By Charlie Crespo
Portraits by Ryan Stone
It would have been easy for Rebecca Bradley and Gage Couch to leave Fort Lauderdale. Both had been employed at EDSA, one of the largest landscape architecture firms in the world, and had experience working on projects across the globe—in Glasgow, Barcelona, Dubai and Beijing. They had seen co-workers leave to work in bigger cities such as New York or San Francisco, and it likely wouldn’t have been a challenge for either to follow suit. But there was something about Fort Lauderdale that just felt right.
“We saw potential here and wanted to be in a creative neighborhood,” Couch, 33, explains. “The proximity of the city to the water and the fact that it had a river running through it was very appealing.”
After working for a large firm for several years, the pair had also become a bit disillusioned with the idea of working on grandiose projects, which often never became anything other than abstract designs. “It got frustrating for projects not to happen,” Couch says. “When they did happen, it was somewhere we couldn’t enjoy, even if we wanted to.”
With the desire to stay in an up-and-coming city, as well as to do important work in a place that sorely needed it, Bradley and Couch founded their own landscape architecture firm, Cadence, in 2010. Working together was a natural fit from the beginning. They had been on the same team at EDSA for more than two years and had formed a synergistic chemistry.
“We share a design aesthetic, but we have different personalities,” Bradley, 37, says. “Our partnership complements each other, and it doesn’t hurt that we have fun working together.”
As an art form, landscape architecture has a distinct feature that sets itself apart from other disciplines. Whereas a painter, sculptor or architect creates works that are meant to be unchanged, the only thing permanent about the work of a landscape architect is its impermanence.
“We aren’t designing just for tomorrow,” Couch explains. “We are designing for years to come.”
The reason for that impermanence, as you might have guessed, is because landscape architects are working with materials that are almost always alive. “Our designs are living and evolving,” Bradley says. “Day one is its most naked state. It gets better with time. It takes a special personality to want to nurture things for a long time.”
While landscape architecture is undeniably unique because of its impermanence, a large part of the appeal for Couch and Bradley is that their work is, quite often, public art, and that they have the ability to use native vegetation to enhance a space.
An “outdoor living room” at First Presbyterian Church’s Hoch Youth Center. Photo by Kelly Coulson.
“We are in a profession that has the ability to change people’s lives,” Bradley states. “We want people to notice things they don’t normally notice. Any time humans are in a space where they can reflect, that’s always a good thing.”
Since its founding, Cadence has worked on several projects in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area and in locations outside of the state and abroad. However, there’s one project in particular that stands out. In 2011, the duo won a national contest to design a Jefferson Parish canal in Louisiana.
“We won the $30,000 cash prize,” Couch says with a smile. “At the beginning of our business, that was huge.”
The project held special meaning for Bradley. “It was in my home state. It was one of those moments that was just like…” she says, struggling to find the right words. “My mother’s childhood home was two blocks away, so it was hugely rewarding for me.”
Today, the five-person team at Cadence actively searches for projects all over the country, but it is their passion for and commitment to Fort Lauderdale that has put them on the map. They have designed or collaborated with the Dan Marino Foundation Campus, the Mockingbird Trail and NSU Art Museum, and are currently at work on renovating the courtyard of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale, off of Las Olas Boulevard.
As the master planner for the church’s 7-acre campus, Cadence was tasked to incorporate 63,000 square feet of outdoor living space that would provide church members of all ages a place to gather, explore and reflect. The build-out and design was developed to meet the requirements as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat. More than 80 percent of the planting palette is vegetation native to Florida, complementing the existing oak hammock. This effort turns the church inside out, creating an inspiring space for connection and community. The rest of the master plan is underway, with construction beginning later this year.
Bradley and Couch aren’t only committing their professional lives to Fort Lauderdale; they are both active in the community outside of work. Cadence is involved in the FATVillage Art Walk each month, hosting exhibits and workshops on several occasions.
“We can take some pride and ownership in how Fort Lauderdale has evolved,” Couch says. “We try to support the community and are constantly thinking about how we can make the neighborhood better.”
Even though Bradley, Couch and the rest of the Cadence team have already completed a stunning amount of work in just six years, it’s evident that their best work is still ahead.
“We are eager to increase the amount of designers as we get more projects,” Bradley says. “There are several projects that have been floating around in the background, including the FATVillage streetscape, that we hope to see come to fruition in the coming years.”
No doubt the rest of Fort Lauderdale hopes to see their projects come to life, too.
Originally appeared in the Spring 2016 issue.
