Winner Announced: Reimagining an inviting landscaped space on the west side of the Garff Building!

U Career Success and the College of Architecture + Planning are thrilled to announce student Ella Kindall as the winner of the Landscape Design Contest. Ella's design, titled, “Uniquely Utah” will be installed west of the Garff Building in the upcoming months. 

“I’m really excited, [and it’s] kind of overwhelming,” Kindall said. “This is a massive state university and to have a permanent installation with my name on that is insane.”  

We sat down with Ella to learn more about the inspiration behind her design and what her next steps are for the future.  

Ella’s landscape design highlights rich colors and lush plants throughout the seasons in Utah. “A lot of it honestly came from working at Red Butte [Gardens],” Kindall noted. “I would write down and take pictures of all the plants and information.”  

Kindall connected with a horticulturist who was working at Red Butte to get their expertise on Utah-specific plants and water conservation. She highlighted the importance of featuring a variety of colors in her design.  

“That’s a big deal -- finding plants that were evergreen, green year-round,” Kindall said. Plants that featured eye-catching fall foliage and are still lush in the winter were all considered and implemented in the design, according to Kindall.  

Kindall also said she wanted cascading heights of the plants with plenty of textures. 

Outside of Ella’s brilliant landscape design work, she is currently in the Architectural Studies program and is entering her third year at the University of Utah.  

“[I see] myself in sustainable design. It’s hugely important moving forward in the Salt Lake Valley,” Ella said. Sustainable design and the niche element of sound design are her biggest study interests. Additionally, she said keeping a “human-centric” design mindset is important in all of her work.  

Stay tuned for updates as Ella Kindall’s design is brought to life next to the Garff Building. 

“I’m excited to see how it works throughout the seasons,” she said. 

We will be posting updates to this webpage, as well as the U Career Success Instagram page. 

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