Emma Xue

Emma’s practice of landscape architecture is part of an intellectual pursuit of the place of humans in nature. Through designed landscapes, she aspires to reveal the hidden poetry of natural and cultural flows and create extraordinary experiences. She grew up in Chengdu, China, immersed in the two-thousand-year-old city’s fusion of cultures and hiking in the lush mountains every weekend with her family. Emma came to the US to study Philosophy at St. John’s College. Her lifelong passion for art and design, and deep interest in ecosystems and the public realm led her to the discovery of Landscape Architecture. She earned her MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and went on to join SOM’s Chicago Office as a Landscape and Urban Designer, contributing to city planning projects in China, the UAE, and the US. In 2019, she joined Reed Hilderbrand and is currently working on the Alamo Plaza Interpretive Master Plan and Harvard’s Allston Campus expansion. Emma also manages the Cambridge office’s Materials Library, curating the large collection and working as a bridge between the firm and vendors. She spends her free time exploring New England’s many beautiful hikes with her dog Sumo.