Mark your calendars for two upcoming opportunities to earn professional development hours (PDH) with ASLA’s Student & Emerging Professional SPOTLIGHT mini-series. Each is a two-part presentation, providing access to forward-thinking topics and discussions.
Earlier this year, four emerging professionals were selected to work with Professional Practice Network (PPN) mentors in creating presentations for the SPOTLIGHT mini-series. This program provides valuable mentorship through design critique, effective communication guidance, and building relationships with industry professionals. We’re proud of the work these emerging professionals have put forth, making a name for themselves among their peers, and look forward to their continued volunteer work and leadership with ASLA.
Since 2013, the American Society of Landscape Architects has convened an annual Diversity Summit with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of how landscape architecture can better represent the communities and people it serves. For the 2018 Diversity Summit, five professionals from the 2017 Diversity SuperSummit were invited back, and nine new participants were selected from the Call for Letters of Interest to add valuable input to discussions and resource development.
On June 22-24, ASLA hosted the 2018 Diversity Summit at the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C. The goals of the 2018 Diversity Summit were to review benchmarks prioritized from the 2017 Diversity SuperSummit and to create opportunities for participants to research and workshop resources for ASLA’s career discovery and diversity program. Throughout the weekend, participants offered ideas and suggestions for the development of two resources that can assist professionals in implementing diversity and inclusion practices into business strategies and help ASLA National and ASLA Chapters create programs to reach youth and communities.
Please help ASLA national ensure that we develop continuing education content that supports your individual interests and needs by completing a short survey. ASLA is interested in hearing from licensed and non-licensed professionals. Please share your feedback by Tuesday, July 17.ASLA provides a number of ways for landscape architects to earn professional development hours (PDH) through the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System™ (LA CES™). Professional development hours (PDH) is the term that ASLA and LA CES use to describe how much credit a course carries.
Check out additional resources on ASLA’s Professional Development webpage, such as an up-to-date list of conferences for landscape architects focused on a variety of practice areas.
Do you have a friend who is interested in landscape architecture? Do your children like the idea of blending art with the environment? Are you a landscape architecture professional visiting a local school and searching for a fun interactive exercise?
The ASLA Discover Landscape Architecture Activity Books for kids, teens, and adults were designed by ASLA members to inspire and teach anyone interested in landscape architecture and the built environment.
Use the activity books to learn or teach about:
the tools and skills needed to become a landscape architect,
the many ways landscape architects shape our environment,
how landscape architects use hand drawing to formulate ideas and solve complex problems, and
how to make beautiful places for people to live, work, and play.
Alpa Nawre, ASLA, presents to community members in India / image: Tsz Wai Wong
In a time of ceaselessly shifting cycles (of news, weather, economic ups-and-downs, and never-ending debates on seemingly every topic imaginable), taking time out to focus on building transformative leadership and advancing ethically-motivated ideas is a refreshing break from the norm. The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership aims to nurture and inspire landscape architecture professionals to pursue “ideas that have the potential to bring about impactful change to the environment and humanity and increase the visibility and leadership role of landscape architecture.”
On May 17 in Washington, DC, LAF hosted an event for their inaugural class of fellows. The Symposium was the culmination of the year-long fellowship, which supports senior-level, mid-career, and emerging professionals as they develop and test new ideas that will drive innovation and transformation. Each fellow gave a short presentation on their work, the diversity of which demonstrates the breadth of the profession and the transformative potential of landscape architecture’s expansive scope.
Brice Maryman, ASLA, began with a critical look at the misalignment between myths about homelessness and what data shows. Contrary to frequently-repeated observations on the prevalence of substance abuse, mental illness, and other apparently common causes, the one underlying trauma found in nearly all situations is in fact a lack of affordable housing. Citing Richard Rothstein’s 2017 book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Maryman went on to the impact of zoning regulations on today’s widening wealth gap and the marked concentration of larger homeless populations in a handful of coastal urban areas.
All members of ASLA are invited to share their input through this short 11-question survey. May 31 is the deadline for responses.
ASLA achieved critical legislative successes last year, including working with chapters to successfully stave off state attacks on licensure, upgrade state licensure laws, and achieve licensure in the District of Columbia. On the federal side, ASLA helped to pass legislation to support the National Park Service, promote green infrastructure in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, and protect and preserve the Land and Water Conservation Fund. ASLA Government Affairs also continues its fight against proposed environmental and climate change rollbacks in federal law.
by Kristopher Pritchard, Accreditation & Education Programs Manager, ASLA
ASLA 2013 Student Collaboration Honor Award. X-Scape. Brett Berger, Student ASLA; Aaron Choi, Student Affiliate ASLA; Christine Phu, Student Affiliate ASLA; and Diego Valencia, Student ASLA, Arizona State University. Faculty Advisor: Philip Horton / image: Student Team
The Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) invites comments on its proposed revisions to the LAAB Accreditation Standards. LAAB last approved revisions to the standards in 2016 as part of its periodic review of its standards. LAAB conducts a formal, comprehensive review of the accreditation standards every five years (page 4, LAAB Accreditation Procedures). The proposed revisions are posted on the LAAB website under LAAB News & Actions.
LAAB currently accredits first professional programs at the bachelor’s and master’s level in the United States and its territories. Of these programs, all are traditional programs housed within universities and colleges throughout the United States. While some courses within a few programs are offered via distance education, there are no LAAB-accredited programs that currently offer a large portion or all of their curriculum online. However, as more students enroll in online courses and programs during their time in higher education, the demand for an LAAB accredited online program will likely grow. About 5.8 million students were enrolled in at least one distance learning course in a U.S. institution in fall 2014—up 3.9 percent from the previous fall, according to Online Report Card: Tracking Online Education in the United States, an annual report by the Babson Survey Research Group. Additionally, a majority of calls received at ASLA regarding landscape architecture education involves the availability of online programs.
Therefore, LAAB has undertaken the process to review its standards relative to the delivery of online courses in landscape architecture. This review began in February 2017 and its timeline is included below.
The ASLA 2018 Online Learning Student & Emerging Professional SPOTLIGHT mini-series call for proposals is now open! This initiative gives YOU the opportunity to work with a Professional Practice Network (PPN) mentor in creating a presentation for ASLA’s Online Learning series. Do you have eye-opening research to share with the profession, or an inclination to do a little design exploration over the summer? Here’s your chance!
Provide a presentation description – including title, short description (150 words), outline, and three learning objectives for the presentation.
Submit a portfolio giving ASLA and PPN mentors the opportunity to get to know you and your work (maximum five sheets at 8.5”x11”).
Selected participants will be notified in June. At this time, you will be introduced to your PPN mentor and the collaboration begins! Presentations will take place in August.
Check out the 2017 SPOTLIGHT presentations for inspiration!
Transitional Landscapes presented by Elyana Javaheri, Associate ASLA Tactical Myceliumpresented by Bridget Ayers Looby, Associate ASLA, SITES AP
PPN Mentors:
David Cutter, ASLA, Campus Planning & Design PPN
Laura Tenny, ASLA, Campus Planning & Design PPN
Kenneth Hurst, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN
Tropical TalkStory: Hardwood Hammocks presented by Tricia Keffer, Student ASLA Aloha Art presented by Rachel Katzman, Associate ASLA
PPN Mentors:
Emily O’Mahoney, ASLA, Women in Landscape Architecture PPN
Kristina Snyder, ASLA, Women in Landscape Architecture PPN
commUNITY station: Connecting People and Place, sponsored by The Riverside University Public Health System-Public Health and Alta Planning and Design / image: Miguel Vazquez
For the past few years, the Local Government Commission (LGC) has partnered with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and other organizations to showcase the great potential of parklets as public spaces during annual New Partners for Smart Growth (NPSG) Conferences. This year, during the conference in San Francisco, various organizations participated in the Parklet program. Our team, representing Riverside University Health System-Public Health (RUHS-PH) and Alta Planning+Design (AP+D), collaborated on the design and creation of a public space we called CommUNITY Station.
Our aim was to raise awareness about the potential application of parklets as transit stops in areas where bus stops lack basic amenities like seating, shade, and lighting, inspired by a group of high school students from rural eastern Coachella Valley who identifiedbus stopsas opportunities to improve the pedestrian and transit environments. The commUNITY station was an opportunity to think beyond the traditional transit stop design. Innovation in materials, cost effectiveness, design and feel while maintaining the basic standards that protect the health, safety and welfare of transit users were some of the points of conversation and potential for future collaboration among the NPSG conference attendees.
The 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Los Angeles / image: EPNAC
Thirty-five of the 120 education sessions that took place during the 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Los Angeles were recorded and are now available to view on the ASLA Online Learning website, learn.asla.org. Topics covered range from climate adaptation and habitat design to radical water conservation and residential design.
ASLA Online Learning presentations provide information on new and evolving practices and developments in design. These distance learning opportunities are also a convenient way to earn the professional development hours (PDH) needed to meet state licensure requirements. PDH are approved by the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System™ (LA CES™) and can be earned after viewing a presentation by completing and passing a self-study exam. Be sure to check state mandatory continuing education requirements to ensure that LA CES courses are compatible with your state requirements.
More than 175 recorded presentations are available for on-demand viewing, including:
ASLA annual meeting education session recordings from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013,
The Mission Interactive Model, sponsored by Place It! / image: Katie Riddle
In February, the New Partners for Smart Growth (NPSG) conference, the nation’s largest smart growth and sustainability event, was held in San Francisco, CA. As a promotional sponsor, ASLA led the sixth annual Parklets Initiative along with the Local Government Commission (LGC). The interactive installations were created by design and planning firms as well as local non-profit organizations. The parklets were located adjacent to the conference session rooms, and provided an opportunity for attendees to carry over the dynamic interactive sessions into the common space, where they could network with colleagues and engage in dialogue around smart growth implementation. The programming elements of the parklets included urban forest products, creative placemaking though public transit stops, complete street design components, and participation-based urban planning tools.
The Call for Letters of Interest to participate in the 2018 ASLA Diversity Summit is open through March 7, 2018 / image: EPNAC
ASLA will host the 2018 Diversity Summit from June 22-24 at the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C. The six new professionals from the 2017 Diversity SuperSummit have been invited back, and ASLA is looking to invite six new participants to add valuable input to discussions and resource development. The goals of the 2018 Diversity Summit are to review benchmarks prioritized from the 2017 Diversity SuperSummit and create opportunities for participants to research and workshop resources for ASLA’s career discovery and diversity program.
Eligibility & Deadline
If you are a landscape architecture professional of color in the United States with at least two years of professional experience and are interested in applying, please complete the 2018 ASLA Diversity Summit Call for Letters of Interest by Wednesday, March 7.
ASLA 2017 Professional General Design Honor Award. Workplace as Landscape – Facebook MPK20, Menlo Park, CA. CMG Landscape Architecture / image: Marion Brenner
Updates have been rolled out for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Stormwater Calculator (SWC), including a Low Impact Development (LID) cost estimation module and mobile web application version that can be used on both mobile devices and desktop computers.
A Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Research Program webinar on January 31 introduced these new features and demonstrated example applications. The presentation, by U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) landscape architect Jason Bernagros, will be made available as a recording, and the next free webinar in the series is scheduled for February 28, 2018 on “Village Blue Project: Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring in the Baltimore Harbor.”
EPA developed the SWC to help support local, state, and national stormwater management objectives and regulatory efforts to reduce runoff through infiltration and retention using green infrastructure practices as low impact development controls. It is designed to be used by anyone interested in reducing runoff from a property, including landscape architects, urban planners, developers, and homeowners.
Across the country, parks professionals, planners and community organizations have been using arts and culture as a means to address important community development goals in a practice known as creative placemaking.
City Parks Alliance (CPA) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) are partnering to bring placemaking skills and strategies to you through a PARKXCHANGE City Workshop on Creative Placemaking, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2017, CPA and TPL released The Field Guide for Creative Placemaking and Parks, a book that serves as a ‘how-to’ for implementing park-based creative placemaking and highlights successful park placemaking case studies.
These organizations are now partnering to bring those skills and innovative strategies to you through our PARKXCHANGE City Workshops. CPA and TPL will be selecting two U.S. cities to host a creative placemaking workshop, a day-long workshop with guest speakers, interactive case studies, and creative placemaking skill-building. Submissions are due February 28, 2018.
Dean Hill, ASLA, volunteering at ASLA’s exhibit booth / image: Katie Riddle
In early January, ASLA participated in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show®(IBS) as part of Design & Construction Week® (DCW) in Orlando, FL. Working with local members to increase awareness of the landscape architecture profession among an audience of large national builders, small local builders, architects, and designers, ASLA exhibited on the trade show floor among more than 80,000 attendees and 1,500 exhibitors. Todd Bonnett, ASLA, and Dean Hill, ASLA, along with ASLA staff, fielded questions by conference attendees regarding professional services provided by landscape architects. Todd also promoted the importance of working with a landscape architect through the Plan Review Session, during which attendees had the opportunity to sign up for a review with landscape architects, architects, planners, and interior designers to study housing plans and discuss creative ideas to better meet the needs of today’s home buyers and builders. Continue reading →
January is jam-packed with important deadlines at ASLA—see below for a roundup of opportunities closing in the next two weeks. Help to ensure your voice is heard, that you and your colleagues are recognized for your work and leadership, and your practice area is represented!
Any ASLA member may recommend an eligible candidate for nomination for the ASLA Council of Fellows (COF). There are four nomination categories: Works, Leadership/Management, Knowledge, and Service. More information on these categories, plus guidelines, forms, and templates for submission, can be found on the COF website.
The candidate must:
Be a current ASLA Full Member or International Member in good standing.
Have achieved at least 10 continuous years of Full or International membership at the time of nomination.
Have demonstrated exceptional contributions over an extended period of time.
Have made a significant positive impact on the public and the profession beyond their local area.
Have received national recognition for those contributions from multiple sources.
For 2016, we opened the survey-making process to our PPN leadership, asking each group to contribute one question that would then be shared with all 10,000+ collective PPN members. The key themes, trends, and responses to the survey were originally highlighted in the PPN News section of LAND, and we are sharing that information again here on The Field in case you missed any PPN updates.
Below are a few of the questions included in the 2016 survey. In future posts, we’ll pull out unique responses, summarize trends, and highlight the most popular answers from PPN members.
Since 2015, ASLA’s Emerging Professionals Committee has organized more than a dozen Ask Me Anything online events, streamed via Facebook Live and available for viewing on ASLA’s Facebook page. For each AMA, participants can submit questions to the invited guest, giving those new to landscape architecture a chance to have their burning questions about the field answered by a range of practitioners, from mid-career professionals to established firm owners.
The Emerging Professionals Committee advises ASLA on Associate, Student, and Student Affiliate Member programs and services; facilitates communication with and among all emerging professional groups; communicates with faculty and chapters about ASLA programs and benefits pertaining to students and Associate Members; and promotes, encourages, and assists ASLA chapter leaders to increase professional interaction with emerging professionals.
Until the next live event, here’s a look back at past AMAs.
Visiting New York’s City Reliquary is like walking into one of artist Joseph Cornell’s boxes—every surface inside the three-room museum is meticulously adorned with artifacts and salvaged ephemera. Display cases are crammed with items (with drawers below holding even more), the walls are covered to the ceiling, and the dim lighting enhances the sense of being immersed in a contemporary take on a cabinet of curiosities.
The current exhibition focuses on one type of relic that can be found in particular abundance: those found in the trash. NYC Trash! Past, Present, & Future, on view through April 29, 2018, begins with the history of solid waste management in New York City, and then shifts gears to look at innovative ways waste materials and management are being reconsidered today.
The seven artists and nonprofits highlighted, including Hack:Trash:NYC, the Lower East Side Ecology Center, and Materials for the Arts, employ a variety of tactics and media to transform how waste is viewed and dealt with, from competitions to find ways to reduce what gets sent to landfills to photography and art initiatives that use waste materials as a medium or as inspiration.
ASLA 2017 Professional General Design Honor Award. Central Seawall Project, Seattle, WA. James Corner Field Operations LLC / image: James Corner Field Operations
To kick off 2018, we are taking a look at what ASLA members had to say about the state of the landscape architecture profession today. For the Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) survey on creativity and what makes for inspired designs in landscape architecture, we posed a very tough last question to our members: How does the profession today stack up against historical achievements in landscape architecture?
Surprisingly few people skipped this final question, and we were rewarded with extended, thoughtful responses and candid assessments of the profession. While many opinions differed and some answers directly contradicted one another, an overall sense of where landscape architects excel and where the profession doesn’t quite measure up can be gleaned. As one member put it, these are “Exciting times!!!” indeed.
Below are ASLA members’ thoughts on areas where landscape architecture is doing well, and where there are opportunities for growth and improvement.
On the Bright Side
“Beauty is being combined with environmental impact.”
“Better diversity and community engagement.”
“Better than ever—greater relevance to more areas of need and less stuffy than always working for the top 1% (most historical landscapes are relics of such practice).”
“Each era has profound challenges for landscape architects and we are currently in a period where the distinctive skills of the landscape architect, trained in designing with living systems and materials, has found its voice and is addressing the great problems of our time. This will be a very clear period of history to teach in the coming years and I hope we will continue to have extraordinary achievements to show as examples.”
ASLA’s 20 Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) provide opportunities for professionals interested in the same areas of practice to exchange information, learn about current practices and research, and network with each other—both online and in person at the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO.
In 2017, the PPNs created 99 posts for The Field blog and 12 Online Learning presentations. Thank you to those who shared experiences on The Field and shared their expertise as Online Learning presenters! These opportunities are open to all ASLA members, and we hope to grow our group of PPN contributors in 2018.
Below, we highlight the top five Field posts and best-attended Online Learning presentations of the year, but be sure to check out the full PPN: 2017 IN REVIEW for additional information, including:
PPN Live at the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO,
PPN volunteer and leadership opportunities, and
the ASLA Online Learning Student & Emerging Professional SPOTLIGHT mini-series.
In October, the American Society of Landscape Architects participated in the National Building Museum’s Big Build to advance the quality of the built environment by educating attendees about its impact on individual lives. The annual event brings kids and parents from the D.C. region to the museum to learn about built environment professions and participate in hands-on activities. Over the course of a day, the museum welcomed 3,300 visitors to experience various trades, crafts, and passions. The Big Build had more groups than previous years and offered a variety of hands-on activities for visitors of all ages, from preschool age and up. This challenged kids and their parents to learn something new, try something they would typically never try, and think about the ways in which they could make the built environment better.
ASLA created a hands-on activity, Create a Landform: Discover How Water Moves on Land, that educated kids, teens, and adults about landforms, watersheds, and the importance of understanding stormwater management. Throughout the day, kids of all ages and their parents took part in the exercise and learned how landscape architects work with land and water.
The Black in Design Conference is a biennial event that focuses on uncovering the complex dialogues related to the intersection of design and black identity. Hosted at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University by the African American Student Union (AASU), the conference highlighted the works of emerging and seasoned design professionals, activists, artists, and educators whose common goals challenge Eurocentric methods of design, education, and engagement to create spaces and places for all people. The 2017 conference, entitled “Designing Resistance, Building Coalitions,” specifically focused on design as a social justice and activism tool that promotes equity and equality in spaces around the country that oppress or erase black and brown presence. For more information, visit the Black in Design website to watch the entire conference, and for the 2019 conference announcement.
The ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO will take place October 19-22, 2018 in Philadelphia
ASLA is now accepting proposals for the 2018 Annual Meeting and EXPO education program, taking place October 19-22, 2018 in Philadelphia. If you are interested in presenting and sharing your knowledge with the landscape architecture profession, we encourage you to submit a proposal through our online submission site.
The goal of the annual meeting education program is to provide professional development opportunities which address the diversity of practice types in the profession. Help to ensure your voice is heard and your practice area is represented by submitting a proposal!
In order to successfully submit a presentation for consideration, the following items are needed for each presentation: speaker names with a biography, a session title, marketing statement, learning objectives, outline, and sources. Submissions should speak to panel diversity and audience engagement. Additionally, all presenters must sign the speaker terms and agreement prior to the January 31 submission deadline.
Please visit the submission site for detailed information, including speaker policies, tactical tips, sample submission materials, and a timeline of the selection process.
ASLA members are invited to log in to the online system using their unique ASLA ID.
With winter weather fast approaching, December is a good time to take a look back at ASLA’s Professional Practice Network (PPN) members’ favorite plants to add interest in all seasons. Highlighted below are responses that appeared more than once. While some members noted that their answer depended on the location, many others had a tough time picking just one answer:
“Don’t have a single favorite plant. Plants belong in communities.”
“I love all plants—they all have their place. No favorites.”
“The one that catches my eye on a walk on any day.”
“Trees that evoke an emotional response or help build memories.”
Here are a few ways our members keep their planting designs visually engaging throughout the year. The most popular picks, each mentioned five or more times:
Dogwoods, including Red Twig, Red Osier, and June Snow™
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Amelanchier (Serviceberry), including Shadblow and Autumn Brilliance
Ornamental grasses, including Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem), Muhlenbergia capillaris, and Muhlenbergia lindheimeri
The Diversity and Design panel at the ASLA Texas Chapter’s annual conference / image: Diana Fernandez
Diversity in design and urban policy has long been an issue the architecture and engineering industry has struggled with. In 2016, ASLA curated a keynote for the Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans focusing on diversity in design and urban policy (the full general session, Designing for Diversity and Diversity in Design, can be viewed online).
Building upon numerous ASLA efforts, the panelists—Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2009-2011; Lucinda Sanders, FASLA, CEO, OLIN; Mark Rios, FASLA, Principal, Rios Clementi Hale Studios; Diana Fernandez, ASLA, Associate, Sasaki; and Kona Gray, FASLA, Principal, EDSA—each brought their own perspectives on how designers can rise to the challenge of meeting the needs of constituents whom have historically been underrepresented in the discussion for urban policy and city making. The conversation was continued on the EXPO floor, where attendees participated in a lively question and answer session focusing on topics such as education, design practice, and policy changes.
Unbeknownst to the panelists was the ripple effect the keynote had on the local ASLA chapters in attendance. Following the national conference, the panelists were approached by the Texas and Florida chapters to bring the topic of diversity in design to their local communities. Melissa Henao-Robledo, ASLA, a Landscape Forms Business Development Representative for Central and Southern Texas and a past Diversity Summit participant, worked with the ASLA Texas Chapter to organize a panel on Diversity and Design and what comes next. The panel compiled for the Texas conference sought to emphasize the demographic trends affecting the way we practice as designers. Similarly, Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA, a partner at Gentile Glas Holloway O’Mahoney & Associates, Inc., worked with the ASLA Florida Chapter to create a keynote for the chapter conference focusing on diversity in design in practice and education. Each conference provided varied opportunities to discuss the topic of diversity in design and urban policy within a regional and national context.
The impact of the 2016 keynote on diversity in design and urban policy has had a profound effect on our profession at the national and local level. From inspiring panels on the topic to creating the space for the topic to be discussed, it is a reminder of how landscape architecture can be a leading voice and presence in solving our society’s most pressing needs.
The following excerpts were taken from individual interviews of the participants and organizers of the presentations.
Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC earlier this November / image: Alexandra Hay
With autumn colors still vividly in mind (though fading fast or already gone) and Thanksgiving nearly here, it’s the perfect time to take a look at what ASLA’s Professional Practice Network (PPN) members had to say about places they love to visit at any time of year. We picked out a few key themes and responses below. While quite a few members felt that “all landscapes are amazing in all seasons,” many had favorite spots that are as stunning in the dead of winter as the peak of summer, and at every point in between: “Every place is always changing throughout the year. You can’t experience them and understand them without being there in the moment.”
National Parks
Acadia National Park, ME – “It offers so many ecosystems—ocean, lake, river, bog, mountain. You are above the tree line, in a cave, you name it, and you can experience wild nature combined with some of the most sophisticated designed landscapes in America, all within one fairly small island.”
Yosemite National Park, CA – “The quiet, magnificent rock formations and trees coupled with the light changes, the air is clean and fresh any time of the year and fragrance of pines, coupled with hundreds of miles of hiking trails that you can discover for the first time.”
images: Event Photography of North America Corporation (EPNAC)
With the 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO now behind us, it’s time to review the array of events and gatherings that took place throughout the meeting weekend through PPN Live. Attendees had numerous opportunities to network with colleagues from all 20 of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) by:
participating in the PPN meetings that took place in PPN Live,
attending a PPN-themed, exhibitor-led tour of the EXPO floor,
and networking with PPN peers at the EXPO Reception featuring the PPNs.
Meetings in PPN Live
PPN meetings took place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, October 21-22, and were open to all attendees, giving them the chance to meet fellow PPN members and explore different practice areas.
The EXPO’s PPN Live space offered meeting rooms, the PPN Lounge for networking, and a larger presentation space called Griffith Park Stage, which hosted our largest PPN meeting to date: the joint meeting of the Children’s Outdoor Environments and Healthcare & Therapeutic Design PPNs, which featured presentations by Joanne Hiromura, ASLA, and Naomi Sachs, ASLA.
When we asked ASLA Professional Practice Network (PPN) members what landscape they find just as spectacular at night as during the day, a few responded that any landscape looks just as amazing no matter the time of day, while others felt that no landscape looks quite as good at night as during the day. Between these two extremes were another set of contrasts: the magic of places without light pollution, where people can take in the “beauty of the natural night sky,” and how vibrant cities can be at night. Both types of settings dominate the most popular responses:
New York City, with Central Park and Bryant Park mentioned most often
The National Mall in Washington, DC, with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial mentioned
Chicago, specifically the waterfront, North Shore Drive, and Millennium Park
Paris, especially the courtyard of the Louvre
Beaches
Deserts
While the skillful use of lighting and the presence of water were key motifs among the most popular nighttime settings, some members praised enjoying the evening no matter where you are: “Mystery and theatrical power are enhanced at night.” We also asked members what made these spaces so captivating, whether seen by night or by day.
The 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO begins tomorrow, October 20! In addition to the events planned for PPN Live, each Professional Practice Network (PPN) Leadership Team also reviews the Annual Meeting education program to highlight sessions relevant to their practice areas. With over 130 courses, allowing attendees to earn up to 21 Professional Development Hours (PDH), it is an extensive program to explore, and you can do so through the Annual Meeting website and mobile app by title, speaker, topic area, and PDH type (LA CES/HSW, LA CES/non-HSW, AIA, AICP, CMAA, FL, GBCI CE, GBCI SITES, ISA, NY, etc.).
Below, we run through the second half of these education highlights (see the sessions picked by ASLA’s 10 other PPNs in our previous post):
