Ryan Deane / S/L/A/M Collaborative
Glastonbury, CT – The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) recently announced that associate Ryan Deane, ASLA, PLA, joins the ranks of the 40 Under Forty Class of 2017, an honor that is bestowed annually by Building Design+Construction (BD+C) magazine to the AEC industry’s rising stars making impactful contributions in business, philanthropy, and in their communities.
Deane joined SLAM’s Landscape Architecture Studio in 2004 and acquired his professional licensure as a landscape architect in 2006 at the age of 23, making him the youngest licensed professional in the firm.
“The innumerable ‘firsts’ that Ryan has achieved over his 13 years at SLAM are both staggering and inspiring to his teammates and studio leaders,” says William Karanian, AIA, principal and chief operating officer, SLAM. “We are proud of the recognition he has received as a 40 Under Forty, and look forward to the continued achievements he will make both at SLAM and within the community.”
Deane chose “Landscape Architechie” for his BD+C profile title to underscore his passion for technology. At SLAM, he has introduced the use of various 3D visualization programs and Autodesk Civil 3D. He is known as an industry leader in evaluating workflows and improving efficiencies in order to help landscape architects collaborate with industry consultants. In 2012, he introduced rendering software to SLAM, and, within a year, he and the landscape team produced SLAM’s first full-length fly-through animation for the campus transformation project underway at Providence College. His work has garnered over a half million views between Vimeo and YouTube.
At SLAM, he has served on more than 100 projects within the higher education, healthcare, and corporate studios, employing his extensive experience in comprehensive facility master plans, detailed site designs, and construction administration. He has served on high-profile projects at the University of Notre Dame, Campus Crossroads Stadium Expansion; Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering at Rutgers University; and Homer Stryker School of Medicine at Western Michigan University.
The BD+C recognizes honorees for both their professional and volunteer activities. Deane is chair of the Digital Technology PPN with the American Society of Landscape Architects, where he is also a featured blogger for “The Field.” He has published several articles on virtual and augmented reality and serves as a contributing editor for Landscape Architecture Magazine. He volunteers his time as a mentor of ASLA student members, giving yearly lectures at UMass and UConn, and offered his skills to survey, design, and provide construction documents for a memorial basketball court for the Jill E. Harrington Hanzalik Chase Your Dreams Foundation in his home town Bernardston and Northfield, Massachusetts.
At SLAM, Deane is currently focused on the emerging trend of virtual reality and was first to introduce Oculus Gear VR to colleagues and clients. The Oculus can provide a virtual perspective to contractors, for example, in understanding the final aesthetic, or assists laymen who enter a new building to visualize themselves standing at the front door. Deane used the Oculus to piece together a workflow for use as a design and presentation tool in the amphitheater at Eastern Connecticut State University’s Fine Arts Center and at the groundbreaking ceremony for Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering at Rutgers University.
