Our Story
Our mission is to tell creative stories, build meaningful relationships, & provide high quality respite for our clients & their project needs through landscape architecture
re·spite / re-spət \ verb: “to provide relief from the difficult or unpleasant”
Our firm's name, SHADE, is symbolic of the respite you experience by stepping out of the exhausting heat or stress of your environment & into the cooling shade provided by the landscape. Shade is an action, it is responsive, and it improves your quality of life immediately.
Bret Hanson
Principal Landscape Architect
Bret is a Licensed Landscape Architect & LEED AP with 15+ years telling stories, building relationships, & creating meaningful places through a diverse portfolio spanning every major market.
His passion for design lay in sustainability, connecting people & architecture to the landscape, re-imaging existing sites, and crafting playful sensory experiences and amenities inspired by his days working at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Bret also has 14+ years in non-profit & professional organization board member roles; fundraising, strategic planning, & developing impact initiatives at a local / national level.
Deep Thoughts
Original Inspiration - growing up in the Kansas geography; adventures on our family farm, wheat waving in the wind, rolling hills, sailing Milford Lake, & hiking the Konza Prairie
California Favorites - our CdM neighbors, sunsets on Larkspuria, & waves at Trestles
Nashville Favorites - our Franklin neighbors, the lush landscape, & waves from all the friendly people