Peter George Rolland, 95, of Rye, died peacefully July 26, 2025, while napping at his longtime home.
Born in 1930 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Curt and Lise Rolland, Peter’s family left for America in 1936. He graduated from Metuchen High School as a less-than-stellar student before earning a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from the National Agricultural College and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design.
After serving in the U.S. Army, Peter started his career in the offices of Hideo Sasaki, Perkins & Will, and Lawrence Halprin. In 1963, he opened his own firm, Peter G. Rolland & Associates, Site Planners and Landscape Architects, which later became Rolland/Towers, in the Arcade Building on Purchase Street in Rye, where he practiced for almost 40 years. The firm’s projects included the Australian Parliament House, Rockefeller Pocantico Hills Estate, and SUNY Purchase.
Peter received the Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement from the American Institute of Architects, and his firm received the Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects, among many other honors.
Peter was a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, a fellow of the American Academy in Rome and president of the Society of Fellows, an Academician of the National Academy of Design, and trustee of Delaware Valley College. He served Rye on the Architectural Board of Review and Landmarks Commission.
Peter encouraged, taught, and nurtured others, taking pride in their achievements. He was a faculty member at Yale School of Architecture (1973-1994) and design critic at the University of Virginia, Harvard University, Cornell University, and City College. Many talented landscape architects spent anywhere from a few years to their entire careers in the collaborative environment of Peter’s office.
Peter met his wife of 60 years, Wendy Altschul Rolland, an architect, at Harvard GSD. Together, they designed their home and garden and enjoyed family, friends, art, architecture, and strong opinions.
Peter will be deeply missed as a father, grandfather, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his warmth, generosity, and charm that built loyal, lifelong friends. He loved good company, travel, supervising his children as they pulled weeds, and lying in the sun.
Peter is predeceased by his wife, Wendy, and survived by his children, David, Seth (Me’l), and Janna (Phil); grandchildren, Ben, Milo, and Cole; brother, John (Froma); and sister-in-law, Candace Altschul.
In his later years, Peter was a regular fixture at the window seats of June&Ho and Fogama, where he enjoyed the hospitality, iced coffee, and brownies, and waving to passing friends.
In lieu of flowers, please plant a tree.
