Megan Barnes

by Chloe Gillespie, Associate ASLA, Magdalena Aravena, PLA, ASLA, Jennifer Ng, PLA, ASLA, Adrian Alexander, Associate ASLA, Megan Barnes, Lexi Banks, Associate ASLA, Gretchen Wilson, PLA, ASLA, LEED, WEDG, Emily Siler, Associate ASLA, Kim Case, PLA, ASLA, CSI CDT®, and Dr. Bo Zhang, ASLA

Images courtesy of Adrian Alexander, Chloe Gillespie, Emily Siler, Kim Case, Lexi Banks, Magdalena Aravena, and Megan Barnes

Congratulations, Class of 2024!

All your hard work is paying off and you are getting your degree! For many of you, this has been a day you have been dreaming about for years, and now it is finally here. So many of you were not able to have a proper high school graduation, making this year extra special. This is your time to shine and come up into the profession ready to put your new knowledge and skills to work. To help get you started, the ASLA Student Support and Engagement Committee has collected some words of wisdom to share with you from recent graduates, current students, and seasoned professionals.

We hope you find meaning in these words and you can rely on them as you establish your career. Throughout your career in landscape architecture, there will be great days and there will be rough patches you will have to learn how to manage and adapt to. But for you, that is nothing new: you navigated your way through college during a global pandemic. Figuring out how to be flexible and persevere are skills that are learned the hard way, but they are invaluable skills to have. And it’s okay to change—iteration is a part of design.

We hope these words of advice encourage you and inspire you as you emerge into the extraordinary world of landscape architecture. Congratulations again, Class of 2024! Keep up the great work!

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by Megan Barnes, Associate ASLA

Arizona State University Orange Mall Green Infrastructure Project / image: Chingwen Cheng

No matter how sustainability is defined—carbon neutral, net zero water, biodiversity, quality of life—it cannot be achieved without considering landscape.

The Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Case Study Investigation (CSI) program is a unique research collaboration and training program for faculty, students, and practitioners. Through CSI, LAF-funded faculty-student research teams work with leading practitioners to document the impacts of exemplary, high-performing landscape projects. Teams develop methods to quantify the environmental, social, and economic benefits of built projects and produce Case Study Briefs for LAF’s Landscape Performance Series. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Landscape Performance Series, which provides critical information to build capacity to achieve sustainability and transform the way landscape is considered in the design and development process. The Landscape Performance Series’ collection of over 160 Case Study Briefs created through CSI is an essential resource for educators, students, and practitioners seeking to assess progress toward environmental, social, and economic goals based on measurable outcomes.

The projects selected for the 2020 Case Study Investigation program represent a diverse geography and project types. Several projects have been recognized and awarded for their excellence in sustainable design and performance outcomes. Among the selected projects for the 2020 program are many that incorporate significant diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and address pressing challenges associated with climate change. Project types include an affordable housing project, a freshwater research lab, an adaptive use stadium converted partially into green roofs, and a series of fog collection and other interventions created in partnership with an informal settlement in Peru. The geographically diverse projects also include a rooftop garden in Sydney designed by and for indigenous users, a resilient university campus project in the Arizona desert, and two stormwater management and water conservation infrastructure projects that provide multiple layers of benefits.

Please join LAF’s 2020 Case Study Investigation Research Fellows and Research Assistants for a finale webinar in which they will present their process and most compelling findings from their efforts to quantify environmental, social, and economic benefits of exemplary landscape projects.

Upcoming LAF Webinar: Measuring Landscape Performance: Findings & Insights from LAF’s 2020 CSI Program (recording now available)
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. (Eastern)
1.5 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Registration is required and space is limited. A recording of the webinar will be made available on the LAF website.

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