Landscape Architecture in the News

CTA
Eirik Heikes, ASLA
American Society of Landscape Architects
National Landscape Architecture Month
Hillner Park cleanup connects students, community
Billings Gazette (Billings, MT)
As a group of Lockwood sixth-graders navigates through middle school, the students are working to leave behind the legacy of a safe and fun place to play while forging a path of community service for others to follow. The kids are part of the Youth Leadership Class. Their community-based project is to revitalize Hillner Park, which is just a few blocks from Lock-wood Schools…The kids are part of the Youth Leadership Class. Their community-based project is to revitalize Hillner Park, which is just a few blocks from Lock-wood Schools…Those partnerships spread into other support. For example, CTA and the support it has brought from the American Society of Landscape Architects, which helped pay for T-shirts for the kids and volunteers. The students designed the shirts that were made by Creative Mono-grams, which also provided extra support, Gopp said. The T-shirts read "Hand in hand doing service -- students and community."  Eirik Heikes, a landscape architect at CTA, has volunteered time to work with the kids, including making a 3-D model of the park. He said the firm tied its involvement in the project to National Landscape Architecture Month and its theme to build direct connections with education and to be part of community building and volunteerism.

American Society of Landscape Architects
Kevin Shanley, ASLA
Architect envisions larger New Orleans
New Orleans City Business (New Orleans, LA)
Southeast Louisiana residents living in low-lying communities might want to relocate to a more densely populated New Orleans, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects said.  Kevin Shanley, who lives in Houston and grew up in California, said with sea levels rising and Louisiana’s coastal areas sinking, increasing the boundaries of New Orleans so more people can live there is not a bad idea.

David Ciaccio, ASLA
Hanson leaves his mark on the city
Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, IA)
When Jerry Hanson started working for the city of Sioux City in 1967, he didn't imagine he would spend his entire career at City Hall.  Now, almost 39 years later, Hanson's fingerprints can be found all over a city map -- from new streets to subdivisions, from riverfront development to shopping centers. Even the trees along the riverfront owe their existence to him…One example of Hanson's hands-on approach can be seen growing along the Missouri River. In 1991, he and David Ciaccio, a landscape architect from Omaha whom the city hired to develop the riverfront master plan, walked along the Missouri.

Shafee Jones-Wilson, Student ASLA
Design Workshop, Inc.
Kenneth Francis, Student Affiliate ASLA
Landscape Architecture Student Receives Summer InternshipUNM Today (University of New Mexico)
University of New Mexico landscape architecture master's student Shafee Jones-Williams is one of only 15 students selected from a field of 250 applicants to participate in a summer internship and planning charrette to tackle downtown visioning for Salt Lake City. The planning and design firm, Design Workshop, Inc., made the selections and will lead the process in partnership with The Salt Lake Downtown Alliance, which is an affiliate of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. The interns – students in planning, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, real estate and business – will formulate strategies for revitalizing a 40-block section of downtown Salt Lake City… Jones-Williams said that Kenneth Francis of Design Workshop in Santa Fe has been teaching digital studio integration to UNM's 400 level architecture students.

Jack Ahern, FASLA
Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Economy, green plans dovetail
The Republican (Springfield, MA)
CHICOPEE - Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said yesterday his "Bosch to the Bridge" economic stimulus plan and an Urban Greening Study will dovetail into a long-term initiative focusing on infrastructure, roads, bridges, private development, the riverfront and bikepath. The mayor said he approached the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the free eight-week ongoing study…Jack Ahern, professor of Landscape Architecture at UMass is leading the study and work with municipal departments developing an inventory of existing "green" resources such as street trees, parks, conservation areas, formal and informal trails, protected lands and wetlands.

Laurie Olin, ASLA
Washington Monument Becomes More Tourist-FriendlyConsumerAffairs.com
The Washington Monument, a forboding stone structure that towers over the National Mall, is suddenly more tourist-friendly…According to landscape architect Laurie Olin, "The point was to turn the security thing into a beautiful walk. My goal was to simplify everything. But trying to do something simply is harder to do than something messy."…Earlier this month, as the cherry trees were blooming around the nearby Tidal Basin, Olin hosted members of the National Building Museum and the American Society of Landscape Architects on a tour of his handiwork.

Walter Guthrie, ASLA
Margaret Mori, FASLA
American Society of Landscape Architects
In the darkness before dawn, an avalanche of mud courses down a steep slope behind a Mill Valley house and buries a 73-year-old landscape architect
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, CA)
When the rains started falling last month and didn't stop, Walter Guthrie's concern grew for the hillside he cherished behind his Mill Valley home.   After cracks formed in the soil, he hired a contractor to install a piping system to handle runoff from the saturated canyon.
Then, on Wednesday, in the predawn darkness while he was checking to see if a backyard culvert was clogged, an avalanche of mud coursed down the steep slope and buried the 73-year-old landscape architect.   "He was kind of a yeoman farmer -- it was his hill, his land, he was the steward,'' mourned longtime friend Margaret Mori, a former trustee of the American Society of Landscape Architects. "He loved it for all those years, he took care of it, and it killed him.''

Sasaki Associates
Simone Collins
Peter Simone, FASLA
Two firms picked for riverfront design
Sunbury Daily Item (Sunbury, PA) 
SUNBURY — The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to enter into contract negotiations with two companies from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts for the final architectural and engineering design for the city's riverfront development project.  Acting upon the recommendation of its selection committee, the council chose Buchart-Horn Inc., of York, and Sasaki Associates, of Watertown, Mass… Sasaki Associates has a worldwide reputation for waterfront development and landscape architecture while Buchart-Horn offers a strong presence in Pennsylvania with an unwavering reputation for excellence in engineering."

Tetra Tech
HNTB Architecture
Mia Lehrer of Mia Lehrer + Associates
L.A. River Plan Slowly Moving Forward
Architectural Record
The not-so-mighty Los Angeles River meanders 51 miles through the middle of the L.A. basin… The technical and engineering consultants are Tetra Tech, the urban design firms Civitas, Wenk Associates and HNTB Architecture, and the landscape architects are Mia Lehrer + Associates… Mia Lehrer of Mia Lehrer + Associates points to the ways a revitalized river might act as a symbolic conduit, connecting L.A.’s diverse communities with shared spaces and a series of foot and bike paths. “This is a chance to bring the city together,” she says. “It’s also an alternative way to commute. Can you imagine people being able to ride to work along the river?” 

Greg Long, ASLA
Bowman Consulting Sponsors Green Roof Demonstration at Green DC Week  
MAPuser.com (Frederick, MD)
Chantilly, VA — Bowman Consulting is pleased to announce it’s participation at DC Green Week, a week-long event designed to educate the citizens of the District of Columbia about energy conservation and environmental sustainability…Both days will feature demonstrations on low impact development techniques. In addition, Gregory Long, a registered landscape architect representing Bowman Consulting, will discuss green roof design applications and the technical components that make up these systems.  “Physical structures and impervious surfaces within the District of Columbia take an incredible toll on our natural environment especially when it comes to storm water management,” said Greg Long. “We need to come up with better solutions for reducing peak flows, treating pollutant discharge, and storing water on site,” added Long.

John H. Nicolaus, ASLA
Signage that Gets Noticed
Lowes For Pros Newsletter
A logo can't sell your product. But, if created with care, your logo can pique interest, visually identify your company and provide an essence of what you offer.   Your brand or identity is your calling card. Often companies graphically condense their identity into a "brandmark."  Sacramento, Calif.-based landscape architecture firm The HLA Group's logo, now 25 years old, is a work in progress.  "We invest in reinventing," says John H. Nicolaus, ASLA, principal landscape architect for The HLA Group. Nicolaus has been with The HLA Group for 18 years and has seen the firm evolve from a "bread and butter" design firm to a sophisticated firm.

Kimberley Ennett, ASLA
American Society of Landscape Architects
Sexton Ennett Design Spotlights a Controlled Burn for the Rare Karner Blue Butte
MediaSyndicate (press release)
Sexton Ennett Design, a Michigan landscape architectural and planning firm, spotlighted the importance of a controlled burn to improve open land ecosystems. One excellent example is the recently prescribed burn targeted at preparing a thriving habitat for the Detroit Zoo’s introduction of the rare Karner Blue Butterflies.  Carleton, Michigan - Sexton Ennett Design’s Kimberley Ennett, MLA, ASLA, a Michigan Registered Landscape Architect, spotlighted the importance of a controlled burn to improve open land ecosystems… Landscape Architects are required to be licensed by the State in which they practice and are usually members of the American Society of Landscape Architects, ASLA. Landscape architecture encompasses the analysis, planning, design, management and stewardship of the natural and built environments.  ASLA full members have graduated from an accredited landscape architecture program, have 7 years of education and/or professional experience and are state licensed. In Michigan, as well as all other States, successful completion of the three (3) day LARE examination administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards is required for state licensure.

American Society of Landscape Architects
National Landscape Architecture Month
Making Your Home More “Green”
Principal Broker Online (Portland, OR)
As energy costs continue to rise, homeowners should consider alternative ways to help lower their bills—and help the environment—by making their homes more “green.” In recognition of National Landscape Architecture Month, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is raising awareness of the need for sustainable, environmentally sensitive design and how homeowners can help achieve this goal.  ASLA is doing its part to become more “green” by installing a green roof covered with vegetation on its downtown Washington, D.C., headquarters. Green roofs last up to twice as long as conventional roofs save significantly on heating and cooling costs, improve community air and water quality, and reduce the urban heat island effect in the summertime.

American Society of Landscape Architects
Nancy Somerville
ASLA chooses products for its showcase green roof
Facilities Management News
April 19, 2006—The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has selected American Hydrotech, Inc., Emory Knoll Farms, Inc./Greenroofplants.com, ForestWorld, Green Roof Blocks/Saint Louis Metalworks Company, Ohio Gratings, Outdoor Illumination, and Dow Chemical Company to provide products and services for its green roof in downtown Washington, D.C… "ASLA selected these product suppliers because of their experience in working with green roof projects and their enthusiasm for promoting this sustainable building technology in the United States," said Nancy Somerville, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA.

American Society of Landscape Architects
Nancy Somerville
Ohio Gratings Inc. Selected for Green Roof Project
AZoBuild 
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has selected Ohio Gratings Inc. to provide the grating for the walking surface on the new green roof in downtown Washington, DC. The aluminum grating will allow plants to grow beneath it, maximizing the planting area of the roof.
"The grating system provided by Ohio Gratings Inc. will allow us to utilize the space on our green roof most efficiently. With the unique grating, the roof area can be fully planted and still allow visitors to walk on the space without damaging the sedum," said Nancy Somerville, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA.

Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Minnesota Celebrates National Landscape Architecture Month
Yahoo! News (press release) 
MINNEAPOLIS, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has proclaimed April 2006 as National Landscape Architecture Month… In recognition of the month, the Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (MASLA) held their 37th Annual Awards Dinner last Friday and announced their 2006 Professional Award Winners, juried by the Indiana Chapter of ASLA. Chris Coleman, St. Paul Mayor, delivered the keynote address.