On June 13 in Washington, DC, the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) will host two events that showcase and celebrate leading-edge thinking and achievements in landscape architecture and sustainability. Tickets can be purchased at: www.lafoundation.org/symposium
2018-2019 LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium
Topics and Presenters
Climate Positive Design: Going Beyond Neutral
Pamela Conrad, Principal, CMG Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, CA
Pamela's research rethinks our climate impact as landscape architects. She is working to build alliances within the profession to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing in tackling climate change. With a challenge and a tool, she will illuminate a way forward for the profession of landscape architecture to have the greatest impact together in a changing world
Community-based Storytelling: Los Angeles' Neighborhood Design
David de la Cruz (2017 National Olmsted Scholar, Graduate), Project Manager, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, Los Angeles, CA
In Pueblo del Río, a housing project in LA, 1,275 youth (nearly 1/3 of residents) are under the age of 14. These youth hold neighborhood stories which shape the program Davíd developed to center neighborhood design and facilitate peer-to-peer mentorship opportunities, promoting an ethic of just sustainability.
Rethinking Wastescapes
Lauren Delbridge (2017 National Olmsted Scholar, Undergraduate), Designer, LandDesign, Charlotte, NC
Coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal, has historically been stored in unlined pits and allowed to seep pollutants into the surrounding environment. Lauren advocates that, as coal ash ponds are forced to close nationally, these wastescapes should be transformed, re-envisioned, and given back to the communities they have damaged for decades.
Belonging: Identity and Landscape Narrative
Maisie Hughes, Owner, Rhetorical Virtues, Washington, DC
Through in-depth research and interviews, Maisie has created a web documentary film series that explores nature, identity, belonging, and exploration in sublime urban landscapes nestled in five distinct DC neighborhoods. Her project demonstrates how a variety of people interpret the same landscapes to provide new insights into the design and programming for nature in the city.
Between Neighbors
Karl Krause, Senior Landscape Architect, OLIN, Philadelphia, PA
Across the US, public housing communities are being rebuilt as revitalized, mixed-income developments. Through interviews with residents, designers, developers, community leaders, and housing authority administrators, Karl's work examines the effects of public housing transformation on existing and new mixed-income communities and the valuable role landscape plays in providing common ground for new neighbors.
Immersive Technology and Landscape Architecture
Andrew Sargeant (2016 University Olmsted Scholar), Landscape Designer, Lionheart Places, Austin, TX
Communication of landscape design through immersive media embraces the fluidity and openness of the living world as it related to one's physical self. Andrew examines how these new tools of visualization will give landscape architects a new competitive edge in project communication and realization.
Volume for Water: Rethinking Regulatory Frameworks for Urban Coastal Resilience
Sanjukta Sen, Senior Associate, James Corner Field Operations, New York, NY
The last decade has seen major disasters and storm events, followed by a wide array of creative design-led solutions and proposals. But the regulatory frameworks to enable these solutions have remained somewhat tentative and toothless, especially in the context of American cities. Sanjukta asks the urgent question: Do these frameworks that govern urban waterfront development need a major rethink?
