Have Some Fun in the Field This Fall

In case yesterday's keynote announcement for the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture has inspired you to come to Washington, D.C., this October, don't miss the advance rate deadline, coming up quickly on Monday, August 26.

While your conference registration includes a lot, to say the least, there are a number of ticketed events to think about when you register—just look for the ticket icon as you peruse the conference schedule. If you are keen to explore projects around D.C. while you're here for #ASLA2024, do not sleep on the fabulous set of field sessions taking place on the first and last day of the conference: Sunday, October 6, and Wednesday, October 9. A third have sold out already, so now is the time to secure your field session tickets! There's a variety of session lengths to suit your availability, from full day excursions to shorter outings that cover only the morning or afternoon.

Here's just a sampling of the field sessions on offer:

St. Elizabeths West Campus, a National Historic Landmark located in Anacostia, is a site of both regional and national historic significance. The Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building, featuring a landscape of courtyards and green roofs integrated into a seven-story terraced building, demonstrates a model approach for new construction within a historical context.

• Discover the strategy and inspiration behind the design, construction, and maintenance of the nearly nine acres of green roofs on the Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building.
• Explore Upper and Lower Munro Courtyards and learn how the landscape design was an integral part of the stormwater management plan and critical to the sustainability story.
• Discuss the maintenance challenges and the lessons learned during the construction phase, and how resilient and adaptive management strategies evolved to champion GSA’s commitment to a resilient future.
• Learn how the regulatory requirements for stormwater management were integrated as best management practices (BMPs). Understand the design, commissioning, and maintenance needs of the 108 BMPs situated on the campus.

AlexRenew, Alexandria, VA’s wastewater treatment authority, has transformed a former land fill into two of the region’s most innovative and sustainable urban projects. Hear from the visionary ownership and consultant team who are leveraging sustainable design practices to solve the region's water challenges and connect residents to their local waterways.

• Gain insight into how a former landfill site can be redeveloped for community and ecological benefit through zoning, permitting, and public/private partnership agreements.
• Explore how public and private programming needs can be layered on constrained urban sites to achieve maximum community and ecological benefits.
• Learn about several sustainability and innovation rating systems, including Envision, LEED, SITES, and Bayscapes, and how these benchmarks are applied in a project’s design, construction, and commissioning.
• Understand how best practices such as native plantings, pervious paving, invasive species removal, and riparian buffer expansion can combine with infrastructure elements to meet stringent Chesapeake Bay environmental regulations.

Eastern Market Metro Park, situated at Capitol Hill’s busiest intersection and metro station, underwent a complex transformation from fragmented spaces governed by federal and local authorities to a unified destination park. Walk and learn about the robust engagement and focus on sustainability and public art that shaped today’s beloved park.

• Understand how Washington’s history and planning legacy have shaped Eastern Market Metro Park, and learn strategies for building consensus and navigating complex design and permit approvals.
• Learn the strategies employed for broad and meaningful communication and community engagement, and gain insight into tools that can be applied to any project.
• Understand the complexities of incorporating existing trees into new construction, and learn key strategies and techniques for successful implementation.
• Learn how creative design can turn park elements into resiliency features to combat climate change.

Arlington’s strong planning history and world-class parks system is receiving an infusion of high-quality parks with the arrival of Amazon to Crystal City and Pentagon City. This session explores the county-led and developer domino effect in park transformations, starting with Long Bridge Park, then going to Metropolitan Park and Water Park.

• Discover how public-private partnerships (planning/design professionals and developers) are enlivening existing and earmarked park spaces through an inclusive engagement process.
• Hear how valuable the Arlington public art process is and how redevelopment of parks is a major catalyst for economic growth strategies.
• Experience the design and biophilic strategies which create new public spaces promoting site history, landscape typologies, as well as innovative and sustainable functions.
• Learn how Arlington’s long range and current planning process provides guidance, sets expectations and requirements to create a nature-forward vision to the public space experience thus activating new and successful programming opportunities.