ABOUT

Philosophy & Unique Qualifications

Our company offers over three decades of experience having successfully completed a broad scope of award winning projects. With this experience, we have a complete understanding of the process from conceptual design to final design through permitting and project implementation. Our in house management skills along with our state of the art computer graphics equipment, programs and skills allow us to complete work in an accurate and timely manner and provide the highest quality in house design presentations.

Urban Associates, Inc. offers a complete scope of service not provided by any other site planning – landscape architectural firm. This is because of the unique experience and training of its founder.

Awards & Publications

Mr. Urban’s work has been published in “Builder” and “Better Homes and Gardens” magazines. He has been the recipient of numerous design awards for his work in Florida and New England. These design awards include: Best in American Living Award for Single Family Residence on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire, The Downtown Research and Development Center of New York award for downtown Keene streetscape design, Sales and Marketing Council Landscape Design and Site Planning awards for residential development designs and Gold and Silver Prism Awards for landscape architecture from the Gold Coast Builders Association for residential entrances, custom homes and commercial designs. In 2008 Mr. Urban received the Design Center of the America’s Stars of Design Award in the category of Urban Design for his work.

Founder

Mr. Urban is the founder and principal in charge of all design projects. He is a licensed landscape architect (ASLA) in Florida (License No. 1482) and in Massachusetts (License No. 637) and is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited professional. Mr. Urban is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design with a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture in Natural Systems Analysis Planning. Other degrees include: a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University and Associates Degree in Ornamental Horticulture from SUNY in Farmingdale, New York.

Work Experience

During the first eight years of Mr. Urban’s career he worked at Dufresne-Henry Engineering located in Springfield Vermont, where he became the head of the site planning and landscape architecture department. In this capacity he was in charge of all site planning and landscape design for both municipal and private development projects. He responsibly in charge of prepared master plans and construction documents for private ski resorts, municipal park and downtown redevelopment projects located within the New England region. He also managed the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid N.Y. which was prepared in association with Sasaki, Dawson DeMay Associates, Inc. of Watertown, Mass. He was responsible for obtaining a long term contract for the firm with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Philadelphia for the site design and construction services for all naval facilities located in the north east region of the country. It was during this time that he was trained to write specifications for large government contracts and took the ASLA national exam to become a registered landscape architect.

Urban Associates, Inc. Is Established

Mr. Urban established Urban Associates, Inc. in Bedford, New Hampshire in 1979 that included landscape architects, civil engineers and a golf course architect on his staff. During this 17 year period, he was responsible for the design of many custom homes, residential communities, golf courses, parks, campus and downtown redevelopment projects in the New England region of the country. The firm was responsible for the design and construction services for the redevelopment of downtown Keene N.H. which in recent years has been selected by the American Planning Association as one of the ten best downtown designs in the Country. It was also during this period that the firm became associated with The Olmsted Office, of Fremont New Hampshire. In this capacity Mr. Urban worked with Artemas P. Richardson of the Olmsted office to update the master plan for Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida and update the master plan for the University of Mississippi in Oxford Mississippi. The original master plan for UM was prepared by Olmsted Associates, Inc. of Brookline Mass and Crandon Park by William Philips a partner in the Olmsted office in Miami.

Opening of the Boynton Beach Office

In 1996 Mr. Urban opened the Boynton Beach, Florida office. While managing his own projects for the first few years in Florida he provided consulting design services to Sanders Planning Group of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Murakami Landscape Architects, of Delray Beach, Florida where he prepared CAD generated site plans, construction plans and submitted projects for City and County approvals. As a consultant to Sanders Planning Group Mr. Urban prepared the master plan and approvals for Addison Reserve in Delray Beach, Florida and three parks in Wilton Manors, Florida. As a consultant to Murakami Landscape Architects, Mr. Urban prepared site plans and obtained approvals for phase I of the Trump International Golf Course, including construction details for the entrance and conceptual design for the clubhouse. He also prepared conceptual design for the Grand Flamingo located in Miami Beach, Florida that included an infinity edge pool, lounge fountain, green roof and gardens.

LEED Accreditation and FDEP Certification

As a result of his training at Harvard in natural system analysis site and regional planning, Mr. Urban decided to become a LEED Accredited Professional specializing in commercial building design and construction. He has successfully obtained USGBI certification for commercial buildings, LEED for homes and Core & Shell projects. His natural system design interests attracted him to be trained and certified by the FDEP as a Stormwater Management Inspector which qualifies him to prepare stormwater pollution prevention plans in the state of Florida.

In House Equipment and Programs

Urban Associates, Inc. is on the cutting edge of computer and 3d graphics technology, utilizing the most up to date design and illustration software in the industry including AutoCAD, M-Color plan rendering program, Photoshop, LandFX landscape and irrigation, Google SketchUp Professional 3-D modeling program, ArcGIS program, icpr Stormwater Management Modeling program, AGI32 Lighting Analysis illumination software as well as the latest presentation programs including Adobe Creative Suite PowerPoint, InDesign, Illustrator and Microsoft Office Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Pinnacle Studio Movie Maker programs. We have in house color format printers for high end prints and graphics, artwork and digital photography.

Mr. Urban has trained his staff in the use of the in house laser total station survey equipment for use in obtaining field information and site elevations and infiltrometer for obtaining soil infiltraton rates for onsite stormwater quality and quantity treatment.

Extensive Plant Knowledge & Irrigation Design Skills

Mr. Urban has practiced in different parts of the country which has led to his extensive knowledge of plant species, microclimate requirements, native plants, plant communities and water/light needs of plants that range from northern climate zones to the tropics. Mr. Urban decided to prepare irrigation plans in house because the coordination of planting and irrigation plans is vital to efficient sustainable landscape design.

Artist

Mr. Urban has been recognized by the City of Boynton Beach as a public artist because of his artistic work completed in New England and in Florida. He is currently serving on the selection committee for the call to artists for the East Water Treatment Public Art Project in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Public Service

Mr. Urban served on the “Green Community Alliance” in Boynton Beach, Florida and drafted an outline for the adopted green site development code. He currently serves on the Palm Beach County Land Development Landscape Sub-committee that recommends changes to the County Land Development Code and on the FLASLA Government Affairs Committee. He has been contracted as a consultant by the Village of Wellington to review plan submittals for compliance with the existing Land Development Code.

Advocate

Mr. Urban’s stormwater management design experience led to his being asked by the FLASLA to represent them on the Florida Stormwater Task Force to defend qualified landscape architect’s right to prepare stormwater management plans and make ERP submittals in the state of Florida. The effort was successful and the DEP and five Water Management Districts changed their Design Handbook to allow registered professionals including qualified registered landscape architects, to prepare stormwater management plans and make ERP submittals. Urban Associates, Inc. has prepared and is currently preparing advanced courses in stormwater management design, ERP approval process, Low Impact development, green roof, green wall and living architecture. This interest has led Mr. Urban to become a member of “Green Roofs for Healthy Cities” organization and attend the Cities Alive Conference in Nashville Tennessee and participate in the green roof international virtual summit. www.greenroofs.com

Recent Projects

Mr. Urban is currently providing consultant services to CDM Smith/KBR on the New Visitor Center being constructed at the Solid Waste Authority Waste to Energy Facility in West Palm Beach, FL. Mr. Urban’s responsibility on this project include the design of the green roof, roof rainwater collection system with cistern storage for irrigation use, smart irrigation system with remote monitoring, permeable pavement w/ reservoir storage, green trellis walls, bio-swale for first flush treatment. The project included the conceptual design of an EcoArt rain curtain and fountain which is designed to use plants to purify the water instead of the use of chemicals. Urban Associates, Inc. has prepared and submitted documentation and templates to the USGBI in anticipation of Platinum LEED certification.