This year’s ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture was in San Diego, California—SCAPE showed up in full force with a roster of panels, events, and ceremonies throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, November 16, Kate signed copies of “Petrochemical America” and “Toward an Urban Ecology” at the ASLA EXPO Bookstore. Later in the day, Elena presented in a panel on “Contracts: Relationships, Rights, and Risk Management” alongside Gregg Garmisa (Studio Gang Architects), Michael Vardaro (Zetlin & De Chiara LLP), and Stephen Whitehorn (Whitehorn Financial Group, Inc.). Kate also had a panel, “Mission-Based Practice,” alongside Kevin Conger (CMG Landscape Architecture) and Walter Hood (Hood Design Studio), the same afternoon.
On Sunday, November 17, Alexis and Gena had simultaneous panels. Alexis’ panel, “Beyond Number Crunching: Managing Projects, Processes, and People” was presented alongside Allyson Mendenhall (Design Workshop) and Mark Dawson (Sasaki). Gena’s panel, “In the Mud: Designing with Sediment for Sea-level Rise,” was presented with members of the Dredge Research Collaborative from the Public Sediment design team, Brett Milligan (University of California – Davis), Justine Holzman (University of Toronto), and Rob Holmes (University of Florida).
This year also marks another landmark achievement: Kate was elevated to the ASLA Council of Fellows—one of the highest honors bestowed on landscape architects in the U.S., recognizing significant contributions to the field and society at large. Principal Elena Brescia was elevated to the Council in 2015. At an investiture ceremony Sunday night, Kate was presented the honor and supported by a group of SCAPE leadership attending the conference: Gena, Alexis, John, Chris, and Martin.
Lastly, the conference also included an awards ceremony for the 2019 ASLA Professional and Student Awards. Public Sediment, the SCAPE-led project for the Resilient By Design: Bay Area Challenge, received an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning category. The ceremony was held on Monday, November 18. (Notably, Public Sediment also recently received a boost in funding from the State of California, with State Senator Bob Wieckowski pledging $31.4 million in implementation funding for restoration efforts associated with the project. Stay tuned for updates!)