have been the most surprising or challenging aspects of transitioning from practice to education? Also, can you tell us what your initial expectations about teaching were? How did the reality compare?

One surprising aspect has been how much teaching requires the intentional translation of tacit professional knowledge into a form that students can engage with and act upon. Balancing practice leadership with academic responsibilities also brings challenges in time and energy management. I expected that teaching would involve sharing knowledge and guiding design inquiry. In reality, it has also involved facilitating students' ability to think across disciplinary boundaries, making complex ideas accessible while encouraging autonomy in creative decision-making.

What is your teaching load and how do you balance your time and energy between professional work and your academic responsibilities?

I teach a design studio at the University of Pennsylvania one semester each year. The studio meets six hours each day, twice a week. I co-teach the course with a colleague from Snøhetta, which helps maintain a strong connection between academic inquiry and professional practice. Balancing teaching with a full-time leadership role in practice requires careful planning and flexibility, and it often means working evenings and weekends to prepare, review work, and organize studio efforts. While it can be demanding, I genuinely enjoy the work. Having every other semester free from teaching is also helpful, allowing me to fully re-engage with practice and maintain balance.

How do you sustain your creative energy across both domains of practice and teaching?

The two domains ultimately feed one another. Teaching gives me space to slow down, ask fundamental questions, and engage with new ideas and perspectives that students bring into the studio. That curiosity and experimentation reinvigorate my thinking and often find their way back into practice. Conversely, staying deeply engaged in professional work keeps my teaching grounded in real-world complexity and relevance. Moving between these modes creates a productive rhythm that helps sustain creative energy across both.

From your perspective, what are the most significant gaps between landscape architecture education and professional practice?

While students should be exposed to the technical aspects of the profession, those skills are developed most fully over time in practice. What is most important in school is learning how to think creatively and strategically, how to understand a place, develop strong design ideas, and communicate them clearly and compellingly. When students leave with confidence in their thinking and the ability to articulate ideas, they are well positioned to grow into the technical realities of the profession.

A lecture at Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning, Prague, Czech Republic

What skills, knowledge areas, or habits do students often lack when they enter the profession?

Collaboration across design disciplines is another area that is difficult to fully learn in an academic setting. While exposure is helpful, true interdisciplinary collaboration develops over time through practice. When students arrive with strong critical thinking skills, curiosity, and the ability to communicate design ideas clearly, they are well positioned to grow into the rest of the practice.

How have you tried to address these gaps in your own teaching?

In studio, I emphasize rigorous site analysis, iterative engagement with ambiguity, and exercises that require students to justify their decisions holistically addressing the cultural, historical, and social dimensions of a site. I also focus on helping students organize and communicate their ideas clearly and concisely, beginning with identifying the most critical insights from their research and carrying that clarity through the entire design process.

What courses do you teach and how do you bring real-world experiences and constraints into your classroom or studio?

I teach an upper-level design studio that has been studying sites across Atlanta, Georgia, using a real urban context to ground the work. This year's brief builds on a similar framework from last year, but instead of working along a transect, the studio focuses on three distinct neighborhoods as the basis for study. After the initial weeks of research and analysis, each student selects a site or set of sites to develop a design proposal, including a guiding vision, goals, and program.

How receptive are students to learning from someone whose primary background is practice rather than academia?

Students are highly receptive, particularly given that the studio is composed of graduate students in their final semester of study. By the time they arrive in my class, they have learned from many different voices and are actively thinking about where they want to work and what to expect as they transition into professional life. The timing is ideal for a practice-based perspective.

Can you share a specific teaching strategy or project that helped connect students to professional realities?

In my studio, students engage directly with complex urban neighborhoods, studying their layered political, social, and environmental histories. Each student selects a site and develops an adaptive transformation proposal grounded in careful interpretation-listening to the landscape's stories and the voices of those most connected to the place before proposing interventions.

Design is framed not as self-expression but as thoughtful response, emphasizing reflection, measured solutions, and alignment with stakeholder needs. Through research, lectures, desk critiques, and physical and digital modeling, students learn to navigate complexity, think across scales, and develop proposals that are both visionary and grounded, mirroring the realities of professional practice.

In a client workshop

In your view, what unique value do professional instructors bring to landscape architecture programs?

Professional instructors bring real-time insights into evolving practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, and leadership challenges. They enrich studio culture with practical examples and strategic frameworks that students are likely to encounter in the field.

What institutional support (or lack thereof) have you encountered as a practicing instructor?

Support for integrating professional experience into the curriculum is crucial; faculty collaboration, administrative flexibility, and resources for travel and studio work make a meaningful difference in teaching outcomes.

What are the limitations or frustrations of being in a practicing instructor role?

The principal challenges stem from balancing dual commitments and ensuring that teaching does not become an afterthought amid professional obligations. Institutional recognition and dedicated time allocation are important for sustainability.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of teaching for you?

The most rewarding aspect is witnessing students grow in confidence, sharpen their critical thinking, and start to see themselves as emerging professionals capable of engaging with complex design challenges.

You mentioned that teaching is a reciprocal process and that it challenges you to clarify your own thinking. Has your experience as an educator changed the way you approach professional practice?

Teaching deepens my awareness of the conceptual foundations of our work and reinforces the importance of clearly articulating design decisions to diverse audiences.

Have you noticed any shifts in the profession that should be reflected more explicitly in design education?

Yes, there is a growing need to embed social, cultural, and ecological justice into design frameworks, and education must prepare students to engage with these issues with nuance and rigor.

What would you say to practicing professionals who are curious about teaching but unsure where to begin?

Start by engaging with academic studios as a guest critic or by lecturing. Share real project experiences that illuminate how professional decisions unfold. Seek opportunities that align with your interests and teaching style.

What kind of preparation, mindset, or support is necessary for practitioners to thrive in teaching roles?

Have a clear point of view about how we work with clients and others during a design process, and what that work can embody or accomplish. Reflect on your own experiences and be open with students about the challenges you've encountered. Provide possibilities for how to work through ideas and be open and supportive in guiding the process. Be prepared to articulate tacit professional knowledge in accessible ways, embrace pedagogical growth, and seek mentorship from experienced educators. Equally important is approaching teaching as an opportunity to learn from students, to explore new ideas, and to open up possibilities that might not emerge in practice. A supportive academic community makes a big difference.

What do you envision as the ideal relationship between academia and practice in landscape architecture?

A connected environment where academic learning and professional practice support each other through collaborative studios, shared research, and the exchange of ideas.

Thank you for sharing your insights!

At the University of Pennsylvania with studio students

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