Joseph Lalli will present a lecture titled “Making Something Ordinary, Extraordinary through Design” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at Hembree Auditorium (Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences Building, Room 107E) on the University of Arkansas campus.

Lalli is chairman and principal at EDSA and is a fellow of the America Society of Landscape Architects. Instinctive bravery, resolution and self-confidence have allowed Lalli to take EDSA to new heights in design, profitability and growth. His ability to go against the grain and influence the thinking of colleagues has proven heroic for EDSA. Able to integrate into other cultures and inspire trust, he has become a leader in international design. Artistic pursuits in painting allow him to communicate passion, ideas and concepts in a remarkably visual way. Whether sketched on canvas or drawn on paper, he converts magnificent works of art into reality.

Lalli finds inspiration in the belief that the fabric of multiple backgrounds creates something wonderful, exciting and timeless in quality; he brings an intuitive understanding for planning and design, as well as a focus on the main issues that need to be addressed to get a project built. He has had principal responsibility for seeing many projects reach fruition, from planning to implementation, across a variety of industries and disciplines. His expertise is in creating environments of visual beauty, never overlooking practical elements of site, nature, people and community and how they work together. It is this attention to detail that enhances the quality of each project in which he is involved.

In 2000, he established a major EDSA presence in China; he is considered an expert in international land planning, which is based on his vast understanding of different cultural practices and business affairs. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of project management, design and production for projects ranging from resorts and hotels to mixed-use and community developments.

Lalli has been responsible for numerous master plan updates and resort/hotel renovation projects, regional land planning, resource planning, and communication planning projects, as well as educational and cultural facilities, business parks and urban developments. While political climates may differ, his imagination, innovation and creativity, tempered by prudent business management practices, remains consistent. His focus is on providing creative solutions that transport a client’s vision to life and offer visitors an unwavering reminiscent experience.

In 2000, Lalli was awarded a Leadership Diamond Award by the South Florida Business Journal and, in 2004, the Jerry Allen Award for Courageous Leadership. Over the years, many projects under his leadership have been recognized with awards from the America Society of Landscape Architects, as well as from the Florida ASLA chapter, in addition to recognition from the Urban Land Institute, American Resort Development Association and the American Association of Nurserymen. He is also extremely active in community affairs and serves on several boards.

In addition, Lalli is an accomplished artist in his own right and has auctioned some of his watercolor pieces at the silent auction held at the America Society of Landscape Architects' national conference and for community philanthropic events. He has also shown his watercolor creations at galleries in Florida and Maine. A philanthropist by nature, he has led efforts resulting in considerable contributions to the Landscape Architecture Foundation scholarship program, the Bonnet House Trust, the United Way and the Red Cross. In 2011, EDSA instituted the Joseph J. Lalli Design Fellowship, an annual event open to the entire EDSA staff.

He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University.

Admission is free, with limited seating.

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or architecture.uark.edu.