Paul J. vander Horst
East Office: Georgia
West Office (coming soon): Utah
ABBREVIATED RESUME.....
OBJECTIVE:
To provide leadership that facilitates growth of The Biosphere Group, Inc. to become an internationally
respected one-stop provider of professional service that improves the quality of life for all living things on Earth
in the following disciplines: landscape architecture, ecological site planning, master planning, building
architecture, and in construction, installation and maintenance.
EXPERIENCE / CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
ROLES & SERVICE:
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
EDUCATION: (5 college university degrees including BLA and foreign study. Summa or Magna Cum Laude
graduate from all. Additional details not posted for ID Theft security reasons.)
OTHER TRAINING:
HONORS & AWARDS:
ACTIVITIES:
COMPUTER SKILLS:
TOP OF PAGE
East Office: Georgia
West Office (coming soon): Utah
ABBREVIATED RESUME.....
OBJECTIVE:
To provide leadership that facilitates growth of The Biosphere Group, Inc. to become an internationally
respected one-stop provider of professional service that improves the quality of life for all living things on Earth
in the following disciplines: landscape architecture, ecological site planning, master planning, building
architecture, and in construction, installation and maintenance.
EXPERIENCE / CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
 | 1996 Centennial Summer Olympic Games |
- Represented The Georgia Institute of Technology to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games
(ACOG) in programming and planning the Olympic Village, the Olympic Festival in the International
Zone, the NBC Today Show, the Olympic Aquatics Center, the boxing venue at the Alexander
Memorial Coliseum, the Village Transportation Center, Village operations, the Olympic Village security
system with the United States Department of Defense and served on the Natatorium Advisory
Committee - Represented Georgia Tech on the ACOG/Atlanta City ‘Look of the Games Committee.
- Secured $250,000 of free landscaping from Trees Atlanta for the Olympic Village. Designed and
coordinated installation. - Provided the State Attorney General with tactical strategy and technical expertise to negotiate a 10-
fold increase from the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in Campus restoration funds from a
proposed $70,000 to $750,000.
| Campus Master Planning |
- Facilitated implementation for 27 capital projects in 4 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology
totalling $2,000,000,000. - Directed implementation of Georgia Tech’s 1991 & 1997 Campus Master Plans. Developed planning
parameters and supported planning process of two 25 member Master Planning Committees.
| Community Spokesperson & Chief Strategist |
- Successfully led over 1,000 community members and presented their cases to County Board of
Commissioners in two major battles lasting several years with Blue Circle, Inc, and Crymes Industries,
Inc., and won both! The Crymes controversy was the second largest in the history of DeKalb County,
which reached the Georgia Supreme Court. Neighborhood involvement eventually prevailed over
formidable big-business coercion, and Crymes’ best lawyers.
| Georgia Tech Plaza |
- Managed design and development of this pedestrian heart of Campus that served as ACOG’s Olympic
International Festival Space. - Strategized with Tech’s Vice-President for External Affairs and persuaded an influential alumnae to
make the largest single contribution ($750,000) to the project, which was the key catalyst that
advanced a 15 year goal to reality. - Developed and made presentations to Georgia Tech's 40th and 50th Reunion Class Officers who
selected my project over a dozen other presentations made by College Deans. - Coordinated raising $1,870,000 in donated funds, the largest Alumnae donation in Georgia Tech’s
history for site development. - Chaired the Design Review Committee composed of 12 individuals representing diverse interests from
Colleges, Schools, Alumni, and students along with the consultant team during the 3-year project. - Managed the project to a successful completion within budget and on time for the Olympic Games.
- The Georgia Tech Plaza site was broadcast to an estimated 2,100,000,000 TV viewers around the
World during the 21 days of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games as the backdrop for the NBC Today
Show.
| Atlantic Station |
- Represented Georgia Tech on Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit “E” Board to work with Jacoby
Development and the City of Atlanta to plan the redevelopment of the Atlantic Steel brownfield site.
This 144-acre site is the largest single parcel of urban redevelopment in the United States since the
Civil War. - Worked with the team to identify Midtown, Ansley Park, Loring Heights, Sherwood Forest, Home
Park, Ardmore 28th and Georgia Tech neighborhood issues and opportunities, establish priorities,
resolve concerns, negotiate with the developer, and strategize zoning, planning and implementation
methodology.
| Atlanta Midtown Master Planning |
- Represented Georgia Tech on the Midtown Alliance Master Plan Committee to guide development of
their Blueprint.
| Midtown Alliance Advisory Board |
- Represented Georgia Tech on the Midtown Alliance Advisory Board to coordinate our Campus Master
Plan with the Blueprint Master Plan on implementation planning and design. (1998 to 2002)
| BluePrint Master Plan / Streetscape & Pubic Spaces Committee |
- Represented Georgia Tech on these sub-committees to guide planning and design for streetscapes
and public spaces.
| Society for College and University Planning |
- Presented a paper at the 2001 Annual Conference in Boston, Mass. with MIG, Inc. and Square Peg
Design entitled “The Wayfinding Master Plan for the Georgia Institute of Technology.” - Presented a paper at the 1993 Annual Conference of the in Minneapolis, Minnesota with Sasaki
Associates entitled “The Role of the Campus Master Plan in Olympic Development at Georgia Tech”
| City Planning / Sustainable Urban Development Graduate Course |
- Worked with four classes of graduate students at Georgia Tech in Professor Anne Steineman’s course
on sustainability. - Presented 'real life' issues of the GT Campus Master Plan and advised students on project scope and
development.
| American Medical Association Economic Summit Conference |
- Presented Georgia Tech’s ‘A Matter of Degree’ neighborhood planning issues in Burlington, Vermont
as their honorary speaker.
| City of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit “E” (NPU-E) |
- Represented The Georgia Institute of Technology on the NPU-E Board, which is one of 24
neighborhood-planning units in Atlanta that handles 75% of all the zoning, special exception and
variance requests in the City. - My involvement built trust between Georgia Tech and her neighbors, healed relations, and facilitated
teamwork to achieve mutually beneficial development goals that resulted in win-win outcomes.
| Metro-Atlanta Urban Watershed Initiative (MAUI) |
- Represented Georgia Tech on the Atlanta’s City-wide initiative to improve watersheds in the 7 metro-
county region - Developed plans for riparian right-of-ways to reduce non-point source pollution, and managing storm
water on-site by restoring hydrologic cycles thus restoring stream base flows and reducing
downstream flooding and drought.
| Corporation for the Olympic Planning in Atlanta (COPA) |
- Represented Georgia Tech to COPA, a Citywide organization created to plan, design, and implement
Olympic related development within the Olympic Ring before and after the 1996 Summer Games. - My involvement facilitated a coordinated development effort between GT’s North Avenue Research
Area and COPA’s North Yards Business Park.
| City of Atlanta Pedestrian Safety Task Force |
- Served at Georgia Tech's representative to this task force appointed by the Mayor from which Atlanta’
s pedestrian advocate organization called PEDS was created.
| Community Planning Liaison |
- Coordinated planning with Home Park, Midtown, Centennial Place Homes, Bellwood Neighborhood,
English Avenue Neighborhood, Antioch Baptist Church Redevelopment Corporation and business
entities.
| General Faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology |
- Elected member for professional accomplishments. Member for 29 years. Served on numerous design
review committees for student classes in the College of Architecture.
| Foreign Study and Travel |
- Learned Spanish and culture of Latin American people while studying in Venezuela, SA and traveling
through Columbia, SA. Also traveled in England.
ROLES & SERVICE:
| Campus Master Planner |
- Facilitated implementation for all capital projects, totaling 27 capital projects in 4 years totalling
$2,000,000,000. - Developed Institute planning parameters and process for managing the 1997 campus master planning
project. Assisted in consultant selection and provided staff support for the planning process. - Assisted Wallace Roberts Todd LLC to develop the 1997 Campus Master Plan.
- Developed sector plans and additional studies required for the effective site-specific design integrated
with the campus fabric. - Managed planning & design consultants to develop wayfinding and other implementation plans. Office
of Capital Planning & Space Management
| Manager of Campus Planning and Landscape Architecture |
- Wrote proposal to Georgia Tech’s senior Administration that organized a new Capital Planning &
Space Management Office where I served as Campus Master Planner. - Managed Campus Master Planning & Landscape Architecture with a staff of 6 professionals.
- Instrumental in developing and managing the planning process of the 1991 Campus Master Plan.
- Coordinated Institute planning with The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to adapt Georgia
Tech’s campus as the Olympic Village for the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympic Games where 16,000
international athletes and officials from 197 countries lived. - Provided site planning for all new capital improvement totaling $250,000,000 in new facilities and
$100,000,000 in infrastructure improvements, which was the largest growth in the shortest time in
the history of Georgia Tech thus far. - Managed consultant planning & design services for Georgia Tech’s 350-acre urban campus with a
daily population of 20,000 students, faculty, and staff. - Managed fund raising, planning, design and development of Georgia Tech Plaza; a multi-cultural social
gathering area that is the pedestrian heart of Campus that served as the Olympic Festival Center
during the 1996 Summer Games. - Represented Georgia Tech to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, coordinated with the City
of Atlanta and the P.A.T.H. redevelopment of Techwood/Clark Howell Homes (the oldest public
housing project in the nation), planned for personal rapid transit service within the Campus
connected to MARTA’s Midtown and North Avenue Stations, assisted with planning the multi-modal
Vertigate for Midtown Atlanta, spoke to various audiences including the Tech Family and Alumni,
presented the Campus Master Plan dozens of times to internal and external audiences, coordinated
with the City of Atlanta zoning and review process, and represented Georgia Tech on the City of
Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit E Board. - Organized and chaired the first Georgia Tech Master Plan Student Advisory Committee to work more
closely with students in the process of implementing the Campus Master Plan. - Established the first re-cycling program on Campus working with GT’s Environmental Forum.
- Office of the Vice-President for Facilities at the Georgia Institute of Technology
| Manager of Landscape Architecture and Land Planning |
- Guided development of $20,000,000 in campus site improvements.
- Team worked with other professionals in developing $150,000,000 in new building construction.
- Traveled with a team of Georgia Tech representatives to England to inspect En-Tou-Cas installations
of Sport-Turf. Managed the subsequent project of installing the largest Sport-Turf field in the USA on
the Georgia Tech campus. - Correlated planning and design with The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
- Coordinated campus master planning, design and construction with the Student Government
Association, the Campus Planning and Safety Committee and The Environmental Forum. - Managed staff landscape architects in planning, design and contract document preparation.
- Directed consultant selection process.
- Provided contract negotiation, bidding, and construction management services
- Assisted the Georgia Tech Foundation and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, separate legal
entities of Georgia Tech, in developing the Chandler Baseball Stadium, the George Griffin Track, the
Earle E. Bortell Outdoor Tennis Center, Bill Moore Indoor Tennis Center and the Edge Athletic Center. - Provided construction inspections, coordinated with Landscape Services at Plant Operations Division,
to landscape campus sites. - Facilities Office representative to Alumni for project development and implementation of reunion gifts,
including the first visitor center. - Served on the Centennial Planning Committee to celebrate Georgia Tech’s 100th Anniversary.
- Office of the Vice-President for Facilities at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
| Campus Landscape Architect |
- Supervised design staff to design and install site development and landscape projects in harmony
with campus master plan - Institute representative to Alumni Class Reunions
- Worked with 50th reunion gift giving to develop projects
- Coordinated with student planning organizations
- Office of the Vice-President for Planning, The Georgia Institute of Technology
| Landscape Architect |
- Planned and design site development in all inter building space
- Conducted site analysis, design, and preparation of contract drawings and technical specifications
- Provided construction supervision services
- Office of the Vice-President for Planning / The Georgia Institute of Technology
| Paul J. vander Horst & Associates |
- Provided consulting services in landscape architecture, urban planning & design, land planning and
master planning.
| The Real Estate Analysis Group |
- Provided real estate development and investment analysis, real estate research and development
feasibility studies.
| United States Forest Service |
- Conducted site analysis, design, recreation planning, preparation of construction drawings, labor and
cost material estimates, and pollution abatement program field analysis. - Uinta National Forest, Provo, Utah.
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
| Community Spokesman |
- Served several times as the community spokesman for the Dekalb South Chamber of Commerce, the
City of Lithonia, the City of Stone Mountain, 60 Positive Action Lithonia Businesses, 566 southeast
Dekalb County Petitioners, and residents of Lake Capri in presentations to the DeKalb County Board
of Commissioners.
| Chief Community Strategist |
- Personally prepared and delivered several presentations to the DeKalb County Board of
Commissioners - Blue Circle Aggregates, Inc. - Lead strategic case preparation, research coordination, identification of
community concerns. Negotiated with Blue Circle to amend their plans to develop heavy industrial
uses adjacent to residential, which would reduce neighborhood quality and housing values.
Developed step-down zoning to establish appropriate adjacencies and buffers between incompatible
land uses. Negotiated to a win-win agreement to petition the County to re-zone. Presented proposal
to DeKalb County Planning Board and the Board of Commissioners, which was accepted. - Crymes Industries, Inc. - Successfully opposed Industries application to re-zone a large parcel of
woodland in southeast DeKalb County to use as a regional landfill. This issue was the second largest
controversy in the history of the County and reached the Georgia Supreme Court. I made two
presentations to the County Board of Commissioners that resulted in the citizens I represented
winning over formidable big-business coercion, and Crymes, best lawyers.
EDUCATION: (5 college university degrees including BLA and foreign study. Summa or Magna Cum Laude
graduate from all. Additional details not posted for ID Theft security reasons.)
OTHER TRAINING:
- Covey Leadership Training
- Project Management Course / Young, Clark & Associates
- Pursuit of Excellence Quality Seminar / Milliken
- Dale Carnegie Course in Effective Speaking and Human Relations
HONORS & AWARDS:
- American Society of Landscape Architects/Certificate of Merit Award
- Design Honors / 4 semesters
- Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
- Outstanding Junior Award
- Hilda Ward Citation for Academic Excellence
- Fairchild Hiller American Awareness Award
- Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society
- Long Island Horticultural Foundation Scholarship
- Dean's List for 5 years
ACTIVITIES:
- Licensed Landscape Architect #417, Georgia 1975-Present
- Society for College and University Planning
- American Society of Landscape Architects
- Georgia Water Wise Council /Board of Directors
- National Xeriscape Council
- Little League Coach
- Extensive Church leadership & service
- Patented the Jet-Ski-Pak, Jacorba Enterprises
COMPUTER SKILLS:
- AutoDesk AutoCAD
- AutoDesk Architectural Desktop
- VectorWorks Landmark & Architect
- Pro Landscapes
- Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- Adobe PageMaker
- Adobe Photoshop
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The Biosphere Group
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