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Faculty + Staff
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It could be said that Robert Sykes came to his research interest, land development, naturally. His father worked in real estate development finance and his great-grandfather was a founder of Tyler, MN, in the southwestern part of the state. Sykes has put his own twist on the family history, however, becoming a nationally recognized expert on water management in the landscape as well as publishing widely on road and housing development design.
For Sykes, the central issue behind his work is creating a dwelling place for people, but as he says, "water is the judo point, the point where you get the most leverage" in influencing the landscape. "For me, water is both the prime nutrient that sustains a landscape, and the universal solvent that wears it away. It must be carefully considered in all aspects of design. Just as sculptors need to understand the materials they use to create sculpture, for me the technics of land and water are essential to understand the land and water from which we make landscape." Sykes is not just interested in the technical aspects of water, though. "Because of its mythic power, water is also a rich source of meaning for making designs with humanity," he explains. For him it is one of the key ingredients for transforming landscapes into "places."
Sykes is an active consultant to local governments and companies about land design for water management. He is currently involved with the Minneapolis Community Development Agency in the planning for the South East Minneapolis Industrial area, an underused industrial district on the edge of the University's East Bank Campus. His proposed stormwater management plan and design calls for the construction of rain gardens next to the proposed buildings and a series of linear wetlands along nearby streets and boulevards. These innovative technologies will store, infiltrate, and treat stormwater runoff from the proposed development, improving water quality as well as providing a park-like amenity for local residents. Sykes is also collaborating with other faculty members in investigating approaches to subdivision design in the Highway 61 transportation corridor between Saint Paul and Hastings, MN. He is providing the hydrologic design component to their research into better design alternatives to automobile-dependent, dispersed development.
Sykes is also closely involved with Jon Kingstad and Paul Jacobs of the Center for Rural Technology and Cooperative Development in the creation of the nation's first Water Quality Cooperatives [WQCs]. These pioneering organizations are member-owned, private, non-profit associations. They allow rural residents to employ group buying to make affordable the legal, business, and engineering expertise necessary to employ alternative technologies for supplying and treating water for new development and existing rural centers.
As well as conducting research, Sykes teaches a class on stormwater management and a design studio on dwelling development. He also teaches a class that studies the legal and financial tools that have made possible, and been inspired by, landmark planned developments by landscape architects. "My work with law and project finance relates to my conviction that to produce powerful designs that endure over time, we must engage these powerful forces in our society," says Sykes. Although seemingly far-flung, Sykes believes his several interests are the foundational elements of good design. "For me, the bottom line is powerful physical design, but it has to stand on more than great appearance," asserts Sykes. "It must be rooted in strong technology, engage the best legal tools, and be nurtured by a good financial base. Design must have depth in these dimensions to endure." |
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