THE PEOPLE BEHIND  

Rossana Vaccarino, Owner and Founder of Vaccarino Associates, is a Registered Landscape Architect in Puerto Rico with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon. Her work draws from a dual foundation in plant and soil sciences and in landscape art, design, and theory. Born in Italy, she earned a Laurea Summa Cum Laude in Agronomy with a specialization in Plant Genetics from the University of Milan, and a Degree in Garden Architecture from the Istituto Superiore Architettura e Design in Milan.

Rossana began her career at WRT in Philadelphia, learning large-scale environmental planning under the method of Ian McHarg—a framework she later adapted while teaching with Carl Steinitz at Harvard University and in projects such as Sawyer Ranch, in New Mexico. Comfortable working at multiple scales, she integrates regional context into projects of any size to ensure relevance and site specificity.

Her academic career includes seven years as full-time, tenure-track faculty in the Master’s Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where she taught design studios, Landscape Architecture Theory, research seminars, and other core courses. In addition to Harvard, she has taught at universities in the U.S. and abroad, lecturing and publishing internationally on topics ranging from landscape theory to her extensive research on Roberto Burle Marx in Brazil. She is fluent in five languages.

The San Juan studio remains intentionally small to ensure Rossana’s direct involvement in every stage of design, from concept to construction. Associates, consultants, and collaborators join on a project basis, including CAD operators, 3D modeling specialists, and landscape architects. Rossana also leads construction administration, guiding on-site decisions to preserve design integrity and achieve the project’s full potential.