LABash 2026 Conference

LABash, the landscape architecture conference for students, by students, was held March 11-13 at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. After more than a year of planning, a team of 11 student leaders led by Sam Clemente, Claire Baltimore, and Sofia DiNovo hosted quite a successful conference with 400 attendees made up of 250 students and 150 Professionals. 35 speakers presented in 40 education sessions, workshops, and field sessions. The Expo had representatives from 35 companies, firms, universities, and non-profits engaging with the future of the landscape architecture profession.

Images by: Lydia Thompson, ASLA | TOSU Knowlton School

Attendees kicked off the conference with the opening of the 1,000 Trees Exhibit in the Knowlton School’s Banvard Gallery. Guided by this year’s theme of cross-pollination, the installation brought together over 500 crafted model trees to form a whimsical, expressive, and evocative landscape that grows through shared creativity. ASLA President Bradley McCauley, FASLA, welcomed students with opening remarks to inspire them throughout the conference and their landscape architecture academic and eventually professional paths.  

Images by: TOSU Knowlton School

Central to the theme that explores the cross-pollination between people, place, practice and profession, LABash attendees learned from keynote speaker Julia Watson the author of the best-selling, award-winning books Lo—TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism and Lo—TEK Water: A Field Guide for TEKnology. Julia Watson pioneered the global Lo—TEK movement, reframing nature-based technologies as essential solutions to the planetary crisis. Students had the opportunity to engage with Watson and ask her questions after her talk and also at a panel she was on the following morning.

Images by: Lydia Thompson, Assoc. ASLA

Conference attendees had opportunities to attend education sessions covering topics that fell under the conference tracks: Cross-Methodical, Inter-Disciplinary, Multi-Regional, and Trans-Cultural. Field sessions included a tour of the iconic landscape architecture at The Ohio State University, from the thoughtful garden design at Knowlton Hall to the historic Mirror Lake revitalization and a second session where participants explored how landscape architecture impacts animal habitats, visitor experience, and sustainability at the Columbus Zoo. The conference came to a close during the Closing Ceremony which took place at Revery, a unique rooftop venue that overlooks the trademark Columbus skyline with a fun-filled night of music, dancing, and the traditional passing of the Permaloc Cup to next year’s LABash host Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (Phoenix).

Image by: Freddie Cadwell

Honoring 10 years since The Ohio State University last hosted LABash, this year's team recreated the 2016 submission video. Their unique twist was having attendees, both students and professionals, and exhibitors participate in the video by filming short clips throughout the conference. See the fun for yourself by viewing the LABash 2026 photo album and recap video! Photos provided by The LABash Team, Freddie Cadwell, The Knowlton School of Architecture, and Lydia Thompson/ASLA.