Julie Bargmann is internationally recognized as an innovator in the design and building of regenerative landscapes. She founded D.I.R.T. studio in 1992 to research, design, and build projects with passion and rigor. Born and raised in New Jersey, Julie is forthright and unafraid to provoke debate in order to tease out what matters most about places, especially those that bring to mind the post-industrial attributes of the Garden State. Her background in sculpture influences the use of fundamental forms and gestures that present themselves on a site, whether in plain view or discovered by peeling back layers of history. Julie’s adventurous design approach informs her role as Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia where she leads investigations with students into fallow terrain, imagining renewed sites of cultural and ecological production.

Julie earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie-Mellon University, and a Master in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She has received the Rome Prize fellowship from the American Academy in Rome, and the National Design Award by Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Julie’s D.I.R.T. projects span more than two decades and have received numerous awards, including a 2014 Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Her work has been featured in art and design exhibitions including Documenta and the National Design Centennial. She lectures frequently at universities, conferences, and cultural institutions, which have ranged from the Museum of Modern Art to National Brownfields Meetings. TIME, CNN and Newsweek, as well as national and international design publications, have recognized Julie as leading the next generation in making a difference for design and the environment.