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MODERN TIMES +
Robert Royston, 1919–2008
Modernist landscape architect Robert
Royston, a disciple of Thomas Church
(1902–78) and the
professional partner of
Garrett Eckbo (1910–
2000), has died. Royston
strove to integrate
indoors and outdoors,
retain a human scale and
punctuate his verdant
outdoor spaces with the
visual surprise of man-made elements,
like free-form pools. His ability to “zone”
Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey Archives.
Robert Royston, Exhibit at the Marin Art and Garden
large-scale park projects into discrete yet
Show, 1958. Marin County, California.
interrelated areas for adult relaxation and
children’s play, making them both public Royston studied landscape design at
gardens and recreational space, contribut- the College of Agriculture at the University
ed to the richness of public life in California of California, Berkeley, where he encoun-
communities like Palo Alto, Alameda and tered the work of Thomas Church. He joined
San Francisco. Painting, his lifelong avoca- Church’s San Francisco firm in 1940, design-
tion, informed his designs, especially the ing landscaping for several major planned
work of abstractionists Wassily Kandinsky communities, including Potrero Hill Housing
and Joan Miró. and the Parkmerced Apartments.
After returning from World War II service
Robert Royston, Mitchell Park “Gopher Holes,”
in 1945, Royston went into partnership with
circa 1960. Palo Alto, California.
Gerrit Eckbo and Eckbo’s brother-in-law,
Edward Williams. Their firm, Eckbo, Royston
and Williams, was perfectly positioned to pro-
vide landscape design services for the enor-
mous wave of postwar modernist building
in California; they eventually opened a sec-
ond office in Los Angeles. In 1958, Royston
formed a new firm with Asa Hanamoto, which
developed into the Royston, Hanamoto,
Alley and Abey (RHAA) landscape design
and planning firm, still in existence today.
While Royston worked on a number of resi-
dential projects early in his career, including
landscape designs for Joseph Eichler’s hous-
ing developments, he later became known
internationally for his public works, including
outdoor theaters. An informative look
at Royston’s midcentury landscapes is at
www.postwarportfolio.com. –SL
Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey Archives.
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