2013

Thanks for a Great Year!

rory — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 17:14:57 +0000

Thanks for a Great Year!

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The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) invests in research and scholarships to increase our collective capacity to achieve sustainability and cultivate the next generation of design leaders. Since 1986, LAF has awarded over $900,000 in scholarships to nearly 500 students and invested $1.8 million in research initiatives.

Thanks to the generous support of LAF’s donors and sponsors, the foundation accomplished the following in 2013:

Awarded over $125,000 to students through scholarships, fellowships, and research assistantships.
Recognized 67 new Olmsted Scholars, including the first undergraduate national winner.
Published the 75th Landscape Performance Series(LPS) case study, documenting the environmental, economic, and social benefits of exemplary landscape projects.
Awarded $22,500 to researchers to analyze the LPS and develop a guidebook on metrics and methods to evaluate landscape performance.
Met with over 1,400 professionals through office visits, webinars, and conference presentations to increase awareness about landscape performance.

In 2014, LAF will build on this momentum with more scholarship awards, a new guidebook on evaluating landscape performance, a new webinar series, a new clearinghouse of teaching tools for landscape architecture faculty, and even more resources to help you design better and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions.

Consider investing in the Landscape Architecture Foundation in your year-end giving so that LAF can continue to deliver innovative programs and increase its impact at this critical time when the many services and talents of landscape architects are so vitally needed. Show your commitment and give back to the profession by making a tax-deductible contribution online, making an honor or memorial gift, or learn about the giving [at] lafoundation.org (many ways to support the Foundation).

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Climate, Water, and Infrastructure Resiliency in Phoenix

rory — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 17:15:41 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Climate, Water, and Infrastructure Resiliency in Phoenix

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By Ashley Brenden, 2013 University Olmsted Scholar

My pH20enix Design Thesis Project evolved from current discourse on infrastructure resiliency and a United Nations report that predicts that by 2025 two out of every three people in the world will be facing water shortages. The project postulates that current trends in global climate change are likely to continue with increasing occurrences of ecological, social and economic disasters. It also asserts that global water shortage will be the largest and most far-reaching ecological, social and economic disaster that humans have faced. The basis of the project lies in a clear stance that our current infrastructure is not designed to meet the increasing demands placed on our social and environmental systems. In order to withstand inevitable natural and manmade disasters, we must, as designers, be forward thinking, utilizing a hybrid of design sensibility, aesthetic appreciation, and scientific thought.

My thesis project investigates the interrelationships of climate, water, and the urban form in Phoenix, Arizona and the implications for decision making under uncertainty. It envisions ways that Phoenix can transform into a sustainable urban model for addressing water scarcity. Progress towards sustainability of our urban environments requires careful examination of the effectiveness of dated jurisdictional and normative planning tools in dealing with contemporary urbanization concerns. By crafting zoning and policies that are more oriented towards the natural environment, we can promote a more integrated and responsive infrastructure.

The project proposes a decentralized water infrastructure configuration that makes use of existing natural and manmade infrastructure. By coupling small-scale, site-specific, decentralized water techniques with a larger-scale, integrative, above-ground canal structure a cyclical system is created that contributes to a stable environmental equilibrium. The theoretical design suggests a cyclical system in which water that is pulled into the municipal system from the Rio Salado and from Maricopa County ground sources be used, recycled, remediated and returned to the system in quantities equal to what was extracted. Site-scale techniques such as water demand reduction and rainwater harvesting contribute to lower overall extraction rates.

Above-ground water canal systems that run from North Mountain to South Mountain reintroduce the natural hydrology while collecting municipal building wastewater along the way. The system also provides microclimatic environments for social and ecological niches along its path. The canals are joined at the Rio Salado where the water is then returned to the natural circulation process, re-establishing the natural ecological habitat along the river.

The project goal was not to propose a complete solution to water shortage within the Sonoran Desert, but rather to initiate a discussion on ways to transform one of the world’s least sustainable cities into one that is a model of sustainability and resilience. The project asks “How do we design our cities to meet the needs of an increasing population in an increasingly volatile system?” and “How do we become more resilient?”.

Ashley received her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the Arizona State University Design School in May. She currently works in Seattle as a Landscape Designer for Mithun.

2014 Landscape Performance Education Grant Recipients Announced

rory — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 17:18:40 +0000

2014 Landscape Performance Education Grant Recipients Announced

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In today’s increasingly evidence-based marketplace, landscape architecture students need to be able to convey the environmental, economic, and social value of excellent design. Incorporating landscape performance into the curriculum will give students the awareness and skills they need to design for, evaluate, and communicate the impact of their projects.

LAF’s Landscape Performance Education Grants allow select faculty to develop and test models for integrating landscape performance into standard landscape architecture course offerings. For 2014, five $2,500 grants have been awarded to the following faculty for their proposed classes:

Aidan Ackerman, Boston Architectural College
Ecological Analysis & Conceptual Frameworks (MLA Studio)
Gary Austin, PLA, University of Idaho
Water Conservation Technologies (BSLA Lecture)
Kenneth Brooks, FASLA, FCELA, PLA, Arizona State University
Advanced Landscape Architecture Studio IV (MLA Studio) and Special Topic: Design Performance (MLA Seminar)
Chuo Li, Ph.D., Mississippi State University
Landscape Architecture Graduate Studio II: Health (MLA Studio)
Mary Myers, Ph.D., FASLA, FCELA, Temple University
Seminar on Landscape Performance: Focus on Temple University Main Campus Landscape (MLA/BSLASeminar)

The selection process for the 2014 grants was competitive, with applications received from faculty at universities across the U.S. The teaching proposals include studio, lecture, and seminar courses for both BLA and MLA curricula.

Students will learn about landscape performance from a variety of angles, such as stormwater management, public health, energy conservation, and social cohesion. Many of the courses integrate performance metrics directly into the design process, with students setting objectives and developing metrics to evaluate the projected performance of their studio projects. In other cases, students will apply various tools and methods to measure benefits to inform design scenarios for external “real world” projects.

Grant recipients will work with LAF throughout the duration of the classes and use formal course evaluations to determine the success and replicability of the teaching models used. Course materials developed through the Landscape Performance Education Grants will form the basis of a new “Resources for Educators” section on the LAF website, which will offer teaching tools like syllabi, reading lists, and assignments for faculty members interested in teaching landscape performance to the next generation of design professionals.

The Landscape Performance Education Grants are made possible with support from the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute’s Foundation for Education & Research. Five additional $2,500 awards will be made for the 2014-2015 academic year, with proposals accepted starting next fall.

Welcome 2013-2014 Board of Directors

rory — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 17:21:59 +0000

Welcome 2013-2014 Board of Directors

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The new LAF Board of Directors took the reins on November 14 at LAF’s Annual Board Meeting in Boston. During a jam-packed three days of meetings and events, Board members demonstrated their vision, passion, and thought leadership in helping LAF to increase our collective capacity to achieve sustainability and cultivate the next generation of leaders.

Jacinta McCann, FAILA of AECOM began her term as President, succeeding Bill Main, Hon. ASLA of Landscape Forms, whose leadership and business acumen helped lay the groundwork for measuring and increasing impact as LAF approaches its 50th anniversary in 2016. Mark Dawson, FASLA of Sasaki Associates became President-Elect after serving for two years as Vice President of Finance.

Directors Laura Solano and Paul Bambauer assumed new roles as officers, joining three continuing officers on the executive leadership team. The Board also created a new executive position to focus on growing LAF’s leadership programs and initiatives, which will be filled by 2011-2012 President Lucinda Sanders.

Vice President of Finance:
Laura Solano, ASLA, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
Vice President of Development:
Paul Bambauer, IRONSMITH
Vice President of Communication:
Nate Cormier, ASLA, SvR Design Company
Vice President of Education:
Kristina Hill, PhD, Aff. ASLA, University of Virginia
Vice President of Research:
Forster Ndubisi, PhD, FASLA, Texas A&M University
Vice President of Leadership:
Lucinda Sanders, FASLA, OLIN

Gregg Sutton, ASLA of EDSA retired off the Board after four years of service, including two terms as Vice President of Development. Kinder Baumgardner, ASLA, CSLA of SWA Group left after five years as a Director. Emily Vogler of the Rhode Island School of Design rotated off after serving a two-year term as past Olmsted Scholar representative, and Susan Hatchell, FASLA rotated off after serving for a year in an Ex Officio capacity as an ASLA Representative.

Five new Directors joined the LAF Board, bringing experience and insights from landscape architecture practice and academia. Andrea Gaffney, LAF’s first National Olmsted Scholar, was selected for the open Director position for past Olmsted Scholars. ASLA Immediate Past President Thomas Tavella, FASLA will serve as the ASLA Representative. Welcome to the new Board members:

Andrea Gaffney, SWA Group
Kona Gray, ASLA, EDSA
Stephanie Rolley, FASLA, Kansas State University
Joe Runco, ASLA, SWA Group
Thomas Tavella, FASLA, ASLA Immediate Past President

We look forward to working with this accomplished group and continuing LAF’s growth and momentum in the year ahead. Thanks to all for your commitment and contributions!

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Ocean Planning to Advance New York's Renewable Energy Frontier

rory — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 17:23:13 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Ocean Planning to Advance New York's Renewable Energy Frontier

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By Liz Podowski, 2013 University Olmsted Scholar

New York State is planning for a sustainable energy future — a future that addresses the causes of climate change, diversifies and modernizes the State’s energy system, and expands the renewable energy frontier from land into the ocean. Currently, the ocean provides a vast, untapped source of renewable energy, with winds that are stronger and steadier than land-based wind.

With millions of people living in ocean-front counties, offshore wind is an almost inevitable resource for New York to develop. However, wind energy development in the U.S. has historically focused entirely on land due to past technological constraints. To ensure that New York State responsibly and efficiently takes advantage of this resource as it becomes increasingly accessible, the New York Department of State (NYDOS) is spearheading a planning process in a nearly 16,000 square mile swath of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ocean planning is significantly different from land use planning. First, all ocean lands are held in public trust and are managed by either the state or federal government, depending on distance from shore. The freedom to navigate these “open seas” is a deeply-held value among mariners and poses an inherent challenge to siting permanently-fixed structures, like wind turbines. Second, the ocean environment is dynamic, multidimensional, and largely unknown. At first glance, the ocean may appear to be a homogenous sheet of blue water. But a closer look reveals seabirds foraging above and below the surface, marine mammals migrating large distances, delicate corals colonizing the ocean floor, fishing vessels pulling nets through the water column, and shipping vessels transporting goods from port to port. Even physical characteristics are highly variable, whether vertically with depth or horizontally with currents and weather patterns. Taken together, this complexity necessitates a planning approach that seeks compatibilities among uses and resources (as opposed to zoning, which often discreetly separates them).

NYDOS is developing a collaborative framework to proactively document and analyze existing uses and resources within this busy, complex, public place. Rather than conduct costly field studies of the entire area, NYDOS relies on the iterative aggregation and analysis of existing datasets to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution of ocean uses and resources. Partnerships are critical to this innovative process. Staff collaborated with federal, regional, state, local, and public stakeholders to synthesize, analyze, and translate extensive (and often disparate) datasets. For example, NYDOS organized a series of participatory mapping events with Long Island residents to better understand the type and location of recreational ocean uses — from surfing to wildlife viewing. This information is included in the New York Offshore Atlantic Ocean Study released in July.

Over the course of the next few months, NYDOS will further investigate the potential compatibility of offshore wind projects with ocean uses and resources throughout the development lifecycle — from site surveys to decommissioning. These “compatibility analyses” are critical to ensuring the success of future wind energy projects, as well as the continued viability of the ocean economy and the health of the ocean ecosystem.

Liz Podowski is a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow working with the New York Department of State in the Office of Planning and Development. She received an MLA from the University of Oregon in June 2013.

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Transportation Discrimination and a Call to Change

rory — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:26:57 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Transportation Discrimination and a Call to Change

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By Dayton Crites, 2013 University Olmsted Scholar

In the last decade, the number of Americans choosing to pedal to work on a bicycle has risen by 61.6%. For a variety of reasons, our transportation options and desires are shifting. Yet as more Americans find reasons to abandon the car as their primary mode of transportation, they find themselves in a built environment that is ill-suited to their choice.

Take my town of Austin Texas, which is renowned for its progressive attitude and recent growth in bicycle and pedestrian-related infrastructure. Kudos to the city leaders for building a bicycle and pedestrian bridge spanning Lady Bird Lake and for significantly expanding the central bicycle network in recent years. Yet when one-third of all 2012 traffic fatalities within Austin city limits involve a pedestrian or cyclist, and pedestrian and cyclists form approximately 2% of Austin road users, the ability of our designs to protect anyone who isn’t driving a car seems fundamentally flawed.

Those that do not drive a car are not limited to the wild bicycle messenger and sweating triathlete riding through traffic — over 9% of American households do not even own a car. The official Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE) tests our ability as landscape architects to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those who will occupy our designs. If that is the true test of a professional landscape architect, our profession must begin to do more than just put bicycle lanes and wide sidewalks in our sections, plans, and renderings. We need to protect all road users and provide them with a safe route to their destination.

Sometimes a bicycle lane or path isn’t enough. Austin’s 4th Street carries a separated pathway built west of and underneath I-35, Texas’ fourth most congested highway, which divides east from west Austin. As one approaches the highway, the two-lane pathway dissolves into a faded crosswalk generally ignored by three lanes of 55 mph traffic. The cars have no requirement to stop, and it is up to the cyclist or pedestrian to gauge their movement and dart across the road. The only safety warnings afforded these travelers is the yellow diamond sign emblazoned with a bicycle silhouette, similar to the protection afforded deer on mountain roads. The signs indicate to drivers that unfortunately, there are unpredictable creatures — be it deer or cyclists — crossing the road, and drivers should try to avoid hitting one.

As designers of the built world, we have a responsibility to our profession and the future inhabitants of our landscapes to design places that take into account the needs of all users and do not place convenience of vehicular transport over human health and safety. It is clear that providing equal access for all road users is a complex problem that is not easily solved, but it does not mean we should ignore it, or that it cannot be solved.

Before the advent of the macadam road base, not many people would have thought it feasible that nearly all populated corners of the globe would be connected through a stone-like and resilient web of roadways, allowing personal locomotion across thousands of miles of then-wilderness. It may seem far-fetched, but we can build a better transportation solution. From localized actions like lowering speed limits where pedestrians cross I-35 in Texas, to broad steps like lobbying and advocating for a more balanced transportation budget, we can build a better world, and we must.

Dayton Crites received his MLA from Utah State University in 2013 and now works for Design Workshop in Austin, Texas, where he enjoys a peaceful daily bicycle commute and a collaborative and dynamic office. Professionally, he is working to further Design Workshop’s Legacy Design® processes through advanced GIS analyses and context-sensitive designs.

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Case Studies in Multifunctional Infrastructure

rory — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 17:34:09 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Case Studies in Multifunctional Infrastructure

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By Zachary Barker, 2013 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist

There are few places in the world where infrastructure is more vital to human existence than in the Netherlands. The country sits at the northwest corner of the Great European Plain, and almost two-thirds of the country is at or below sea level. Over centuries, controlling water along rivers and the North Sea have allowed the Dutch to methodically reclaim land, first for farming and later for settlement. Dikes, levees, dams and other infrastructure have become fundamental parts of the Dutch landscape.

Amsterdam, as the urban core of the Netherlands, offers several different transit typologies, including elevated train tracks, underground metro, at-grade trams, multi-modal streets, and urban highways. This infrastructure has had a drastic impact on its surroundings. I traveled to Amsterdam in the fall of my senior year and spent three months documenting the benefits and complexities of three case study locations that reflect a synergistic approach to landscape, infrastructure, and civic space. The case studies included a hybrid office space, a linear park, and an intricate stormwater management system.

Tussen de Bogen, the hybrid office space, translates to “Between the Arches” in English. The translation is quite literal, as the site is located under the arches of an elevated rail corridor on the northwest side of Amsterdam. Approximately 250,000 people a day travel over the offices below on their way to or from Centraal Station. The site exemplifies how transit infrastructure can contribute to the densification of an urban environment instead of dispersing density, the usual scenario.

Churchill-laan, the linear park case study, illustrates how transit infrastructure can create public space in a dense and historic urban environment. The site is surrounded by transportation infrastructure on all sides but still manages to be a highly utilized public space.

The intricate stormwater management case study is located in Rietlandpark, a submerged tram station. Rietlandpark Station is designed to decentralize stormwater management issues by holding excess water under its platforms. The station is an example of how landscape infrastructure can abate stress on traditional infrastructure systems.

From the three case studies, I came to understand and appreciate the value that flexibility, decentralization, and multidimensionality can bring to an infrastructure project. These Dutch sites are in stark contrast to many American infrastructure projects of the mid- to late 20th Century that were engineered primarily to serve vehicles. The trend for contemporary landscape infrastructure is to become decentralized and multimodal. Multifunctional infrastructure conserves land, shares the financial load of its development, restores damaged natural ecologies, reinforces healthy transit options, and provides public access to vital open space. I think that landscape architects are uniquely poised to expand this trend because the infrastructure challenges of today call for sophisticated systems thinking in which landscape architects are trained and tested.

Zachary Barker received a BLA from The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in May, graduating with honors. His thesis Dutchscape: Analyzing Landscape Infrastructure in Amsterdam, The Netherlands was selected as the university-wide Honors Thesis Prize winner for 2013. Zach is working as a landscape designer at LRSLAstudio in Philadelphia.

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Streets -- Dwelling Place for the Common Good

rory — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 17:30:12 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Streets -- Dwelling Place for the Common Good

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By Dustin Smith, 2013 University Olmsted Scholar

The estranged relationship with the street exhibited by the modern man’s frivolous attempts at engaging it for means other than conveyance has largely meant the abandonment of American public life. Contemporary placemaking ideologies that imagine there can be infinite deconstruction and reorganization of the basic typological inventory of urban elements have been equally damaging regarding the role of the street as a public place and the street grid as a continuum of public space. This is disconcerting for the common good, which requires a public realm to bind us all together in the realization of a shared sense of dwelling.

My ensuing thesis investigation explored the degenerative role of the street in the public sphere of urban American landscapes, a causation of the dogmas and aims of Modernist design, planning, and management of the land. While the study’s methodology involved the critical examination of prominent theorists, an examination of phenomenological, morphological, and social factors related to the form and function of urban streets and the street grid was conducted in Annapolis, Maryland. The idea was to document a series of personal observations, narratives, photographs and diagrams to grapple with the everyday visual cues, patterns, and social evidence of streets reflective of the common good; in other words, the commitment to a life shared with others.

Historic Annapolis offers an urban pattern unique to colonial American town and city planning. Its resilience against urbanization coupled with a civic structure cognizant of place-making values related to the ancient notion of the polis and civitas made Annapolis an ideal setting to explore the public character of urban streets. An urban setting may not be suitable for all people, but there was once a time when our towns and cities were made to connect people to important civic structures. The “City on the Severn” is a charming example of such planning, and of people who valued its ideal.

The beauty of Annapolis’ streets begins with its grid, a plan that finds its inspiration in the European ideals of Baroque planning. Atop central Annapolis are two great circles, the State Circle and the Church Circle, and from them a grid of diagonally radiating streets laid over the naturally falling topography offers dramatic visual axes and vistas. The natural limit of the Annapolis peninsula has controlled the expansion of the grid outward, creating a cozily dense block structure with greater ease of walkability and comprehension of the street’s connections to public places.

The town possesses a strong urban character and visual unity, which results from a diverse range of street typologies, each uniquely identified by architectural elements, pedestrian sidewalk space, and a heterogeneous mix of mature trees. And while they reflect the charming aesthetic tale of time passed, it is the unwavering love and use of these streets by citizens that make them so much more exciting.

If we are to ever move out from beneath the shadows and plumes of automobiles back towards an urban form rich with picturesque scenes of streets enacted by the swinging hands and feet of people changing postures and the fleeting shapes and colors of faces, garments, and produce, we should be cognizant of our quick abandonment of the patterns and devices that make places like Annapolis great.

In May, Dustin Smith graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is now a designer at Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, where he continues to explore and draw upon his passion for great streets in professional practice.

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Blurring the Infrastructural Realm

rory — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:35:37 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Blurring the Infrastructural Realm

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By Tina Chee, 2013 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist

Los Angeles, a city whose evolution and iconic nature is inextricably linked to infrastructure, is transforming. Today, we witness a renaissance: the build-out of a mass public transportation system by 2030, nearly 100 years after the first freeway parkway was built. With this third wave of transportation infrastructure, how does landscape participate in the implementation of a vast network of subway stations?

This design proposal examines the potential of the westward expansion of the Purple Line subway as the opportunity to literally piggyback a landscape infrastructure on transportation; a landscape that creates ecological corridors, which aggregate the various green fragments in the city, and transforms monoculture clusters into multi-modal activity nodes with landscape emanating from the intersections. Employing public surveys, live interviews, and fieldwork, the project began with an investigation and analysis of the existing pedestrian conditions using the twelve quality criteria for pedestrian landscapes developed by Jan Gehl, which served to inform the design.

The expansiveness of this landscape challenges the boundaries of the public realm by engaging the various underutilized building fronts, setbacks, and blank walls to create an extroverted public square that engages city edges.

The form of the station creates an iconic landscape object that is spatially framed by the surrounding context, expanding it beyond property lines. The centerpiece of the station is the sloped green roof and topographic landform constructed from the reuse of excavated dirt from subway tunneling. The roof landform becomes a high point, a place for observation and reflection, that mediates between the hardscape of the urban street and an intimate softscaped forest. The berm form acts as a sound buffer and barrier from the main boulevard traffic noise; it also gives the landscape elevation for gravity fed irrigation.

The center of the roof is a sun lawn surrounded by a native meadow. The surface of the roof landform is dimpled with skylights and a series of undulating mounds that form temporal rainwater basins, which create an extended seasonal and visual interest. Rainwater not completely absorbed or captured flows down the topographic form irrigating other vegetated areas until it is ultimately collected and filtered in rain gardens at the base.

The sides of the landform are made of gabion walls which filter stormwater and become terraces for informal gatherings, a series of meandering ramps for a stroll under the expansive canopy of oak trees, or as tiered plaza steps to observe and engage street life. The west side becomes a natural gathering place for public performances by repurposing the blank exterior museum wall and shaded environment as a backdrop for public events. The south side of the landform scales down to an intimate quiet neighborhood urban park forested with oak trees and dappled light, creating an enjoyable shaded place during summer months. The surrounding meandering pavement pattern and placement of seating planters induce happenstance occurrences, which culminate at the tiered plaza steps.

The bike and pedestrian paths cross and intersect to encourage public life exchange while providing places to sit and congregate. These paths continue to meander, weave, and connect three urban blocks engaging existing building stoops and landscaped setbacks as part of this public realm. The streets between blocks become shared streets where pedestrians and vehicles occupy the same paved surface. Public space can expand and contract for festivals and street events. The boundaries between the public and private realms blur to weave a dynamic urban space that engages city edges and urban life.

In May, Tina Chee graduated from the University of Southern California, where she was awarded the 2013 ASLA Honor Award for her overall body of work. This summer, she completed her research fellowship on infrastructural landscapes, traveling within the U.S. and Western Europe. She is the design leader transforming an underutilized alley into a performative stormwater gallery and recreational green space for low-income, inner-city youth. She is currently the lead designer and project manager on several projects at SWA in Los Angeles.

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Health, Well-Being, and Design as Preventative Medicine

rory — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 16:37:26 +0000

Olmsted Scholar Feature: Health, Well-Being, and Design as Preventative Medicine

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By Leann Andrews, 2013 National Olmsted Scholar

Today’s health issues are unprecedented in their scale and severity. Nearly half of Americans have a chronic illness, 67% are overweight or obese, and $2.3 trillion is spent on medical costs each year. Our natural resources, along with the ecosystem services they provide, are rapidly depleting, affecting local and global climates, resilience in the face of natural disasters, and air, soil, and water quality. If trends continue, today’s youth will be the first generation to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Furthermore, with rapid urbanization and population expansion, much of the world is struggling to address basic health needs, such as access to safe water and sanitation. While these issues are daunting, they provide new opportunities for landscape architects to play a critical role in the health conversation by addressing problems “upstream” in our designed environment.

As the 2013 National Graduate Olmsted Scholar, I spent this past summer working with an informal ‘slum’ community outside of Lima, Peru to explore these potentials. I collaborated with a small group of health researchers and designers to implement my capstone project: home gardens designed to improve nutrition, increase mobility, reduce illness, improve mental health and wellbeing, and contribute to economic stability and social infrastructure in this distressed urban community.

Working closely with community leaders and local experts, our team led a series of participatory workshops to help 29 residents envision, design, construct, maintain, and sustain personalized gardens for their homes. Financial efforts focused not only on plants, but also on long-term infrastructural elements such as water-conserving wicking beds, vertical trellises for growing in tight spaces, and decorative yet functional fences to allow roaming chickens, ducks and dogs to co-exist with the gardens.

The project centered around education and skill-building among the residents to encourage sustainable practices, craft, project ownership, and community empowerment. Thanks to a continued eight-year partnership with the community, this project also links with other ongoing local efforts including fog harvesting, composting, greenspace, ecological restoration, climate change, public health, and artistic beautification.

This project will also be studied for its effect on mental wellbeing for the residents. The team collected baseline data this summer, and plans to follow-up with a 6-month and one-year evaluation, contributing to a growing body of evidence-based-health and evidence-based-design research to inform future designers, health practitioners, and decision-makers.

Additionally, this opportunity as the National Graduate Olmsted Scholar has allowed me to begin an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at the University of Washington where I will continue to explore how design professionals can be leaders in the health conversation through implementing design as preventive medicine in our everyday landscapes. I hope to continue working on design and research projects that will expand the understanding of ‘public health and safety’ to include the full richness of health and wellbeing as landscape performance and will assert landscape architects on the leading edge of problem-solving to address the complex local and global issues of today.

Leann Andrews recently graduated from the University of Washington with a graduate degree in Landscape Architecture and Global Health and has initiated an interdisciplinary Ph.D. at the University of Washington to research the role that design can have on human and ecological health.