North Shore Plaza Construction Continues!

Construction progress continues on the new North Shore Plaza in Pittsburgh as we work toward an anticipated opening in the Spring of 2026.

The plaza will create a new entertainment destination and social gathering space in Pittsburgh. The plaza is designed for large events and programming but also provides much needed public green space for the North Shore community. Small garden areas with large shade trees frame the plaza with wood platforms and moveable seating allowing flexible uses throughout the year.

The project team includes the Pittsburgh Pirates, HiLife Hospitality, Sports and Exhibition Authority, Barker Nestor, Langan, and Continental Building Company. Photos by Kristian Thacker.

Can Pop-up Urbanism Spark Lasting Design Legacy?

For Azure Magazine Nina Chase and Chris Merritt explored what has become a guiding ethos for our work at Merritt Chase - that we should be reimagining how we see and approach temporary placemaking (or whatever else you want to call it - tactical urbanism, DIY city-building, or pop-up urbanism) both as an opportunity to bring meaningful design to the placemaking process and for its potential as one of the most useful tools communities and designers have to drive long term transformation of public spaces.

“As landscape architects, we’re increasingly emphasizing an approach that integrates innovative short term design, activation and research with traditional long term planning and design — as seen through our projects like Monument Circle. Our work spans from long-term, built landscape projects to short-term activations, temporary installations, and community engagements. This holistic approach is intended to ensure that the public spaces we create are shaped by research, history, and meaningful community input. What does this design process look like? What can the long-term impacts be?“

Check out the full article here.

Chris Merritt and Nina Chase talk to The Urbanist

Chris and Nina sat down with Andrew Tuck from Monocle Radio’s The Urbanist to discuss how cities across Middle America are transforming their streets. Check out the episode here.

Summer Promotions!

We are excited to share summer promotions for our office. Congratulations and thank you Alex, Craig, Gabi, and Danica! These four are incredibly talented, thoughtful and creative, and a true pleasure to work with.

Alex Kelley, Senior Associate - Alex has been leading the design and implementation of the Indianapolis City Market West Plaza, White River Farm, Canal Basin Park, and the Park at 16 Tech.

Craig Rowe, Senior Associate - Craig has been leading the design of the Treeline District Park in Fort Wayne and construction of Georgia Street in Indianapolis.

Gabriella Rodriguez, Senior Designer - Gabi has been leading the design of the Columbus Downtown Entrance Plaza and West End Bridge Connector Parks in Pittsburgh.

Danica Liongson, Associate - Danica is a newly licensed landscape architect in Indianapolis and has been managing continued work on Monument Circle, the Park at 16 Tech, and Monumental Gestures, a new public art initiative in downtown Indianapolis.

Check out our About page for more background on the team.

Nina Chase joins 2025 ASLA Student Awards Jury

Earlier this summer, Nina Chase joined the 2025 Jury for the American Society of Landscape Architects Student Awards. The ASLA Honors and Awards Advisory Committee “seeks to assemble juries that represent the breadth of the profession, including private, public, institutional, and academic practice, and exemplify diversity in professional experience, geography, gender, and ethnicity.” Nina served on the jury to review the Analysis & Planning, Communications, Research, & Student Collaboration submissions. Congratulations to all the 2025 Student Award Winners!

Merritt Chase Selected for 2025 Architect's Newspaper Best of Practice Awards

Merritt Chase has been recognized as the 2025 Midwest Landscape Architect Best of Practice Award winner by the Architect’s Newspaper. This annual program seeks to celebrate a breadth and merit of firms, including architects, contractors, sustainability and façade consultants, engineers, fabricators, interior designers, developers, and landscape architects, to spotlight those who not only champion an aesthetic vision, but also social and sustainable goals.

Throughout the entries, winners, and jury deliberations for the 2025 edition, an emphasis on employee wellbeing and a studio’s impact on the industry at large and local communities remained top of mind for many. Many of the companies that stood out to the jury impressively leveraged scale, expertise, and influence for larger endeavors like conducting further impactful research, empowering other generations, and finding solutions for new, global challenges.

Juror and Superbloom co-founder Diane Lipovsky noted, “The firm is really committed to positive social impact and helping their region. The practice does a lot of research and work on Appalachia and how they can contribute to the regeneration of those areas.” We are thrilled to be recognized among so many of our inspiring peers.

"Building Connections through the Harvard GSD" Nina Chase Gives Harvard GSD Class Day Remarks

Nina Chase will address this year’s class of graduates from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) during Class Day as a featured speaker. Read more about Nina’s role as Co-Chair of the Harvard GSD’s Alumni Council and how her experiences at the GSD have shaped her connections to the design community here.

Nina Chase gives WVU Davis College E. Lynn Miller Lecture

Named after E. Lynn Miller, a graduate of West Virginia University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, the E. Lynn Miller Lecture is the annual lecture for the WVU Landscape Architecture Department’s Jury Week. Nina’s lecture titled “Connections to People and Place” included a survey of Merritt Chase’s design process and current work including Canal Basin Park and Monument Circle Park.

Chris Merritt and Nina Chase Named Emerson Collective Fellows

We are excited to announce that Founding Principals Chris Merritt and Nina Chase have been named Emerson Collective Fellows. Emerson Collective invests in entrepreneurs and innovators driven by purpose and a sense of possibility, working to create a world of abundance for future generations. The Emerson Collective Fellowship encourages individuals of exceptional talent and creativity to advance bold new projects in education, immigration, the environment, social justice, media, and health.

As Emerson Fellows, Chris and Nina will explore work with the City of Indianapolis and downtown stakeholders to reimagine the future of Monument Circle. The Circle is the heart of downtown civic life located at the city and state’s geographic center. The nearly 300-foot tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument anchors the Circle and has become an icon of the city. While the Circle is a grand public space suitable for cars and large-scale public events, there is remaining potential to create space for vibrant human-scaled every day public life. Through meaningful engagement with city leadership, the business community, and the general public, the Fellowship will support a plan that honors Monument Circle’s rich history and shapes a more connected, welcoming future for the city.

You can learn more about Emerson Collective and the Fellowship here.

The City of Pittsburgh's Comprehensive Plan Kicks Off!

At the end of January, the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning kicked off a two-year comprehensive planning process. The Comprehensive Plan will guide the city in creating a safe, welcoming, and thriving community for all residents. In more than 200 years as a chartered city, Pittsburgh has never created an integrated comprehensive plan to guide its growth. Most plans have been completed at the neighborhood level. Each neighborhood’s plan reflects its character, history, and culture, which is necessary to preserve what makes these communities unique. A citywide comprehensive plan will build on these efforts and will bring a shared vision that connects and aligns future neighborhood plans. More information about the project and how you can get involved is available on the project’s Digital Engagement Hub.

We are excited to join an incredible team led by Toni Griffin, Urban American City, and HR&A. Additional project partners include Buro Happold, Cityfi, Sasaki, Grayscale Collaborative, Common Cause Consultants, 1Hood Media, Brown Mamas, and Alyssa Lyon Environmental Justice Consultant. As the landscape architects on the team, our work is focused on parks, open space, and stormwater management across the City of Pittsburgh.