07/08/2025
It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our dear friend, mentor and founder, Luciano ‘Lu’ Miceli, FASLA.
The ‘M’ in our current firm name, Lu founded the company in 1964 in Rutherford, NJ after working at the NYC Housing Authority, Zion and Breen, and Andrews and Clark Engineers. He was an exceptional landscape architect with an expansive portfolio that spanned 30+ years of practice. Some of his early notable works include projects at the 1964 World’s Fair (Queens, NY), the New York Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY), and Paley Park (New York, NY).
In 1995, he was inducted into the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for his range of executed work. Projects, including the Mercer-Jackson Neighborhood Plan (Trenton, NJ), Spruce Run State Park (Clinton, NJ), and Raritan River Center (Piscataway, NJ), received national recognition from ASLA.
Lu was not only invested in the firm’s work, but also in the growth and progress of the profession as a whole. In 1964, he became a founding member of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects - NJASLA and became its third president from 1969 to 1972. He saw the potential and value of our profession’s work, and initiated the organization’s first attempt to get landscape architects licensed in New Jersey with testimony to the State Board. He eventually became the 11th landscape architect to be licensed in NJ’s history in 1985. He also lectured at the landscape architecture departments of Rutgers University and Pennsylvania State University, and the Department of Architecture of NJIT. Lu also published numerous articles on topics of landscape architecture including streetscape design and urban design.
Today, MKW + Associates, LLC is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) landscape architecture firms in NJ, but that is not Lu’s only legacy. He will be remembered for the work the firm has done and continues to do, but most importantly, the people his work has reached: the generations of designers he taught, the future of the profession he advocated, the communities he served, and of course, the people nearest to him: his family and friends. We miss him and carry on this legacy.
