Our latest blog post comes fresh off the heels of this year’s ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, which was held in Washington DC, and attended by Civitas’ Mark Johnson, Scott Jordan, Lindsay Hand, and Sam Kirchner. We asked Sam and Lindsay about their impressions and take-aways:
Image source: ASLA National
What was your overall impression of this year’s ASLA conference in Washington DC?
Lindsay: I’d attended the 2014 and 2019 conferences in Denver and San Diego, respectively. I was a student volunteer in 2014, and today I’m managing projects, so my perspective is broader, and I find even more opportunities to absorb new information and apply it to my work. It’s energizing and inspiring to see and hear what other firms in the industry are doing.
Sam: this was my first time attending the national ASLA conference, and I already look forward to going to future conferences. It’s a great place to take an industry pulse and exchange ideas.
Did any presentations or discussions stand out to you?
Sam: The story of the University of Dubuque’s 25-year campus master plan, led by O2 Design, was fascinating to hear in person. I grew up in Iowa, so the presentation felt very tangible to me personally; and I appreciated that the team balanced design and strategy, using quantitative data to prioritize investments and measure their impact. When the project had started 25 years ago, the school was struggling with significant recruiting challenges and even considered shutting down. And now, thanks to this design-led approach, the school has been transformed. Coincidentally, a man who’d grown up on campus when his father had worked there, was in the audience and spoke up—moved to tears by the powerful evidence of progress.
Lindsay: The passion within our industry is apparent, and two presentations stood out to me in this way. The first was a discussion of using reclaimed materials in design, and the benefits and challenges of this. It got me thinking that we’re all so accustomed to the ease of selecting products from vendors’ catalogs that we likely overlook opportunities to reuse elements that already exist in public spaces, even though there are obvious cost savings and environmental benefits of doing so. There is so much waste in our world, and especially in construction when buildings or sites are demolished. In interior design, we see so much reuse in the form of antiques and vintage furniture and fixtures that give spaces character and charm. We need to consider more of this in landscape design.
The second stand-out to me was a discussion of outdoor lighting and its impact on nocturnal ecosystems, with recommendations for responsible lighting design that balances beauty and safety with our natural needs for darkness. Nancy Clanton from Visibility Innovations, based in Colorado, was part of this discussion and very informative about the impact of lighting on wildlife and trees. She motivated me to think more critically about how much light our spaces really need. In fact both of these presentations inspired me to approach my work a little differently.
While in DC, Sam captured photos of Union Station and of the ASLA event at the National Building Museum—two of the city’s prominent historic buildings.
Climate change is such a big topic, how was it addressed at ASLA?
Lindsay: Climate change is so frequently discussed that many in the industry are seeking ways to reframe the conversation in order to rise above the chatter. The impact of climate change on social justice and equity has been part of that shift—asking questions about who really benefits from current interventions and how we can design to ensure that all communities benefit equitably. In fact, another presentation underscored that we’re often so focused on environmental impact and on ways we can save our planet, that we’re overlooking the necessary conversation about people and habitats. The planet continues to adapt to climate change and will endure, so we humans need to adapt the way we live on this planet if we also want to endure.
Sam: As professionals, we need to continue prioritizing these conversations. I feel like our education in landscape architecture placed so much emphasis on sustainability, but in practice, our projects are so often focused on the bottom line. We can help to push beyond that. We have to.
Attending conferences like ASLA’s not only offers the opportunity to learn from presentations and panel discussions, but also to observe spaces and designs away from home. Lindsay visited The Wharf and took these photos in and around DC’s newest waterfront development.
What’s next, after ASLA?
Sam: I am looking forward to getting more involved with our local Colorado ASLA chapter to be an ambassador of our Civitas brand and to learn and grow my own career, by having more conversations with fellow landscape architects.
Lindsay: I’m inspired to spend a little more time researching and exploring and learning, to step back from design work every now and then and keep advancing my thinking. I want to get out and visit more local work and spaces, too. Over the next three years, the ASLA conference will take place in New Orleans, Los Angeles and Chicago, which are favorite cities to visit.
Lindsay Hand is a landscape architect who focuses on urban placemaking, multi-modal transportation, and community building. She is particularly interested in projects that explore the interaction between society and the urban environment.
Sam Kirchner is a landscape architect and urban designer with a deep passion for design’s impact on social, economic and environmental conditions. He’s motivated to ensure that the built environment is deliberately crafted to serve purposes beyond market demand and profit.
