From the swamp to the city, we design for the public and the environment.

Dept. is a landscape architecture and urban design studio based in Houston, working across the Gulf Coast and beyond. With a design approach grounded in research and inspired by the complexity of living systems; Dept. balances creativity and pragmatism to make captivating visions for the future. From this emerges a diverse range of ecologically rich and dynamic landscapes that create a sense of place and bolster the health of living things at all scales.

Our design process starts by understanding the social, cultural, and ecological context and works with nature rather than against it. We take a strong conceptual approach to our design projects, thinking holistically about the relationship between multiple scales - from the individual plant to the infrastructural system. 

Through our rigorous methods of drawing, visualization, and research, we work closely with our clients and collaborators to create a shared vision and narrative for the landscape. This vision becomes instrumental throughout the design process from the early stages of planning, to the refinement of construction details, and finally to implementation and maintenance. Ultimately, our committment to project goals and our design ambition yields thoughtful and unique landscapes that reflect a sense of place and community.

Maggie attends final reviews for "Land Studio I: Region" at Pratt Institute's MLA program, instructed by Mark Heller.

Tree relocation begins at  Windsor North Village.

December 2024

Maggie and Isaac present a guest lecture alongside Matthias Bouw  of 

 at Harvard GSD's Climate by Design, taught by Amy Whitesides.

 was selected for an Honorable Mention by the 

 in the category of Best of Urban Design and Master Plan 2024. 

November 2024

Dept.'s short piece called  "Tendencies in Landscape Representation" and an interview/conversation with 

 are published in "American Disorientation," edited by 

 (Pratt Institute) in collaboration with Props Paper. The launch party took place on October 30 at Bungee Space in New York.

October 2024

Architect Newspaper's "Editor's Pick" for Best in Practice - Landscape Architecture (Southwest Region)

 is on view starting June 27-August 23 at the 

Maggie Tsang and Isaac Stein join the board of 

June 2024

, edited by Brittany Utting and Albert Pope is published, including Maggie Tsang's article, "Mire/Ire: Mosquitos, Swamps, and Lansdcapes of Control."

Maggie Tsang attends Harvard GSD's  Master of Landscape Architecture Thesis Reviews on May 10 as a guest critic.

of the 2024 League Prize, "Dirty," are announced. Maggie Tsang served as a part of the Young Designers Committee along with 

May 2024

Dept.'s work on Windsor North Village is published in the April issue of 

Isaac Stein and Maggie Tsang participate in 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning

April 2024

 at Tulane School of Architecture on March 6, 2024 titled, "Tending."

March 2024

Install for the ADU gardens at the Menil Colleciton bungalows started in early December.

Maggie is part of the Young Designer's Committee for the 

Architectural League of New York's 2024 League Prize, "Dirty,"

 along with Sarah Aziz and Rodrigo  Escandón Cesarman.

Maggie served on the jury for Rice Architecture's 

Houston Design Research Grant and the Spotlight Committee

December 2023

"Garden Ecologies: Environmental Transformation and Care" is a two-day symposium hosted by Rice School of Architecture and the John Fairey Garden Conservation Foundation on urban ecology, landscape practice and management, and climate adaptation.

The symposium will provide a critical perspective on gardens, not simply as private retreats, but also as trans-scalar spaces that can engage issues of urban expansion, environmental transformation, and climate change. Garden Ecologies will expand on traditional notions of the garden and gardening through three areas of focus: garden history, landscape design practice, and land management. Through these topics, the symposium will reflect on the garden as a test bed for novel ecological entanglements and as a medium for exploring contemporary topics such as settler colonial histories, labor, domesticity, industrialization, ecological conservation and restoration, and models for intervention, stewardship, and practice.

Taking place in the epicenter of the Gulf Coast region—where extraction and ecology collide—this symposium invites discussion from both academia and practice on the garden as a potential space of environmental transformation and care. 

Garden Ecologies: Environmental Transformation and Care is organized by Maggie Tsang, assistant professor at Rice University, with Randy Twaddle, executive director at the John Fairey Garden Conservation Foundation in Hempstead, Texas, in partnership with Rice Architecture, Rice Center for Environmental Studies, and Rice Office for Research.

November 2023

 to record the changing dyanmics of the garden and to share information about community work days and volunteer events. In October, Dept. worked with Rice Grounds to mulch the plots and manage the overgrowth of ragweed. Keep track of the progress and more 

October 2023

 at Rice University's Prairie Plots with City of Houston Fire Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Rice University Crisis Management Team.

Maggie Tsang participates in RISD Architecture's 

, organized by Assistant Professor Amelyn Ng, with participants Paolo Tavares and Gabriel Cuellar.

Maggie Tsang and Isaac Stein deliver a guest lecture at 

, which inaugurated its first class of landscape architecture degree candidates. The guest lecture, called "Tending," was delivered for Mariel Collard's second semester landscape studio, Land Studio II: Shore.

Dept. kicks off Schematic Design with SWA for Buffalo Bayou Partnership's South Bank Trail.

March 2023

Dept. joins SWA in kicking-off a new phase of work for the South Bank Trail at Buffalo Bayou East.

December 2022

: one for Design Excellence and one for Environmental Sustainability

August 2022

Dept. will deliver a lecture as part of the Arch League 2022 League Prize alongside Jose Amozuruttia and Carlos Facio of TO, followed by a discussion moderated by Luis Beltrán del Río García. 

 newest resource in the Adaptation Clearinghouse called: 

Solomon Square Plaza finishes construction in Seaside, FL.

Dept.'s Arch League Prize Online Exhibition titled 

June 2022

Dept. is one of six emerging firms to be awarded the 

 from The Architectural League of New York. 

 at Rice University. Read more from Rice University 

May 2022

Maggie Tsang will be the Lead Principal Investigator for an interdisciplinary research project called 

"Community Oriented Stormwater Infrastructure"

 with Prof. Philip Bedient, Director of the SSPEED Center, and Prof. Liz Roberto, Dept. of Sociology at Rice University. The year-long project will investigate neighborhood-based design scenarios for flooding in Houston. The project is funded by Rice University's Sustainable Futures Fund.

February 2022

 in Seaside, FL completes construction and opens to the public.

October 2021

 with her senior urbanism studio called "Middle Ground: Urbanism in Reverse on Brays Bayou."

August 2021

4900 Travis Street, Suite 201, Houston, TX 77002 / P: 713 -367-1275

Maggie Tsang is a landscape architect and urbanist dedicated to reimagining the relationship between cities and nature. As co-founder and managing principal of Dept., she leads award-winning projects that integrate ecological resilience with urban design. Maggie’s work has been recognized by the Van Alen Institute, Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University, the Architectural League of New York’s League Prize, the American Planning Association, Architect’s Newspaper, and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Beyond her practice, Maggie is an Assistant Professor at Rice University, where she explores how infrastructure—from stormwater systems to managed gardens—can better serve both communities and ecosystems. She currently leads the Prairie Plots research project, an initiative at Rice that transforms traditional campus lawns into biodiverse, endemic prairie habitats.

Maggie has spoken widely on the intersection of design and ecology at institutions including Harvard Graduate School of Design and Tulane University School of Architecture. Her forthcoming book 

 explores the relationship between ecological systems, constructed landscapes, and land management. Through her academic work and design practice, she is a leading advocate for integrating ecological principles into the built environment.

Managing Principal, Co-Founder

Isaac Stein is an architect and landscape architect whose work focuses on the intersection of infrastructure and ecology. Originally from the Florida Panhandle, Isaac is the co-founder and design principal of Dept. Under his leadership, the studio maintains a diverse portfolio of residential, commercial, public, and infrastructural landscapes. Isaac’s work has been recognized by the Van Alen Institute, Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University, the Architectural League of New York’s League Prize, the American Planning Association, Architect’s Newspaper, and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Before establishing Dept., Isaac spent years working on complex open space projects in both New York and Rotterdam as a design lead at the renowned firm West 8 This experience informs his current practice, where he frequently collaborates with leading architects to create impactful and legible landscapes that create a sense of place.

Isaac’s research on coastal flooding and sea level rise has made him a leading authority on climate resilience and adaptation, and he has lent his insights to stories in the

and more. Through his practice, Isaac continues to define how cities can thrive in a changing climate through rigorous design and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Design Principal, Co-Founder

McKenna Mitchell is an associate at Dept. She has experience in private landscape management, restoration, and garden design, as well as in large scale public sector projects. 

Prior to joining Dept., McKenna was an associate at PWP Landscape Architecture where she worked on a variety of private and public projects, including Dallas's Southwestern Medical District and the Sony Center plaza in Berlin. She received her Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she was awarded the Penny White Fellowship for her research on digital infrastructure in port cities and assisted in the publication of OBL/QUE, a journal on critical conservation studies. McKenna is originally from Washington State, and before her career in landscape architecture, she spent several years living and working in Houston's energy industry, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Geological Sciences from Rice University. Her interest in landscape architecture developed while exploring the flat, green tangle of the Bayou City and surrounding region.


McKenna Mitchell is an Associate at Dept. Her current projects in the office include Windsor North Village and the Silos Stormwater Park with Buffalo Bayou Partnership. She has experience in private landscape management, restoration, and garden design, as well as in large scale public sector projects. 

Associate

Tasiana Paolisso is a designer at Dept. Her work centers on ecological repair and uncovering the deeply embedded histories and memories of a landscape.

Prior to joining Dept., Tasiana received her Master of Architecture from the Rice School of Architecture where her thesis explored watershed ecologies and salmon habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest, informing her broader commitment to stewardship, interdependence, and the slow work of restoring reciprocity between land and water. In practice, she is concerned with the agency of the designer in a changing climate, and how we adapt for a more resilient future.

Tasiana worked as a designer at von Dalwig, Carlos Jiménez Studio, and HDR, contributing to projects across architecture and landscape. She has experience in ecological restoration, landscape design, and projects of varying scales within the built environment.

Tasiana Paolisso is a designer at Dept. Her work centers on ecological repair and uncovering the deeply embedded histories and memories of a landscape.

Designer

Eva Li grew up in Beijing and is now a landscape designer based in Houston. She holds a Master in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her work focuses on transforming water-related urban infrastructures and advancing climate-adaptive design, with a particular interest in how small-scale interventions can cultivate more reciprocal relationships between people and water.

Before joining Dept., Eva interned at AECOM Beijing and HASSELL Shanghai, where she worked on historic district renewal, community green-space revitalization, and research into how hydrological landscapes shape everyday cultural life across different cities.

Eva is a self-proclaimed game addict. She dreams of one day designing a real-world landscape with the emotional weight of “Death Stranding”: a place where solitude, terrain, and climate tell stories as powerfully as architecture.

Dept. is a landscape architecture and urban design studio that provides creative, useful, and adaptive design responses for the public and the environment.