Matthew Urbanski

Matthew Urbanski

“Creating Play Spaces for the Livable City”

Matthew Urbanski, international landscape architect shows examples of landscapes he has planned and designed throughout the U.S. and Europe, including significant new play spaces in New York City, Hoboken, Tulsa, and Chicago. His work in playground design is guided by an appreciation for the imagination and enthusiasm that children bring to their interaction with landscape environments.

About Matthew
Matthew Urbanski is a landscape architect and Principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, where he has worked for over two decades. He has planned and designed landscapes throughout the U.S., including significant new play spaces in New York City, Hoboken, Tulsa, and Chicago. His work in playground design is guided by an appreciation for the imagination and enthusiasm that children bring to their interaction with landscape environments. The playground at Teardrop Park, in lower Manhattan, for instance, integrates equipment, topography, and naturalistic features to create an unexpected setting for play within the city. Similarly, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Playground, on Pier 6, offers an environment full of discovery, choice, and complexity. Among other awards, it was named the best playground in New York City in 2013 by Time Out Magazine. Matthew is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and is co-owner of Red Hill Nursery, a plants nursery in New Jersey.