James Dinh

My work explores ideas about place and what helps to define it. Whether physical or mental space, I believe place is, to a large degree, the amalgamation of cultural-historical layers and sensory experiences – visual, auditory, etc. There is no such thing as a neutral place. When these qualities can be grasped, highlighted, or expanded upon within a design, then it becomes more connected and adapted to a work’s context and audience.

In exploring ideas about place, I often examine in my work the relationship between human culture and natural phenomena, not as opposing forces but as forces that respond to one another in positive and negative ways. And perhaps owing to my own immigrant experience, I am drawn to the complex historical process whereby different cultures meet, overlap, and produce hybrid outcomes.

Without distinguishing between art, landscape architecture or any creative endeavor, I choose to take a flexible, inclusive approach that is not predetermined by style but by contextual realities and building conditions. Only then, I believe, can the result express a level of complexity and honesty.

education

University of California at Berkeley
Master of Landscape Architecture

University of California at Los Angeles
Master of Public Health

University of California at Irvine
Bachelor of Science in Biology

design

R|H|A|A, San Francisco + Mill Valley

Hood Design, Oakland, intern

SWA Group, Laguna Beach + Dallas, intern

Peter Walker and Partners, Berkeley, intern

teaching and research

Guest Speaker – Graduate Student Instructor Seminar
College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley

Guest Jury – Fundamentals of Design final review
College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley

Guest Lecturer – Computer Graphics in Environmental Design
College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley

Graduate Student Instructor – Introduction to Design
College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley

honors

American Society of Landscape Architects Award of Honor