Rachel Spraos

Senior Landscape Designer

Rachel approaches her work as a landscape designer with a sensitivity to site narrative, park users and aesthetics. Her enthusiasm for her work is constantly growing, informed by past experiences working in nurseries, permaculture farms and urban farming, as well as her belief that accessible landscapes play an essential role in a post-COVID world. Prior to joining Starr Whitehouse, Rachel spent one year at Michael Van Valkenberg Associates, where she honed an eye for detail in construction documentation and gained extensive exposure to site engineering. Rachel received her Master of Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, where she worked as a Teaching Assistant for Jennifer Birkeland and Zaneta Hong, and was nominated for the Cornelia Ye Outstanding TA Award. Recognized as the 2021 LAF Olmsted Scholar, Rachel also received the ASLA National Student Merit Award. Rachel earned a Bachelor of Art in History from Kenyon College and joined Starr Whitehouse in 2022.

Representative Projects:

Park Design

Thompson Park Master Plan, Watertown, NY
Teatown Nature Center, Ossining, NY
Freshkills South Park, Staten Island, NY
Seaside Park and Community Arts Center, New York, NY
Charles Williams Park, Hudson, NY
Public Square Historic Park Renovation, Hudson, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

NYPA Reimagine the Canals Guidelines New York, NY