CHARLES SCOTT D’AGOSTINO, 39
Landscape architect and urban planner,
Tipton Associates
Charles Scott D’Agostino has impressive credentials: master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and LSU. Certified planner. LEED accredited professional in neighborhood development. Faculty at Boston Architectural College. Urban designer in Genoa, Italty. Urban landscape architect at Lord, Aeck and Sargent in Atlanta. Urban designer with the international firm Sasaki Associates. Now he’s back in Baton Rouge, making his mark with award-winning designs.
Inspiring book: The Death and Life of Great American Cities
This book by Jane Jacobs powerfully challenged detrimental modernist planning principles.
Major professional accomplishments: American Institute of Certified Planners; registered Landscape Architect; LEED Neighborhood Development Accredited Designer; multiple design awards, including International Design Competition winner, 2006; faculty member, The Boston Architectural College; master of science Urban Design, Georgia Institute of Technology; master of landscape architecture, LSU; bachelor of arts, LSU
Volunteer and community involvement: Vice president, Downtown Baton Rouge Civic Association; board of directors, The Walls Project; board of firectors, Baton Rouge Gallery; American Society of Landscape Architects, Louisiana Chapter; American Planners Association, Louisiana Chapter; West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce member
PROFESSIONAL
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Historian
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? In college, I worked summers in construction at a waste water treatment plant. I learned that people flush all kinds of things down their toilets.
What is your favorite place for a business lunch in Baton Rouge? My brother owns Fresina Pasta, so I usually choose restaurants that feature his products.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? In graduate school, I was part of a team that won an international design competition for the redevelopment of Deira and Bur Dubai, the historical city center of Dubai. We presented our project to Sheikh al Mohammed. He dined on dates served from a gold tray and drank strawberry juice while enjoying the presentation.
The old saying goes, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Specifically, what are you “being” to make Baton Rouge better? Contributing to a culture of local design excellence so that projects of significant scope are no longer outsourced to out-of-state architectural firms.
What ritual do you do to get pumped up before a big meeting, presentation or pitch? There is no substitute for thoroughly researching the setting of a new project in order to contextualize a proposal for a prospective client.
What has been the most fulfilling moment in your career so far? The moment of completion of each successful project in cities around the country and internationally.
What was your professional aha moment? When I encountered the ideas of Scottish landscape architect Ian McHarg, which prompted me to think about the design of systems rather than the design of objects.
How many times will you try something before admitting it doesn’t work? I usually keep pushing until I figure out a way to make it work.
What is your best productivity hack? Ctrl+alt+del
What did you learn the hard way? In the words of Shakespeare, “Go wisely and go slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.”
What does your job entail that would shock customers or clients if they knew about it? The amount of regulatory oversight and permitting that adds no value to the project at hand.
What’s a weird rule at your job that you know is only there because someone was dumb enough to do it in the first place? Can a design firm really have rules?
TECHNOLOGY
Mac or PC? PC
What’s your preferred mode of communication: text or phone call? Email.
How low will you allow your remaining battery life to get (in %) before you have an anxiety attack? Battery has been dead for three days.
How many unread messages are in your inbox right now? 0
What app gets you through the day? Auto-CAD, ArcMap, and Civil 3D.
Are you quick to adapt to new tech, or did you hang on to that flip phone way after it became obsolete? I’m a second generation technology buyer. I wait until they’ve worked out the bugs.
PERSONALITY
How many times do you hit the snooze button? None
Breakfast at home? Breakfast on the go? Breakfast at your desk? No breakfast at all? Usually no breakfast.
Is the glass half empty or half full? What’s in the glass? The glass is always full.
If you could build a statue downtown, who or what would it represent? An equestrian statue with Mayor Kip Holden in the saddle: #NextGreatAmericanCity
What’s your motto? Invest in the public realm.
When did you realize you had grown up? When I taught my first studio at The Boston Architectural College and my students called me Sir.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? American designer Charles Eames.
Which living person do you most admire? German industrial designer Dieter Rams.
What is your greatest extravagance? My collection of handmade Italian leather shoes.
What trend do you really wish would come back? Postmodernism
If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why? Six, because you can play in the mud and it’s not weird.
What is your favorite journey? A summer in Mexico City.
On what occasion do you lie? When my girlfriend asks, “Are you listening?”
What is your greatest regret? That my mother was not able to see me finish my education and start my career.
When and where were you happiest? I am happiest every time I meet with a new client or start a new project, when the possibilities are limitless.
Which talent or superpower would you most like to have and why? To be invisible.
If you worked for the CIA and needed a top-secret alias, what would yours be? Aldrich Ames
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My pride.
What’s your most treasured possession? I’m not much on possessions, but I most enjoy my bike.
If you could live anywhere on this planet and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose to live and why? Hotel Costes in Paris
What do you most value in your friends? Their appreciation of my dry sense of humor.
What do you miss most about the ’90s? 99-cent/gallon gasoline
If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach?Landscape Architecture
What is your theme song? “Bossa Per Due,” by Nicola Conte.
Who would play you in a movie? Benedict Cumberbatch
If you could go back in time 20 years, what advice would you give yourself? Don’t take the first job offered to you, especially if it is at a wastewater treatment plant.
What useless piece of information will you never forget? There are 43,560 square feet in an acre.
What makes you laugh every time you think about it? The online videos from last year’s Forty under 40 honorees … you know who you are.
Who’s the most famous celebrity you’ve ever met? Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, constitutional monarch of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates.
LOOKING AHEAD
What’s the next challenge you have planned? Family
Three things on your bucket list: I don’t really have a bucket list, but my dream project would be designing a large-scale public park in a major city.
If you have children, what concerns you most about the future they will inherit? Ebola
What would be your advice for future Forty Under 40 honorees? Invest in the development of high-quality urban spaces to breathe new life into the public realm.
Do you plan to be in the Capital Region five years from now? Yes
Why have you chosen to make your home in the Capital Region? I returned home after living, studying, and working in Atlanta, Boston, and Genoa, Italy, because I wanted to be a part of the revival of downtown Baton Rouge.
Have you peaked, or do you think you’ll still have it when we launch our hypothetical “Forty Over 40” awards years from now? My greatest achievements are yet to come.
