Spitzer Stars
M. Paul Friedberg
Founding Director, Urban Landscape Architecture program (1970-1990)
Biography :
M. Paul Friedberg (1931-2025) helped shape the profession of urban landscape architecture by designing and championing socially responsible public spaces. A founder of MPFP, an award-winning firm for urban design and landscape architecture in New York, Friedberg crafted public places that broke the boundaries of traditional design. He took a flexible approach to architecture that emphasized observing behavioral engagement, believing that users should be the ones dictating what is put into spaces, not the designer.
Friedberg was known for his revolutionary theory on play, calling for the integration of multifaceted play areas with education, housing, commerce, and transportation planning. In 1979, Friedberg was made a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, which awarded him its Design Medal in 2004 and its highest honor, the ASLA Medal, in 2015.
“I create three-dimensionally what the writer accomplishes with words.
It is not without anxiety, as the ideas haven’t a reality until cast in a space and experienced” (Silent Auction).
Career Highlights :
- Riis Park Plaza, New York City
- Pershing Park, Washington, DC
- Fulton County Government Plaza, Atlanta
- Olympic Plaza, Calgary
- 67th Street Playground, Central Park, New York City
Selected Publications :
- Play and Interplay
- Handcrafted Playgrounds: Designs You Can Build Yourself