That simple directive – to honor what has been while preparing for what is to come – drives the work of Mark Hough, who became Duke’s Landscape Architect not long after the master plan’s release.

Tasked with envisioning and improving Duke’s public spaces and landscapes, Hough has protected the charm of the century-old campus, while helping it meet the needs of a world-class, forever evolving, modern university.

“You have to respect the historicist aspect of the landscape, but at the same time, you have new students and faculty and staff coming every year and changing the way the people use the campus,” Hough said. “To me, it has always been about striking a balance between respecting the past, responding to the present and anticipating the future.”

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) will present Hough with the Alfred P. LaGasse medal for Professional Landscape Architects on Oct. 11 at its annual conference in New Orleans.

The honor, the highest awarded by the organization, recognizes individuals who have contributed to the management and conservancy of natural resources and public landscapes.

Three projects Hough helped guide reflect the mission of the award and showcase how he honors Duke’s history and dynamism of campus.

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East Campus Quad

When Hough arrived at Duke in 2000, East Campus Quad needed a reset.

Not much had changed on Duke’s original campus since its completion in the 1920s. The expansive lawn envisioned by the architecture firm of Horace Trumbauer – and executed with limited help from the Olmsted Brothers firm – had become ringed with a busy driveway and laced by brick-paved footpaths.

Trees rising from the margins were getting old and plantings in front of Lilly Library, Baldwin Auditorium and the Wall Center for Student Life had grown too big. With barren mulch beds separating the buildings and sidewalks, opportunities to inject life into the landscape were being wasted.

Both at Duke and at the Olmsted Archives in Brookline, Mass., Hough pored over design plans, correspondences and news clippings related to the conceptualization of East Campus.

Over the years, Hough has helped revive the character of East Campus while making it more functional. A decade ago, he oversaw the planting of trees on the East Campus, softening its lines and creating a more intimate scale. With vehicles now largely restricted from the asphalt loop surrounding the quad, the campus has become a pedestrian haven. And this fall, a multi-year restoration project will further transform the spaces between sidewalks and buildings with richly layered plantings.

“The idea is not to reimagine East Campus, but just bring up the quality,” Hough said. “We don’t want to make it feel like a different place, just a nicer, more comfortable space.”

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Bryan Center Plaza

With stone buildings, lush lawns and walkways shaded by oak trees, Abele Quad in the core of West Campus can feel timeless. But follow the sidewalks through a set of gothic arches and you enter the lively heart of a vibrant, modern university.

The sleek glass of the Brodhead Center, the quiet alcoves of Crown Commons and the bustling seating areas of Bryan Center Plaza didn’t exist when Hough arrived. Hough recalled former Duke President Richard Brodhead joking that the plain cement bridge once linking Abele Quad to the Bryan Center was so underwhelming, campus leaders avoided showing it to him before he accepted the presidency in the early 2000s.

In the years since, Hough helped guide the evolution of the space into the present-day hub of campus life.

In 2006, as the Bryan Center Plaza replaced the old cement bridge, Hough envisioned the tree-shaded rows of inviting tables where members of the campus community still gather. From 2013, when Penn Pavillion was built, to 2016, when the Brodhead Center opened, Hough helped design Crown Commons, a quiet, plant-filled oasis beneath the plaza.

On most days, these spaces are filled with community members enjoying lunch, campus groups advocating for causes, and the chatter of students, staff and faculty sharing ideas.

“One of the things I’m probably most happy about is just how transformative that part of campus has been, it is now all about student life,” Hough said. “It was done incrementally over all of these years, but it still holds together well.”

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Duke Pond

Hough often walks on campus with his 7-year-old hound-boxer mix, Lucas. For both of them, the half-mile path circling Duke Pond is a favorite route.

“One of the first things I did when we got him was take him to the pond,” Hough said about Lucas.

Surrounded by native plants and covering roughly 5 1/2 acres, Duke Pond was a project spearheaded by Hough to conserve water and add a landscape that the campus community could enjoy well into the future.

Begun as a response to a record drought in 2007, the $11.5 million Duke Pond opened in 2015 and collects stormwater from 22% of Duke’s campus.

It saves Duke from purchasing around 100 million gallons of municipal water annually by serving as a source of water for the nearby Chiller Plant No. 2, which helps power the campus-wide system for cooling buildings.

As a haven for marine life and migrating birds, the award-winning pond become a favorite spot for campus visitors of all kinds.

“People from all over come to look at that project – students from other schools, engineers, landscape architects,” Hough said. “It balances pedagogy, placemaking, sustainability and beauty while also touching on a lot of the broader missions of the university in a really interesting, unique and meaningful way.”

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