David Racker

Biography

Upon graduation from USU in 1970, Dave worked for Salt Lake County Parks, as well as landscape architecture firms in Utah and Florida. In 1973 he established David C. Racker & Associates. Notable projects were Salt Lake’s Abravenal Hall, American Express and Northwest Energy Buildings, the Delta Center plaza, and the Holy Cross Hospital Rose Gardens, which was awarded an ASLA Honor Award. Other projects included the Stein Ericksen Lodge and the St. George City and Washington County Office buildings. He also designed numerous municipal parks, office complexes, community master plans, and hundreds of residential landscapes throughout the intermountain area. He was also employed with Gillies Stranksy Brems Smith Architects, and as a Project Manager with the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management, overseeing projects for the Department of Natural Resources.

He was appointed to the Utah State Licensing Board of Landscape Architecture and was lecturer and project juror for the U of U Department of Architecture and on the Advisory Board for USU LAEP department. He taught continuing education courses in residential landscape architecture.

He has been an active member of the American Society of Landscape Architectures since 1973, and served on and chaired many of its committees, both locally and nationally. He was elected to two consecutive terms as a national Trustee to ASLA, and in 1995 he was inducted to the ASLA Council of Fellows. That same year, he was also elected National Vice President of ASLA.

One of the most important things that David Racker promoted was a genuine attempt at better use of energy through a greater idea exchange. Racker saw a real need for more landscape architects to sit down with building architects and engineers and each share his area of expertise. That way, an esthetic design can be complemented by a beautiful and practical ground area surrounding. It is also the best way to be sure that energy is conserved, money is saved, and planning is most efficient.