2025 ASLA Student Awards

In response to groundwater loss and fragmented corridors in California’s Central Valley, our team supports the Department of Conservation’s rewetting strategy by partnering with native beavers to build a human–nature co-restoration system. Stage one prepares habitats with auxiliary dams and willow forests to help beavers settle in. Stage two relies on beavers to reshape the ecosystem and reconnect corridors. Stage three introduces low-impact pavilions, floating boardwalks, and nature-education homestays to support ecotourism. This pilot site offers a replicable model for broader application.

The Ukraine conflict has caused widespread devastation. Modern warfare goes beyond physical destruction, employing psychological tactics to erode trust and deepen social divides. While meeting basic needs is essential, restoring cohesion and resilience must advance in parallel. Landscape architects play a vital role in this effort. During Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. initiatives like park upgrades and reforestation showed how design can rebuild social ties and stabilize communities. This

Sea barren ground is a global problem that accelerates global warming and threatens coastal cities in many countries.

The indigenous people of Sagye-ri, where the sea has become barren, are fearful of the increasing damage from marine disasters and are facing difficulties in major industries such as fishing.

In order to address the issue of barren grounds in the sea, we propose a vertical strategy that connects the entire site from inland to coast to seabed, rather than relying on

Through the principle of geographical re-enchantment, “Riverfront Stitch” releases the poetic potential of Cleveland Cliffs’ steel mill in the Industrial Valley, and explores how curated views can inform experiences of the valley’s working industry. The design presents how the remediation of one parcel can open to the public a valuable moment of access to the Industrial Valley’s obscure yet rich landscape and history. Industrial remnants serve as interpretive follies, and hardy

Southeast Asia’s coastal villages face converging crises: microplastic pollution, overexploited fisheries, and declining livelihoods. In Bali’s Pengambengan village, this project pilots a regenerative model rooted in shellfish reef ecology. Modular reef units—woven from recycled M-Basswood—foster shellfish growth, filter microplastics, and support aquaculture. Pollutant-laden fibers are repurposed into building panels, while harvested seafood feeds local businesses and crafts. A recycled plas

This project reimagines Charlestown’s waterfront as a dynamic archive—one that reveals layers of material history while adapting to future climate challenges. Historically, shifting seawalls and zoning lines fractured the relationship between the community and the water, producing two hardened edges: an abandoned rail corridor inland and a sealed waterfront. The design softens these boundaries through porosity, layering, and fragmentation, creating a new spatial framework across three zones:

In the wake of destruction from the Emerald Ash Borer beetle, the transformation of Amazon Park's Ash Grove honors one of Eugene's most beloved wetland priority sites while restoring pre-colonial camas meadow conditions. Advocating for a mixed solution of ash tree treatment and wetland adaptation, After the Ashes provides an ecologically sensitive approach that balances visitor engagement with habitat needs. A curving boardwalk is interrupted by perforated panels that mimic

Sound interactions are vital for animal communication, mating, and navigation, but are increasingly masked by anthropogenic noise. Traditional environmental mitigation often ignores the ecological role of sound. This project focuses on Jamaica Bay, New York, a fragmented habitat disrupted by transit networks, to explore a landscape approach that amplifies and protects acoustic cues. Inspired by contemporary composers, the design treats landscape as composition, linking musical harmony with ec

Heavy rainfall poses a significant threat in Seoul, South Korea. Semi-basements experience higher property damage and casualties due to urban flooding. To address this, we propose a synergistic urban rainwater micro-upgrading strategy and a path towards green justice to address the challenges and alleviate wealth disparity in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak District. The project offers three strategies: divert rainwater in affluent areas with higher elevation to minimize impacts on lower areas, transfor

"Lugar de Encontro" or a Landscape of Encounters is a transformative landscape urbanism project in Sobral, Ceará that repurposes a former airport site (closed in 2017) that displaced the historic Pajeú Creek disrupting the Jaguaribe watershed. At the heart of our design lies a commitment to water filtration responding to the city's distraught relationship with sewage water treatment and urban flooding. By reclaiming the airport as an ecological armature, the project builds upon existing

This thesis proposes adapting traditional water management practices for the colonial city of Tunis to reduce flash flood impacts by 9%, while nurturing spaces for flood control, temperature regulation, and social interaction. Colonial and post-colonial development ignored water systems, and climate change has worsened the situation.The study developed a “shallow water dictionary” and documented multi-scalar traditional water management practices as a manual for future landscape architectural

At the Casarabe heritage landscape in Beni Province, seasonal droughts and floods create water crises that threaten local communities, agriculture, and archaeological sites. The ancients countered extremes with ponds, canals, raised fields, and mounds, forming a resilient mosaic landscape. Drawing on three water-wisdom legacies—Flood Management, Efficient Agricultural Water Use, and Integrated Water Culture—we establish a Flood Management Network, an Agricultural Water Ecology Network, and a

This project revitalizes O'ahu's upland, agricultural, and coastal landscapes by weaving traditional Hawaiian water systems - especially the 'Auwai and loko i'a - into modern ecological design. Rooted in the ahupua'a ridge-to-sea framework, it integrates native reforestation, decentralized wastewater reuse, and multifunctional fishpond buffers to restore hydrological health, biodiversity, and cultural heritage. Through deep community participation, the design empowers local stewardship w

Pasadena is known for balancing urban life and natural beauty. But this balance has prioritized economics, aesthetics, and recreation over ecological and public health. The Arroyo Seco is at the epicenter of this imbalance. A once meandering river was channelized and dammed for flood control, erasing its native ecology and vital contributions to groundwater. The project no longer views the river as a control, but as an opportunity to learn from. In our vision, the river should inform the huma

At the US-Canada border, the Great Lakes face ecological imbalance due to pollution and declining self-purification. Centered on Lake St. Clair, connecting Lake Huron and Erie, the project targets key upstream and downstream nodes. Upstream, a “Farmland-Wetland-River” system employs ecological farming, river reshaping, and wetland filtration to control nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Downstream, a “Industrial Building-Stepped Purification Pool-Water” system reduces industrial pollutants th

This project reimagines the energy corridor as a shared landscape for decentralized power, ecological repair, and public life. In contrast to the dominant “build-then-connect” model of renewable energy siting, the project proposes a collaborative right-of-way framework that integrates more-than-human ecologies, local stewardship, and layered functions. By transforming exclusionary infrastructure into a performative space of vitality and coexistence, the project offers a new paradigm for energ

   Communities around nature reserves are often forced to rely on resources within these reserves to sustain their livelihoods, which increases their vulnerability, particularly in areas where protected wildlife coexists with humans. The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Ganges Delta, exemplifies these challenges. Frequent floods and tiger attacks have severely impacted residents' livelihoods and safety. The project aims to establish a harmonious balance a

This project imagines a new future for Mobile's industrial waterfront, one that confronts its industrial history while mending ecological and community relationships with water. Rooted in Avery Gordon's concept of haunting, it utilizes sea level rise as a narrative device for change.By transforming 220 acres of port-related land into a stratified novel marsh ecology, this design reclaims haunted land as a public resource for Mobile. It is more than an ecological restoration but a pro

Megacities exacerbate carbon emissions due to intensified building energy use and urban heat islands. Urban green spaces offer dual carbon benefits: acting as direct carbon sinks and indirectly reducing emissions by lowering building energy demand through localized cooling. This study analyzes Beijing’s urban park ring using random forest analysis to quantify the impact of landscape indices and green space attributes on carbon reduction.  Results indicate that cooling-driven reductions d

This project helps Pacific Palisades homeowners redesign landscapes to be more fire-resilient after the January 2025 wildfire. Grounded in extensive analysis of California’s fire history, vegetation, climate, and residential vulnerabilities, we developed site-specific toolkits and planting palettes tailored to local architecture. The design acknowledges zoning constraints and supports rebuilding on original sites. This work is award-worthy for its timely response to climate-driven disasters,

In the context of climate change, the rapid retreat of alpine glaciers is reshaping both upstream river infrastructure and socio-cultural values of mountain communities. The travel fellowship exhibition, led by a graduate landscape architecture student, investigates unstable glaciated landscapes in the Garhwal Himalayas, India, focusing on the 2013 and 2021 glacial lake outburst floods. By unpacking landscape change, it highlights the relationship between glacial geomorp

Outdoor natural environments and social activities in parks hold profound significance for children with autism. 

However, both children with autism and their parents often experience anxious and uneasy when visiting parks. 

Our structured intervention system, paired with practical and engaging tools, aims to gently guide children with autism from indoor settings to outdoor park environments. This process helps them adapt to a variety of social and na

This project explores how landscape architecture can be translated into interactive storytelling through game design. Set in a solarpunk future, at its core, grounded in the ecological realities of our planet, climate change, and guided by a quiet, stubborn hope in renewable energy. The player takes on the role of a self-taught landscape designer navigating ecological trade-offs, community dialogue, and post-disaster regeneration. By blending narrative, site analysis, and design methodol

The Urban Farm is a place and a program. It began in 1976 as a student-led initiative to grow food on unused campus land, evolving into a beloved model for alternative urban land use where people grow food, take care of the land, and build community. In 2023, affected by the construction of a new research facility, the UF lost 40% of its productive land, leading to a community uproar, uniting students, faculty, and allies beyond the university boundary, and resulting in the acquisition of a n

TREES ALIVE! is a collaborative research and travel exchange between American and Japanese landscape architecture programs to study the techniques, details, and cultural traditions for trees in contemporary urban landscapes. Students participated in collaborative technical workshops and visits to significant gardens and landscapes to investigate urban tree planting and legacy tree conservation in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Chicago, Columbus (Indiana), Philadelphia, and New York. Two technical

This student-led project presents a rewilded landscape that blends nature conservation with community farming, reconnecting city dwellers to the "Kampung Spirit" of community connectedness. Through organising activities that tap on the university community and collaborators, manicured lawns are turned into a living lab with integrated food-growing functions, boosting biodiversity, preserving sociocultural values and enhancing educational opportunities. This garden fosters environmen