NELSON HAMMER RLA

After spending 23 years with two large architectural firms (The Architects Collaborative [TAC] and Earl R. Flansburgh + Associates [ERF+A]), Nelson Hammer established Hammer Design in 1992, and spent the next 18 years as an independent practitioner prior creating Hammer+Walsh Design Inc. with David Walsh in 2010. The great majority of his experience- as an employee and as a firm owner- has been in support of architects in the site planning of buildings.

Nelson has developed several areas of specialization/interest during that time: public sector work, such as municipal buildings and playgrounds; multi-family housing (particularly affordable housing); medical facilities site planning for hospitals, assisted living and acute care nursing facilities; educational facilities site planning, from elementary to collegiate levels; and interior landscape design, a field in which he has gained a national reputation as a designer, lecturer, and author.

Nelson’s tenure at TAC was characterized by his involvement in large-scale, complex site planning projects such as hospitals, college buildings, and commercial structures such as Copley Place in Boston, for which he served as project manager for exterior and interior landscape architecture (and where he first collaborated with Mr. Walsh). As Director of Landscape Architecture at ERF+A, he oversaw the site planning and construction of more than two dozen K-12 schools. His experience at Hammer Design and then Hammer+Walsh Design has focused on public sector work, small scale commercial projects, and multi-family housing, with an emphasis on affordable housing.

Dave Walsh has over thirty years’ experience as both a landscape architect and architect and is proficient in all aspects of design, contract documentation, and construction administration. 

Dave is particularly interested in the design of lively urban spaces that support the everyday and recreational needs of their community of users. During his thirty-year career, Dave has focused on community participation as the driving force for designs that sustain the environment and enhanced the human experience.

Prior to forming Hammer + Walsh Design Inc. with Nelson Hammer in 2010, Dave provided design services through DW + Design Group and, previous to that, he was a Principal at both the Collaborative and Copley Wolff Design Group (CWDG).  During this decade long period from 1998 to 2007, Dave was involved in a number of urban recreation and park projects throughout the New England area.  Dave was also in private practice in Michigan in the early 1990’s following employment at Earl R. Flansburgh + Associates, where he was head of the Construction Administration Department. Earlier in his career, Dave was a landscape architect at Carol R. Johnson and Associates, (CRJ+A) were he produced site designs for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and at The Architects Collaborative, (TAC) where he participated in urban restoration projects throughout downtown Boston