Licensed
Landscape Architect

Excellence and Quality
Achieving excellence is our hallmark. Although we feel our work speaks for itself, we also have prestigious awards, degrees, memberships, and publications that speak of a broader recognition of our work and expertise.  The strong working relationships Tom Altgelt has cultivated with  seasoned contractor partners allow for smooth and graceful continuity from the creative vision to the completed garden.

Design History
Over four decades, Tom Altgelt has brought a deep mindfulness and creativity to a variety of projects, ranging from a wide array of intimate backyard spaces and larger estate gardens to the New Government Center of Saudi Arabia and the Garden of Nations in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tom focuses on bringing joy to people in soulful ways. Weaving together rock and water features has became part of his signature  work. One of Tom’s more innovative European-inspired projects made public an extraordinarily engaging way of working with the flowing movements of water in an award-winning exhibit at the New England Flower Show. Tom also seeks to bring his approach also to  select commercial and institutional gardens as a way to improve people's quality of life in their work environment. 

Landscape Architect Registration
Tom  received his degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of California and is  a member of the American Society of Landscape Architect and is also a registered as a Landscape Architect in Germany. Currently the majority of his work is centered on the Front Range of Colorado.

Degrees, Awards and Recognition
Altgelt & Associates has been honored and recognized in publications such as Luxury Homes – “Best of the Best,” Better Homes and Gardens, Boulder County Home and Garden Magazine, The New England Real Estate Journal, The Boulder Daily Camera,  LUXE Magazine and was voted Best of Houzz 2015.  Tom was asked to address the Green Building Council's 2003 and 2006 Annual Conferences on the subject of water as an essential element that shapes both our natural and built environments.
Tom has won a series of Grand and Golden Awards in the ALCC and Colorado HomeBook design competitions. 

International Design
Having received his degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Tom initially honed his professional training and skills in Germany, where he was invited to help develop conceptual ideas and details for the various landscapes and gardens of the New Government Center for Saudi Arabia.
He was then asked to join Otto Arnold, Inc., Stuttgart's leading design-build practice, as head designer, specializing in private estate gardens.  Here Tom learned the art of creating fine gardens with a special emphasis on water, stone, and perennials.  Because this firm also specialized in rooftop gardens and interior landscapes, Tom had the unusual opportunity to immerse himself even more deeply in those newly developing fields, which he had already encountered while working on the Saudi Arabian project.
As a result of his early experiences in Germany, Tom was asked to return to Germany to work as lead designer for creating the overall context for The Garden of Nations at the International Garden and Landscape Exposition in Stuttgart.  During that second stay, Tom also designed a series of healing therapeutic gardens that were integrated into the Children's Clinic at the University of Tuebingen.  Tom was also immersed in the planning and design of a town center, where he had the opportunity to blend architectural impulses ranging from medieval times to the present.
Because of Europe's overall limited space and long history of beautifully intricate architecture and gardens, landscape architects are challenged by high expectations as they blend the old traditions with new technologies. Tom thrived in this rich tradition of blending cutting edge technology with an extraordinary aesthetic history of fine design.

Around the USA
Among the gardens he designed for the Abbey of St. Walburga, in Virginia Dale, Colorado, were the contemplative gardens for both the Sisters and their guests on retreat.
On the more technical side, he also developed a palette of approaches to the design and the execution of the rooftop tree plazas and gardens at both the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder and Mason Square in Englewood, Colorado.  In the realm of large-scale community development, he was asked by an innovative development corporation to be part of an interdisciplinary team that was exploring new paradigms of neighborhood cluster housing at the Villages at Castle Pines.
Tom applied his European training in the art of traditional and innovative landscapes and gardens first in the New England region.  In addition to estate gardens, Tom's  projects included grand award-winning projects, such as the Water's Edge Resort in Connecticut and Constitution Office Park at the Charleston Navy Yard outside of Boston. He was also asked to create gardens for Reebok International Corporate Headquarters and the Central Waterfront of Newburyport, both in Massachusetts.

Publications
Tom has written articles for various publications, such as The New England Real Estate Journal and Colorado Home Book.

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