"I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work."
– Frank Lloyd Wright
The land is ours to benefit from, but is also ours to protect, restore, and nurture. A successful project develops from successful relationships, not just with people, but with our surroundings – both created and natural. High West is inspired daily to create and foster these relationships while acting as stewards of the land. The outcome is a resilient project that is sustainable for the future. Having concern for our environment - for our community, for nature, for wildlife, for natural systems - since we were kids, we've always had a passion for understanding the relationships among and between the things around us. Now we have the opportunity to leave every space we touch in better shape than we found it and continually have a positive effect on the people and communities that come into contact with our work. That will be our legacy.
Founded in 2014, High West Landscape Architects is the fastest-growing firm in the Reno-Tahoe area offering sustainable residential, commercial and public projects that seamlessly integrate our created and natural environments for a lasting positive impact on our families, our communities and the environment.
Our small team of passionate designers has over 40 years combined experience working on projects across Northern California, Northern Nevada and the Midwest, ranging from university master planning to commercial streetscapes, high-end residential to campground design, stream restoration, parks and recreation, and everything in-between. We work with clients all over the world, utilizing state-of-the-art technology to interface openly in real time.
At High West, we derive inspiration from our amazing natural surroundings, our community, and of course, our diverse clients. We utilize a collaborative process to involve clients in the design process and ensure that they are as inspired by it as we are, and get to fully experience all the fun and excitement to be had as they watch a project develop over time in surprising ways. We like to say we solve problems people didn’t know they had by offering solutions they didn’t know were possible. Through this approach, we form lasting and trusting relationships in a combined effort to create balance and meaning. The outcome is most often sheer delight!
Landscape architecture is about far more than "pretty-ing" up yard or neighborhood. Our thoughtful, intentional, interactive designs actually change the way you interact with other people and with the environment. We achieve that by utilizing a systems approach - taking into account every facet of a project including the space, the people, the environment. That 360 degree perspective allows us to focus on preserving resources and enhancing natural beauty, while improving human interaction, health and safety, all of which have far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits.
Patrick McEnany lives every day in absolute awe of nature, and constantly looks for new ways to respect, honor and support nature in his work and in his personal life. He studied at the School of Architecture at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and after a brief hiatus (having moved to Truckee, California to teach skiing), later earned a Landscape Architecture Degree from the University of California, Davis and studied Environmental Design at Kyoto University in Japan. He worked at U.C. Davis as a Post-Graduate Researcher for the Land Analysis and Systems Research Lab before working with Drew Goetting Consulting in Berkeley, California and Brian Clark and Associates (now Confluence) in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2004, Patrick moved back to Truckee and began working under John at L+P DesignWorks until 2011, when he founded his own firm, McEnany Planning and Landscape Architecture Inc. He then co-founded High West Landscape Architects with John in 2014. Patrick has over 15 years of professional experience.
Outside of the business, Patrick participates in local community building as an active member of the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, of CATT, and has served on the Town of Truckee Trails Selection and Advisory Committee, as well as volunteering with the Truckee River Watershed Council, and as past President to the Board of Truckee Trails Foundation.
Having spent much time in the Truckee-Tahoe area as a kid, Patrick is naturally an avid skier, golfer, and loves saltwater and freshwater fly fishing.