brian goad

As a landscape architecture professional and educator, I am passionate about shaping and preserving environments, interpreting cultural and historical narratives, and enhancing the quality of life for all. My approach is rooted in environmental stewardship, meaningful community engagement, and thorough site research. These values and ideals underpin my approach toward professional practice and studio instruction. My approach to design is based on an understanding of natural systems, the interplay of cultural layers, and how both inspire landscape narratives. Collaboration and research are at the heart of my process.

Currently, I serve as a Professional-in-Residence at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at LSU, where I teach Landscape Design I: Reading the Landscape–Concept, Process, Space; and Landscape Design II: Site Design. My teaching philosophy is based on the care and attention that professors and mentors shared with me as a student at LSU and through my twenty-two-year professional career spanning roles with the Downtown Development District, EDSA, Element, Reich, Suzanne Turner Associates, and McKnight. I am fortunate to have worked alongside talented mentors and peers who have shaped my approach to design and education.

In addition to my teaching role, I am a principal at McKnight Landscape Architects, a boutique firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At McKnight, I’ve led the master planning of cultural landscapes such as Spring Park in Denham Springs and the 1902 Courthouse in Pointe Coupee Parish. I have also designed residential projects, campus master plans, streetscapes, and a veteran’s cemetery.

Prior to working at McKnight, I was a senior landscape architect at Suzanne Turner Associates, a firm that specialized in design and cultural landscapes. While at STA, I collaborated on urban design projects and research projects, including cultural landscape reports and cultural landscape inventories for the National Park Service, private clients, and national landscape architecture firms. My ten years at STA instilled in me an appreciation and affinity for cultural and historic landscapes that continue to inform my process and design approach today.

I began my career at Reich Landscape Architecture under the mentorship of Robert “Doc” Reich, founder of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. During my seven years working with Doctor Reich and his successor Bill, I collaborated on a diverse range of projects including community and state parks, urban plazas, and both commercial and neighborhood developments. 

This foundation has inspired my ongoing commitment to serve my community: I co-founded the “Beauregarden,” a community garden in downtown Baton Rouge; researched and co-produced the Beauregard Town Audio Tour, a self-guided walking tour of the historic downtown neighborhood; and most recently, co-founded the Baton Rouge Chapter of Urban Sketchers, a global community of artists who practice on-location drawing. Furthermore, I currently serve as Treasurer for the Louisiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and also as the Louisiana liaison to the national ASLA Historic American Landscapes Survey program.

In addition to my community service, planting design and native plants are a lifelong passion. I draw inspiration from influential designers like Kingsbury, Oudolf, Rainer, West, Dunnett, and Pearson. Their works—Planting: A New Perspective, Planting in a Post-Wild World, and Naturalistic Planting Design—have shaped my understanding of ecological planting. While tending native habitats at home, I test their theories to understand the ecological application and realities of planting design in the humid Gulf Coast.