Faculty + Staff

Rebecca Krinke

Rebecca Krinke, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of Graduate Studies, has degrees in both landscape architecture and art (sculpture). This dual background informs all aspects of her teaching, research, and practice. She is interested in contemporary theory and practice in design and art, with a focus on contemplative and commemorative space. Her built works in the landscape include: the Dr. Martha Ripley Memorial Garden, Minneapolis, MN, (2007), with Joe Favour, adjunct faculty member, and practicing landscape architect; The Rapson Hall Courtyards, four exterior courtyards at the addition to Rapson Hall (2004), University of Minnesota, with John Roloff, artist; Forest Transformation (2003), a contemplative space within the maple-basswood forest at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum; The Great Island Memorial Garden, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, (1999), with Randal Imai, architect.

Krinke also has an active art studio practice and this practice extends to experimental art-design work that explores leading edge issues related to the body and space. This work is exemplified by her recently awarded grant from the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota, 2007. She is the Principal Investigator in The Present Moment Project: Creating a Contemplative Space for Stress Reduction on Campus, with co-investigators Diane Willow, Assistant Professor of Art and Henry Emmons, MD, Faculty, Center for Spirituality and Healing.  The project will experiment with spatial strategies for stress reduction in a campus study lounge. Bringing nature (a known stress reducer) indoors is the starting point; an innovative, poetic biofeedback modality will also be investigated.

Her book, Contemporary Landscapes of Contemplation, was published in 2005 by Routledge, London. This book was the outgrowth of a national symposium she organized at the University of Minnesota (2002). Internationally known scholars and designers: Marc Treib, Michael Singer, Heinrich Hermann, John Beardsley, and David Abram presented papers and participated in panel discussions on the nature of contemplative space in a post - modern world.

Krinke was a primary contributor to the book: Manufactured Sites: Rethinking the Post - Industrial Landscape, edited by Niall Kirkwood, (Spon Press/Taylor and Francis, 2001). Among her published articles are: discussions of the Fresh Kills Landfill competition (Landscape Architecture, April 2002), the Oklahoma National Memorial (Critiques of Built Works of Landscape Architecture, 2001 and Landscape Architecture, September 2000).

Before joining the Minnesota faculty in 1998, Krinke taught advanced design studios at the Harvard Design School with Professor (and recent chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture), George Hargreaves, as well as Adjunct Professor Martha Schwartz. She also taught the first semester MLA studio, and led the Career Discovery Program in Landscape Architecture for two years. Krinke practiced in Boston with the Central Artery Project and Sasaki Associates, focusing on urban public space and collaborations with public artists.

At Minnesota, Krinke co-teaches the first-year MLA design studio and two technology courses: "Plants in Design" and "The Art and Ecology of Landscape Detail". She also teaches graduate seminars that focus on issues in contemporary art and design. Krinke's teaching has been recognized on both the College and International levels. In 2002, she received the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Award of Recognition. Also in 2002, she received the Ralph Rapson Award for Distinguished Teaching from the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.