Month: November 2014

Parks & Recreation Annual Meeting Preview

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Morning in Denver's City Park image: mclcbooks via Flickr
Morning in Denver’s City Park
image: mclcbooks via Flickr

The ASLA Annual Meeting starts today! This year’s theme, Resilience, could not be more appropriate as cities around the nation are faced with natural disasters and economic struggles over the past few years. Landscape architects are well positioned to lead cities through these challenges and work towards building resilient communities. Parks and Recreation is an invaluable part of the fabric that builds these resilient cities by creating public spaces that foster community building. Please join us for our PPN meeting this year!

Parks and Recreation PPN Meeting
Sunday, November 23, 1:40-2:15 pm
PPN Room 2 on the EXPO floor

At the Parks and Recreation PPN Meeting Sunday afternoon, we will discuss our PPN’s goals for the upcoming year. We will discuss how the PPN can better support your practice and identify topics and issues that are important to you as well as identify topics for Online Learning webinars and posts for The Field. Bring recent success stories to share! We are also looking for a few volunteers to serve as a PPN Co-Chairs and/or Officers starting after this year’s Annual Meeting. Please attend the PPN Meeting in Denver if you are interested to learn more about serving as a chair or officer.

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WILA at the Annual Meeting in Denver

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2014 WILA Walk route through Denver's Golden Triangle image: Connie Perry and Susan McCabe, the Denver WILA Walk organizers
2014 WILA Walk route through Denver’s Golden Triangle
image: Connie Perry and Susan McCabe, the Denver WILA Walk organizers

The ASLA Annual Meeting in Denver is just around the corner!  We can’t wait to see you!

This past year, WILA has focused on rolling out a women in landscape architecture interview series. The series will revolve around a series of questions developed by the WILA PPN’s leadership group, and the interview results will be posted here on The Field as an overview and in more detail in the upcoming year.

WILA events for this year’s Annual Meeting include speed-mentoring at the WILA PPN Meeting on Saturday, November 22 at 4:15 pm, the PPN Networking Reception on Friday, November 21, and of course the WILA Walk on Monday morning at 7 am. More information on all of these and several education sessions which might be of interest is listed below.

Hope to see you at one or all of these events!

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Digital Technology in Denver

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Plant Factory Vegetation Rendered in Vue image: Matt Wilkens, KTU+A
Plant Factory Vegetation Rendered in Vue
image: Matt Wilkens, KTU+A

We are all very excited for the upcoming ASLA Annual Meeting in Denver! This past year, digital technologies have greatly modified the way we do business, and many of these new technologies will be featured at this year’s Annual Meeting. Outlined below are a few of our favorite picks for education sessions and vendor booths to stop by and learn a thing or two. The education offerings span the spectrum from hand-drawn graphic integration, to CAD, to 3D technologies, to Geodesign.

I hope that everyone attending the Annual Meeting will also join us at the PPN Networking Reception on Friday, November 21 from 5:15-7:15 pm in Room 201, Colorado Convention Center, and the Digital Technology PPN Meeting on Saturday, November 22 from 9:15-10:45 am in PPN Room 2 on the EXPO floor near ASLA Central.

At the Digital Technology PPN Meeting on Saturday morning, we will discuss our PPN’s goals for the upcoming year, have a new technologies roundtable, I will give a quick demonstration of this year’s 3D improvements, and then I will turn it over to our new PPN Chair, Ryan Deane, for a quick demonstration of some other digital technology improvements for productivity.

Below are sessions and meetings for those interested in maximizing their digital technology learning experience at the Annual Meeting.

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Large-Scale International Projects

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At Qasr Al Sarab, a five star destination resort in the Empty Quarter, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) managed a South African designer, a Saudi Arabian landscape subcontractor, thirty other contractors and suppliers as well as overseeing the transition to permanent maintenance to achieve this result. image: Edward Flaherty
At Qasr Al Sarab, a five star destination resort in the Empty Quarter, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) managed a South African designer, a Saudi Arabian landscape subcontractor, thirty other contractors and suppliers as well as overseeing the transition to permanent maintenance to achieve this result.
image: Edward Flaherty

Large-Scale International Projects, in Theory and in Practice: Challenges & Opportunities for Landscape Architects

Yogi Berra had it right. He said, “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.”

How does a very large and very complex project—1.5 kilometers long and more than thirty international consultants—get built?

Here’s the simple summary: there are three players. Number one: the owner—the owner has the money and property to develop the project. Number two: the consultant—the consultant does the design and engineering for the project. And number three: the contractor—he builds the project. Then the owner moves in and operates the project. Straightforward, right?

Almost…

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Urban Design at the Annual Meeting

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images, clockwise from top left: Keith Billick, Taner Ozdil, and Marc Yeber
images, clockwise from top left: Keith Billick, Taner Ozdil, and Marc Yeber

Join us in Denver!

It’s only a few weeks away: the ASLA Annual Meeting! Below, you’ll find a preview of the Urban Design PPN Meeting, plus highlights from the rest of the Annual Meeting, including selected sessions on urban design from among the 120+ education and field sessions that will be taking place November 21-24 in Denver.

What to Expect at This Year’s Urban Design PPN Meeting

Saturday, November 22
12:45-2:15pm in PPN Room 3 on the EXPO floor

Charting a Path for 2015

Landscape architecture’s role in urban design has become increasingly vital and more defined within the built environment. As a result, planners and developers are looking to landscape professionals to guide and cultivate strategies that not only support environmental sustainability, but also encourage interaction and reinforce authenticity. So what tools do Urban Design PPN members need as leaders and stewards in order to effectively frame the discussion and direct efforts in shaping our cities and towns? How can social media and other digital platforms be more effectively utilized? Are there initiatives that should be explored and presented? This and more will be outlined in the first part of the meeting.

Six Rapid Presentations on Urban Design Framed by Landscape

PechaKucha-style presentations (20 slides, 20 seconds each) will be given by 7 dynamic presenters demonstrating different aspects of urban design which are framed by landscape principles. Listed below are the scheduled presentations.

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