SOURFLOUR?
I’m Jordi Prieto, a senior landscape architecture student at Cornell University. Influenced by my Ecuadorian heritage and Bronx upbringing, I view design as a medium to tell stories, connect communities, and honor the landscapes that shape us. I am passionate about cultural landscapes, photography, graphic communication, and I strive to create spaces that reflect diverse voices and meaningful lived experiences with intent.
Stories Woven in the Landscape:
Intersection of Cultures, Communal Spaces, and
Personal Journeys in Design
My name is Jordi PrietoI grew up in rural Ecuador, where I experienced the cold, the rosy cheeks from the lack of oxygen, and the mountains that shaped the skyline. Nature felt alive; it breathed through the eucalyptus trees, standing tall and whispering to the world. It was a small valley town with unique landscapes and stories. Stories of great floods and droughts, of times before electric stoves or microwaves. My grandma knew all these tales, grounding them in her experiences and painting nature with life. El Pachamama, she would explain to me, is the force that connects everything. It was also the name of the plateau that adorned our periphery. My grandma taught me that nature is alive and holds stories.
This made me deeply receptive to my surroundings in a way I will always take with me. It makes me seek meaning every day because life does not stay still. It constantly shifts. Those moments in between, those moments of transition, also shape us.
My most defining transition was when my family and I moved to the Bronx. Everything changed. Rolling hills and open fields no longer surrounded me; the city felt rigid and unfamiliar. Growing up outside, I coped with the change by going to the park. I found meaning in those playgrounds and paths of green that brought me together with other kids, where language was not a barrier. I soon forgot what I had left behind. My local park had outdoor grill stands that, in the summer, brought everyone together through parrillas (cookouts). My family and I would go, play soccer, and have conversations with our neighbors. I realized that rural or urban spaces are more than physical forms. They are the foundation of social life, cultural expression, and exchange.
My journey in landscape architecture began long before I realized it. It was in the drawings, the poetry, and the hours I spent outside. I began to know design not solely as aesthetic and function. It was about understanding. Just like that local park, where I never imagined an outdoor grill would mean so much to me, spaces can shape experiences. For me, landscape architecture is about understanding how people connect to space. In urban environments where public green space is limited, the spaces that do exist hold immense value.
I design projects with care for experiences and communities, which makes each of them unique. I've learned that there is no single design solution. It is not about imposing a singular vision but about listening, understanding, and reflecting on the stories spaces hold. My background has become a lens through which I shape my work in landscape architecture and concept photography to tell stories of people like me, people with big ideas.