PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

The gardens at the Zimmerman residence in Peoria’s Thousand Oaks subdivision

They reached an agreement, and what resulted was the first commercial green roof project in Chicago. That trend, too, would catch on. Hoerr Schaudt has designed green roofs for private homes and businesses across the country, including two of the largest — a 4.5-acre green roof in Chicago and another in Houston. A PARTNERSHIP In 2008, Hoerr’s firm merged with the landscape architectural firm of Peter Schaudt, becoming Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects. Schaudt died in 2015. Hoerr Schaudt never relegated itself to one specialty, designing landscapes for residences, universities, commercial developments, corporate headquarters, hospitals and retail developments, winning tons of awards in the process.

With a staff of 80 employees, the firm has been busier than ever the last four years. “It’s pretty exciting,” said Hoerr. “We have projects coast to coast and north to south.” There are many inter national clients, as well. Hoerr and his wife of 25 years, Tracy, have two children: son Malcolm, 23, a graduate of Wake Forest University, and daughter Amelia, 19, a sophomore at Miami of Ohio. Hoerr’s goal is to mentor. “I want to teach a whole new crop of landscape architects and give them the chance that my cousins gave me in Peoria.” Linda Smith Brown is a 37-year veteran of the newspaper industry, retiring as publisher of Times Newspapers in the Peoria area

His proposal made its way to Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who summoned Hoerr to Cupertino, California, to discuss the unusual plan. Hoerr told Jobs how a green roof would help mitigate the building’s heat island effect and slow the runoff of rainwater into the city’s storm sewers. Hoerr asked Jobs to lead by example.

48 JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE