Here's a new park design competition that just opened in Ho Chi Minh City last week: a plaza, park, and pedestrian bridge for the Thu Thiem peninsula, located on the banks of the Saigon River. The Thu Thiem New Urban Area master plan was created by Sasaki Associates in 2005. The new plaza, park, and bridge competition will "elicit the most sustainable, creative, functional, and exciting ideas from domestic and international designers to enhance the development goals at Thu Thiem and to provide all of Ho Chi Minh City with a stunning, publicly accessible waterfront."

The registration deadline is April 7 and submissions are due no later than May 19th. Six shortlisted and winning firms will move on to stage two of the design process and win $20,000 US. Visit the competition's very informative site here.

The Bureau of Land Management is still seeking a Chief Landscape Architect. The position will be open through December 4. The Chief Landscape Architect provides national-level guidance and coordinates and develops policies for the management of the national Visual Resources Management program related to BLM's recreation, cultural heritage, wilderness, and special areas programs. He or she will also coordinate the BLM's National Scenic and Back-Country Byways program and National Spatial Data Steward for Visual Resources; serve as Forest Service/BLM Technology and Development program liaison along with NSTC representatives; and serve as the  national coordinator and liaison for the division for engineering, facilities design, and maintenance.

No, it's not St. Patrick's Day in November--it's the National Building Museum's "Greenovation: An Expo for the Home," an all-day residential green building extravaganza to help homeowners incorporate sustainable building practices into their homes and landscapes, being held at the National Building Museum this Saturday from 10:00 am-5:00 pm. The Dirt will be there, along with other ASLA staff and members of ASLA Potomac Chapter, dropping some knowledge and helping homeowners figure out how to incorporate sustainable elements into their current landscape projects. At 1:00 pm Dean Hill, ASLA, co-host of DIY Network’s show Grounds for Improvement, will present Your Home's Landscape: Sustainability with Style. If you're in town, come by--after all, it's FREE.

Greenovation
An Expo for the Home
Saturday, November 18, 2006
10:00 am–5:00 pm
National Building Museum
(Did we mention, it's free!)

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation is having its annual meeting next week--November 15, to be precise, and will look at the group's achievements and future strategic direction. The landscape portion of the meeting will include presentations by Michael Van Valkenburgh, FASLA, on the Don River Park; Claude Cormier, Claude Cormier Architects, on Commissioners Park; Ellen Neises, Field Operations, on Lake Ontario Park; and Adriaan Geuze, West 8 Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, on the Central Waterfront. The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. So, if you're in Toronto, get on over to Design Exchange at 234 Bay Street and check it out.
  

Pat Caughey, FASLA, asks "Got Ego?," and Todd Johnson, FASLA, 2007 Student Awards Jury Chair, says landscape architects need to "abandon the humble, strong, silent, approach to practice." The bottom line: Landscape architects need to get out there and brag a little, and there's no better way to do that than through the ASLA Professional and Student Awards program. We've posted our Call for Entries, so start filling out those forms. The deadlines are:

Entry forms must be received by:

• Friday, February 9, 2007, for Professional Awards
• Friday, May 18, 2007, for Student Awards

Submission binders must be received by:

• Friday, February 23, 2007, for Professional Awards
• Friday, June 1, 2007, for Student Awards

Want to know what the juries will be looking for? Click here to read an interview with 2006 Professional Awards Jury Chair Todd Johnson, FASLA, and here to read an interview with 2006 Student Awards Jury Chair Gary Hilderbrand, FASLA.

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) has issued a Request for Statements of Qualification seeking landscape architecture, architecture, and urban design firms to provide professional design services for the park, esplanade, and open space that are to be created on Governors Island. These services can be provided by one firm or a team of firms.

Prospective respondents can access the RFQ and supporting documents on the GIPEC website, www.govisland.com, under the “Planning and Development” section. The deadline for submission is November 15, 2006.

(So get cracking.)

Or will speak, as the case may be. Walker will speak at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, Wednesday, November 8, and in Portland on Thursday Nov. 9, as part of the University's free Yeon Lecture Series. Walker, who created the design for the open space at Jamison Square in the Pearl District, was awarded the American Society of Landscape Architects Medal in 2004. The award is the highest honor the organization presents to landscape architects. Walker also received the first-ever Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Gold Medal from the International Federation of Landscape Architects. His firm is currently working on the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City.

So, if you're in Eugene or Portland, go check it out. Here are the particulars.

As we mentioned last week, The Dirt went out on the road again to check out the ULI Fall Meeting in Denver, Colorado. Although we didn't get much time away from the ASLA booth, we did get out to see some of the sights, including a little piece of architecture--the Denver Art Museum (DAM) Extension. Perhaps you've read about it? We've collected our photos on The Dirt Flickr page for your perusal. Be sure to check out the model of the DAM master plan and our favorite Denver attraction: The Big Blue Bear (Roar!).

The Dirt just can't sit still these days, and if it's Wednesday, it must be Denver and the Urban Land Institute Fall Meeting. We spent most of our time in the ASLA booth spreading the word about landscape architecture, but we did get word from our correspondents that former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, Hon. ASLA, touted his honorary membership during his remarks at a session on sustainable development. During the session he called landscape architects "heroes" for their ability to create places that encourage people to engage with one another and form more tightly knit communities.

Also today, Peter Calthorpe addressed the need for planners to engage transportation engineers in creating New Urbanist communities. Calthorpe called for more transportation corridors that consider several modes of transportation, including mass transit, pedestrians, and cars. Noting that traffic congestion is driving residents away from regions plagued by the problem, Calthorpe says that these areas must begin implementing more transit options.

The Environmental News Network reports that nomination forms for the 2007 National Wetlands Awards Program are now available. The National Wetlands Awards Program honors individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of our nation's wetlands. The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2007 Awards Program is December 15, 2006.

The 2007 National Wetlands Awards Program will honor individual achievement in six categories: Education and Outreach, Science Research, Conservation and Restoration, Landowner Stewardship, State, Tribal and Local Program Development, and Wetland Community Leader. Organizations and federal employees are not eligible. Awardees will be recognized at a Capitol Hill ceremony in May 2007.

The National Wetlands Awards are presented by the the Washington, DC-based Environmental Law Institute. For more information visit www.nationalwetlandsawards.org.