Who We Are
Creative Partners for Inspired Placemaking
Matt Fridell
Matt is a Landscape Architect with experience master planning, designing, project managing and advocating for great outdoor spaces since 1997. His strong technical abilities, sensitivity to cultural projects and an overriding interest in finding ways to bring sustainable high quality design to the particular needs of each project are why his projects are noted for their design excellence. He believes in design collaboration and making site appropriate places that work for his clients’ goals . Matt’s special area of interest is finding ways to provide affordable professional design services for rural communities throughout the high plains and is involved in efforts that build strong communities by connecting professional design services to need.
Rachel Drietz
Rachel is a Landscape Architect in Training at Tallgrass Landscape Architecture and has 4 years of design experience in a wide range of projects. During her time at Tallgrass, she has assisted in Master Planning, Planting Design, Residential Design, Playground Design, Creek Restoration, and Housing Development projects.
Rachel believes a connection to the outdoors fosters a creative mind, sense of adventure, and overall positive quality of life. She has special interests in 3D modeling, document layout, and has an eye for graphic design. Outside of her career, Rachel has a passion for big game hunting and hiking anywhere she can find a trail.
Alex Bossert
Alex earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from North Dakota State University and is a registered landscape architect in North Dakota. Alex has experience working in all aspects of the landscape design process, including research, analysis, conceptual design and construction documents. He has worked on numerous landscape architecture projects that have involved parks and recreation, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, streetscapes, sculpture gardens and memorials, mixed-use developments, schools, playgrounds, campgrounds, athletic field layouts, retaining wall and flood wall aesthetics, and commercial properties.
Tanya Olson
Tanya is a Landscape Architect and Designer with 24 years of experience in areas as diverse as campus, park, and community master planning, playground and park design, stream restoration, ADA compliance, Urban Design, and Firewise landscapes. Recent projects include Hermosa School Master Plan, St Joseph’s Indian School Campus Master Plan, SLIC-e Campus Master Plan, Whitewood Creek Improvement Projects Phases 1-3, City of Lead South Rim Parks Master Plan, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Campus Routes ADA Study and Phase One Utility and ADA Compliance Projects. Her landscape architecture and restoration experience spans the United States west of the Mississippi River from Midwestern states to the Pacific coast.
Mike Bender
Mike has over 25 years of experience in professional landscape architecture and historic preservation planning. He has served as a project manager and project landscape architect on a wide range of landscape architecture and planning projects throughout the upper Great Plains and Mountain West. Mike’s past projects have included large-scale mixed-use residential, retail/commercial, land planning, parks and recreation, trail planning and design, bicycle and pedestrian facility planning, site planning and design, streetscape design, campground design, cultural landscape planning, historic preservation planning, green infrastructure, historic landscape preservation, and other traditional landscape architectural work.
Mike’s specialties include context sensitive design, ADA accessibility compliance, sustainability, children’s play environments, historic preservation and appropriateness, water play environments, irrigation design, site detailing, specification writing and contract administration.
Amanda Merchant
Amanda is a landscape architect with over 10 years of experience. She has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech and is a licensed Landscape Architect in Virginia. Amanda has a love for nature and ecology and is interested in creating well-designed places that help people connect with nature and each other in meaningful ways. Amanda’s background in horticulture, natural sciences, and community service leads her to take a caring and thoughtful approach to design. Amanda has worked on projects ranging from regional parks and trails, schools and children’s gardens, commercial and residential development streetscapes, and residential garden design for both historic and contemporary homes. Amanda has worked on projects from conceptual design through construction documentation, with experience in Virginia, Texas, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
We help create flourishing communities with high quality everyday lives through collaborative place-inspired design in the Northern Great Plains and American West.
Our Core Beliefs
We create the places that define communities. We cultivate meaningful relationships that enable powerful design. We facilitate conversations that reveal the spirit of place and guide vision-creators. We imagine better lives for everyone who live in and use environments that represent our best aspirations. We recognize rural communities as the stewards of the land and keepers of a diverse rural heritage. We believe inspiration can come from anywhere.
What We Do
Facilitation - we help develop your vision
Planning - we help plan your vision
Landscape Architecture - we help bring your vision to life
Tallgrass Landscape Architecture partners are Matt Fridell and Tanya Olson.
info@tallgrasslandscapearchitecture.com
413 North 4th Street, Custer SD 57730
ph: 605.673.3167