LEGACY OF OUR FOUNDER, PERRY L. WOOD, FASLA
Perry Wood was born in 1952 and grew up in Greenville, S.C., the son of prominent architect Avery Wood, of ARD Wood Architects. Perry graduated from the University of Georgia School of Environmental Design with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture in 1975. He moved to Hilton Head Island to work for Halls Nursery in residential design. Soon after, Perry joined Edward Pinckney/Associates Ltd. in 1976. Over the next decade, he became a principal in the firm and leader of the Hilton Head Office. In 1988 Perry, together with Ed Evans, founded Wood+Partners Inc.
Over Perry’s long and accomplished career, he played a leading role in a wide range of projects, from large-scale land use plans and amenity community master plans to resort properties across the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean. Mr. Wood’s work and close relationship with Sea Pines Plantation founder and visionary Charles Fraser led to a practice based on applied environmental awareness and planning with an emphasis on environmental preservation, stewardship of the land, sustainability, and Smart Growth.
A LEADING AUTHORITY
Mr. Wood was widely recognized as a leading authority in land planning, landscape architecture, community planning, zoning, and land use law. Throughout his career, Mr. Wood lived and worked in the unique environment of Hilton Head Island and the South Carolina Lowcountry. The area’s natural beauty and strong land preservation ethic instilled in him an extraordinary understanding of environmental-based planning with an emphasis on contextual design and balanced growth; all of which he articulated so well throughout his career.
Mr. Wood’s love of the Lowcountry strongly influenced his decision to become involved in chartering local policies concerning development, design, and preservation. As former chairman of the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Committee to Define Island Character, Mr. Wood was instrumental in establishing a standard for environmentally sensitive development, setting benchmarks for architectural site development, and creating the Island’s Land Management Ordinance. As a board member of the Coastal Discovery Museum, he was instrumental in community consensus building, guiding design team members through programming and planning for the new museum.
A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE
Mr. Wood was very active in the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and served as President of the SC Chapter in 1986. He was also a master grader for the S.C. Landscape Architects Board of Registration. He was honored with an ASLA Fellowship in 2004. Perry was also an active member of the Urban Land Institute, served on the Clemson University Architectural Foundation, the Board of Directors of Coastal Discovery Museum of Hilton Head, the Beaufort SC Open Land Trust, Leadership South Carolina and several other allied societies.
Locally, he served on the Town of Hilton Head Corridor Review Committee and as its Chairman in 1993, the Town Committee to Define Island Character and served and as Chairman in 1992-93, the United Way of Beaufort County 1994 Residential Campaign and on numerous Architectural Review Boards for island communities.
Under Perry’s leadership, our firm grew from the two founding members in the Hilton Head office to over 45 people in 2008 with three offices in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Tallahassee, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. In 2023 we celebrate our 35th Anniversary and despite Perry’s passing in November of 2011, the firm continues to grow and promote the vision, mission, and culture that Perry established as the firm’s founder and long-time leader.