09/09/2026
Marissa Kirkendall has a saying she comes back to often: landscape architecture, at its core, is about the spaces that connect us. It’s a simple idea, but one that’s shaped nearly every project she’s done since joining REALM in 2021, first as a Co-Op, then as a full-time Designer I in 2022. And now, we are proud to celebrate her as she is elevated to Designer III this year.
Over the past 5 years, Marissa’s design approach has consistently reminded REALM how to reach design goals efficiently and effectively. She doesn’t start with design; she starts by asking questions. “I always try to understand the bigger picture before any design or recommendations happen,” she says. Her “research first, design second” mindset has carried across her broad range of work, and she’s influenced her fellow team members to do the same.
Identifying the big picture in the Marysville Community Vision project meant looking well past the city’s borders. It meant mapping Marysville’s role within Central Ohio, tracking future mobility and growth patterns, all before narrowing down to the specific sites where change could happen. On the Cambridge Boulevard project, it meant something more tactile. It meant turning a passive, overlooked median into a linear park, complete with limestone walls, rain gardens, and a gathering space residents can actually occupy.
Projects on completely different scales, all driven to achieve success using the same throughline. “We’re designing spaces for people to utilize, whether they realize it or not,” Marissa says. Her research-driven design and passion for reimagining projects of all scales into people-first, pedestrian-scaled spaces helped transform REALM into the firm it is today. Join us in celebrating Marissa as Designer III!
