Approach & Projects

Interdisciplinary by Design

My approach to landscape-related projects builds upon interdisciplinary academic experiences as well as knowledge gained throughout professional practice. Although shaped for individual projects, this process has three core components. I explore these components through my courses. 

Solutions are Grounded in Ecology…

Analyzing the existing conditions of a physical site – water movement, wildlife presence, etc. – leads to the creation of a design appropriate to the ecological context. With a strong command of this process, I specialize in design that looks to naturally-occurring plant communities for inspiration and for concrete ideas for reducing maintenance and maximizing ecosystem services.

…Applied to Communities…

These environmentally-driven solutions must also respond to the needs and desires of people, or they will fail to generate stewardship. I practice community-driven design, taking on work that incorporates participation. Involving the community in the design process is critical to the creation of truly democratic places. My interdisciplinary background enables me to find opportunities for building connections between organizations that are working towards similar goals.

…and Adapted over Time.

The social and ecological stories of the landscape should guide the design process. Anne W. Spirn writes in Language of Landscape (2000) that designers are storytellers, that the results of design express the values of those that dwell within the landscape. Designers must also be planners, and need to consider how landscapes will change in the future. Over time, the values of a society change, as do the ecological processes that take place within the landscape. Through the process of investigating context and applying systems-thinking, designers gain the knowledge necessary to propose designs that will maximize a landscape’s ability to adapt. Sustainable landscapes not only plan for but also embrace change.

Sample Projects: Consulting

Zoning and Construction Detail Diagrams + Tree & Shrub Planting Guide, Town of South Hadley

Sustainable Grounds Development Plan, Framingham State University

Publications

Cholakis-Kolysko, Katherine; Mihyun Kang, and Negar Dehghan. “Sustainability Teaching in Higher Education: Assessing Arts and Design Faculty Perceptions and Attitudes.” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (February 2024).

Cholakis, Kate, and Eliza Pennypacker. “Ecological Amenity or Weedy Pit? Green Street Rain Gardens, Aesthetics, and Social Values.” Ecological Landscape Alliance (June 2022).

Cholakis, Kate. “Pit or Paradise: Rain Gardens and Civic Responsibility.” Places Journal (Fall 2021).

Charde, Seth (Green Infrastructure Manager, DC Water), and Kate Cholakis. “More Than a Rain Garden: Green Infrastructure Addresses Environmental Problems Across Scales.” Ecological Landscape Alliance  (December 2019).

Cholakis, Kate. “Make it a Meadow: Exploring the Nuances of Meadow Design, Installation, and Management.” The Conway School’s Field Notes Series (February 2018).

Sample Projects: Student Work

Graduate Level

Conservation & Regional Planning
> Cultivating Resilience: Helping Florida Prepare for an Uncertain Future (2025)
> Chicopee Connectivity Plan (2024)
> Conserving Northwest Connecticut: Adaptive Strategies for Accelerating > Conservation (2023)
> A Watershed-Based Framework for Building Resilience through Land Use Change (2020)
> Upper North Shore Food System Study (2020)
> Shoreline Interventions for Coastal Resilience (2019)
Landscape Master Planning/Large-scale Site Design
> La Placita de Holyoke: A Project for South Holyoke (2023)
> Resilience and Recreation: Designs for D.W. Field Park (2023)
> Revitalizing Cooley Brook (2023)
> Interpreting a Cultural Landscape: The Frances Perkins Homestead (2022)

Undergraduate Level

> Smith College Student Proposals for the BOMBYX Slope (2025)
> Smith College Student Proposals: Paradise Woods (2025) 
> Smith College Student Proposals for the BOMBYX Center for Arts &  Equity (2025) 
> UMass Amherst Student Proposals for a Greenway in Boston's West End (2023)