Design Office

Word + Carr Design Group is an award-winning landscape architecture design/build/service firm led by principals Mark Word and Sarah Carr based in Austin, Texas. Formerly known as Mark Word Design, we draw from wide-ranging ideas, experience, and training in disciplines including horticulture, architecture, landscape architecture, and studio art.  We believe beauty is a conduit linking our senses with our humanity; casual, daily encounters with beauty are essential for healthy individuals and healthy societies.

By studying meaning, distance, time, and place, our design practice focuses on the thread of landscape as it connects public and private life, the natural world and the built environment. Our ability to realize fine detail at a high level of craft is buoyed by our fascination with observing natural growth over time, and by the boldness required to seize unforeseen opportunities. 

At Word + Carr Design Group, plants and place are the means toward our true end: allowing one to witness beauty’s arc within precisely conceived spaces. We construct tableaux, choreograph movements, all to experience the unfolding presence of the seasons and our place in time.  In an increasingly flattened world, we all rely on our sensory connection to natural phenomena and deep cycles of time to give our lives meaning, context, and joy.

Mark Word
Principal, Owner

Mark Word’s interest in art, graphic design, and botany has led to a 20-year career designing commercial and residential landscapes. The work of his Austin-based company has been featured in national publications and is noted for its sensitivity to regional character. Word + Carr Design Group continues to collaborate with renowned architects to develop a unique vision of the relationship between landscape and architecture. 

Sarah Carr, ASLA
Principal, Owner

Sarah spent the first four years of her career designing thoughtful urban houses, drawing on her education as an architect and hands-on construction experience.  Given to artistic leanings and a deep love of nature it now seems inevitable that Sarah’s focus would transition to landscape. For over a decade, Sarah has led Word + Carr Design Group.  Her attentive design skills coupled with a keen understanding of construction sequencing offer an invaluable source of inventive ideas and practical strategies.

Leah Romero, PLA
Senior Associate

With a degree from Louisiana State University's prestigious Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, Leah comes from an interdisciplinary background with experience in architecture, landscape architecture, and journalism. She is a civic-minded designer that creates contextually aware and responsible spaces. Leah is the chair of the board of the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy and is dedicated to serving her community by investing in its outdoor spaces.

Laura Bryant, PLA
Senior Associate

Laura is a Landscape Architect with experience on a broad range of projects, including urban parks, streetscapes, campuses, and private residences. Her work is derived from an appreciation of natural processes and a sensitive understanding of human interaction within the built environment. With a collaborative spirit in investigation and design development, Laura sees design as an opportunity to create meaningful, beautiful places. She enjoys volunteering on the board of the Pease Park Conservancy.