Glenn Acomb
Lecturer
Department of Landscape Architecture
office: 434 ARCH
e-mail: acomb@ufl.edu
phone: (352) 392-6098 ext 315
Curriculum Vitae
Education
- MLA, Harvard University, 1978
- BLA, Louisiana State University, 1972
Areas of Experitise
- Sustainability
Teaching
Mr. Acomb has been teaching at the University of Florida since 1996.
LAA 3420 – This is the first course taken by first-year upper division undergraduate and graduate students. The course presents the fundamentals of implementing designs via site construction including site planning, grading, roadway alignment, and drainage as well as the preparation of technical drawing documents in Computer Aided Design (CAD). Sustainability is introduced and presented as integrated throughout the design process.
LAA 3421 – The second course in this sequence focuses on the materials used in construction, introduces advanced concepts in drainage and presents the techniques of construction details and materials sustainability.
LAA 2360 – This is the second half of the introductory graduate design studio, exploring concepts of site analysis and design for sites under 10 acres.
LAA 4905 (special studies) – The special studies course allows students to undertake the study of special subjects under faculty guidance. Ten students have been guided and have included subject areas of developing and executing CAD instruction within construction courses, independent study of sustainable site planning techniques and organization and management of the LABASH event.
Research Interests
Mr. Acomb has participated in numerous past research grants to provide assistance to State Agencies, community organizations and private donors to provide assistance in exploring creative solutions for recreation land uses, projects to demonstrate water conservation, and prototypical greenways and trail accessories and furniture. Past granting entities and clients include the State of Florida Office of Greenways and Trails, SHANDS HealthCare, the Raymond James Corporation (non-tenure accruing period), and the Suwanee River Water Management District (non-tenure accruing period).
Current research activities involve researching sustainable land development codes for land development projects, water conservation measures in landscape and irrigation design, and community design and open space, new towns of the mid-twentieth century.
Areas of Specialization
Sustainable Community Design and Land Development
In 2003, he co-founded the “Program for Resource Efficient Communities,” a cross-college, multidisciplinary group of faculty that pursues research grants for comprehensive documentation of sustainability measures in community design and land development practices, as well as to critique and identify case studies of model land development in the State of Florida. In addition, he designed the site improvements for the Model Center of “Madera” an 88-lot model subdivision near the University of Florida that will exhibit resource efficient features in the building and site. Features include limited clearing of vegetation and trees, limited compaction of construction vehicles, preservation of wildlife habitat, limited turf, permeable pavers, use of native plants in the landscape, low-volume irrigation and zero-discharge of stormwater.
He represented the profession of landscape architecture on the National Association of Home Builders task force to prepare Green Building Guidelines for implementation and use throughout the United States. The Guidelines have been adopted and published in 2005.
Water Conservation in the Landscape
For over 5 years, Mr. Acomb has served as the original consulting landscape architect for the St. Johns River Water Management District to design demonstration landscapes in partnership with cities and private property owners and to advise the Agency in areas of water conservation measures in the landscape. He continues to explore ways to research and document the effectiveness of design measures in the landscape through these projects and in collaboration with IFAS and faculty in IFAS, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Wildlife Ecology.
Community Design and the Role of Open Space
Mr. Acomb has long had an avid interest in the design of communities, historic and new. In particular, Mr. Acomb is considered an expert in community design serving as a speaker and Chair of the Community Design Professional Interest Group of the American Society of Landscape Architects (2000-2002). He has delivered papers at National, Regional and State Conferences in this subject.
