Creating Magic

Jerry van Eyck, Founder and Principal of !melk Landscape Architecture & Urban Design, possesses an unusual breadth and depth of skills that he applies to every project under his purview. Trained both as a landscape architect and as an industrial designer, he approaches each commission balancing both the macro-scale - how open and public space fit into the larger context of a city's fabric and the urban experience, with the micro-materiality, ornamentation, and pattern as expressed through custom furniture, lighting, paving, and other details that provide each project its own singular identity.

Before moving to New York in 2008, Jerry practiced in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where—for over a decade—he was responsible for the design of many internationally renowned and award-winning projects. Today, many of these projects remain relevant within the profession and are quite often regarded as exemplary precedents within the discourse of landscape architecture and urban design.

Jerry leads !melk with the ethos/philosophy that always focuses on the design - what works best, and what creates the most optimal outcome for the project. As part of his daily practice, Jerry believes in embracing unrestrained creativity and thinking holistically about every project - what is the best outcome for the project in its entirety, economically, socially, environmentally, and culturally? What does it mean for the city or the adjacent context? What impact does design have on the identity of a place? What do people experience, and do they embrace the places that are designed for them? How can true sustainability and ecology goals be achieved?

With !melk, Jerry has developed a portfolio of built/unbuilt work all across the world, ranging from private gardens to the outdoor spaces of museums, to private estates, to parks, to waterfronts, to urban master plans, including residential projects, commercial projects, institutional projects, to bespoke architectural structures, to large pieces of social infrastructure. For each project, together with the !melk team, Jerry always aims to design something original, instilling a drive to create something that hasn't been done or seen before. !melk's designs seek to exude an inherent positive spirit, focusing on allure and surprise, to create places that make sense and are of the place.

As a practitioner, manager, and educator, building a dedicated team is one of Jerry's strengths. He is dedicated to unlock each team member’s individual strength, and believes that each person, when he/she has becomes a master of his/her domain, ultimately contributes to the uniqueness of !melk’s projects. "I don't try to measure success. I care more about results. The most important thing to me as a designer is producing good work. Fulfilling work, work that is compelling and unique. Work that challenges the disciplinary boundaries of the profession." With !melk, Jerry has built a reputation for innovative thinking and an adaptable approach to all possible locations. The result is always a unique design that exceeds people's expectations.

"I think we excel most in revealing to the public/stakeholders/clients, unseen possibilities of the site. We don't design with a formula, rather we really spend time analyzing the project site to understand the "DNA" of the place. This often results in unexpected sources of inspiration. Nothing makes me happier than to see how a design solution awakens a new passion for the Client or for a community. However, As our projects are extremely diverse and located in many different regions in the world, it is virtually impossible to mention only a few case studies as this would undercut all the other projects we have worked on."

Almost all of !melk's projects are considered out-of-the-box, forward-thinking, and revolutionary; however, in recent years, one of the most significant achievements of Jerry's approach is the !melk-designed first-ever public park along the Las Vegas Strip. Such a project could have had many outcomes; however, Jerry's specific vision elevated the project into one of the great examples of public realm transformation. In addition to deeply embedded aspects of sustainability, water management, and user comfort through microclimate, the curation of the spaces, the choice of materials, and the botanic design certainly elevate the project to the level of a precedent-setting public realm design.

"[The Park] celebrates the Mojave desert, using its colors, patterns, materials, and vegetation," says Jerry van Eyck, Founder and principal of !melk landscape architecture and urban design, in a statement. Amidst the hectic hustle and bustle of the Strip, we were able to create something that is not just sustainable but also genuinely authentic to the city. In addition to its iconicity, The Park reinstates what Vegas once was: an oasis in the middle of the desert."