Michael Cole graduated from the Landscape Architecture program in 1979. He worked for Odell Associates Inc. in Charlotte for almost 10 years before co-founding ColeJenest & Stone, P.A. in 1988 with Brian Jenest, also a 1979 College of Design landscape architecture graduate. The award-winning firm employs 40 landscape architects, civil engineers and urban designers and has participated in more than 2,900 projects in its 15-year history. The company has developed a unique approach to blending science and art by teaming landscape architects and civil engineers in the firm’s five specialized project teams. Both disciplines collaborate from concept to construction, contributing design and technical expertise to each project.

Though the firm has produced commercial, residential and healthcare projects, their primary focus is mixed-use developments, urban public spaces and campus planning. Cole was commissioned to update the master plan for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is currently working on relocation of the College of Engineering to the North Carolina State University Centennial Campus.

Other significant urban design projects include: Gateway Village, a 1.1 million SF mixed-use development in Charlotte with Bank of America and Cousins Properties, Inc; The Green at Wachovia, a 1.5 acre downtown plaza between South Tryon and College Streets; and Pack Square, the central public open space, in Asheville, North Carolina.

Cole has helped position the firm for continued strong growth using its teaming philosophy and commitment to design excellence.