About Pieter Schaafsma
Pieter grew up in northern New Mexico and traveled throughout the American Southwest and Mexico with his parents — two Southwest archeologists — and grandparents, all avid hikers. His family maintained a large organic garden and lived off the land, an experience that helped cultivate Pieter’s love and respect for the earth we live on.
While attending college in southern New Mexico, Pieter studied journalism, geography, Spanish, and art, and he helped construct the adobe work called “House From Above” by the famous landscape artist Vito Aconcci. Pieter then pursued Latin American studies and historic preservation at Northern Arizona University. As an intern with the Flagstaff Main Street Foundation, he worked in the promotion, public relations, organization, and design of the historic downtown district. After graduating from NAU, Pieter continued his advanced studies in landscape architecture at the University of Arizona, where he attended urban design classes with Michael Byrne. He and Byrne, a landscape architect and partner in the design firm The WLB Group, later collaborated on several large projects, including Flagstaff’s Heritage Square.
Pieter and his lovely and tremendously supportive wife, Keith, continue to expand their horizons with frequent travels to France, Spain, North and South America. These travels expose Pieter to a variety of innovative and progressive design ideas that he molds and develops for his clients.
Pieter and Keith live in Flagstaff with their two border collies and cats. Keith is the Senior Investment Advisor with Ascendant Financial Solutions, a private financial firm in Flagstaff, Arizona.