This year’s ASLA Conference examined the US identity in turbulent times. A congress report
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The expression “the elephant in the room” is delightfully ambiguous. On the one hand, it refers to something important that everybody knows about, yet nobody addresses explicitly. On the other hand, however, it implies a huge, blundering something that can break down existing structures without being particularly sensitive about it. In terms of this ambiguity, the current US president Trump represented precisely that elephant at this year’s annual conference of the ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects, in San Diego. Although not much was explicitly said about the Donald and his, at times, elephantine politics, their consequences for present day America, however, played an implicit role all the time.
This certainly applied most directly to the numerous panels and talks on the consequences of climate change. The environmental politician and researcher Gina McCarthy laid the atmospheric foundation for this as it were. In her rhetorically brilliant talk, she clarified that the Obama government launched many specific legislative initiatives. Not all of these have been revised so far – and it is hardly possible for all of them to be revoked either. “The train is running”, was her ultimately optimistic message. The audience acknowledged the speech with standing ovations, while McCarthy’s preacher-like style required some getting used to for a fact-orientated European.
It’s a matter of spatial, but also historical integrity
Events such as the ASLA Conference almost inevitably transmit a kind of mitigated, fundamental ecological optimism, as they are dealing with concrete improvement steps. One field session, for instance, presented the regeneration of the “San Diego River” ecosystem. Other panels introduced solutions for areas in the hot and dry southwest of the USA, which are becoming partly uninhabitable due to global warming, as well as approaches for better air through landscape architecture. The impression: The field of landscape architecture recognises and assumes its responsibility even though the political climate may be rough.
This socio-political climate however also played another role. Many discussions addressed the identity-forming and negotiating role of spatial planning. The United States of America (and others) certainly appear to be a country in search of its “identity”. A kind of existential uncertainty prevails as far as society as a whole is concerned. This means that it is possible for the space in which we live to assume an orientation-providing function – for entire societies, for smaller cultural entities, but also for individuals and their direct social environment. Highly interesting in this context was a panel on US-American postwar sites.
The head of the “Parks Conservancy” of Pittsburgh presented the sensitive restructuring of the Mellow Square in Pittsburgh. The landscape architect Ken Smith, who is very well known in the USA, presented three different new designs from New York and San Francisco, including the exterior space in front of Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Seagram Building in Manhattan. All of the presented projects involving outdoor spaces showed that these are a negotiation of the US-American collective memory. Post-war modernism shaped the US culture – and accordingly needs to be treated with care. According to Charles Birnbaum, head of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, it’s a matter of spatial, but also historical integrity.
The elephant “La Frontera”
Of course, the question here is, who assigns integrity or who does it apply to? The idea of society as a homogenous entity is falling apart at the moment, not just in the USA. Accordingly, different perspectives need to be brought together in landscape planning or at least listened to. Permitting heterogeneity was quasi the main subject of many panels. This would allow for the emergence of “Landscapes with an edge”, according to the tenor of a discussion on the significance of subculture in planning. The plea of planner and podcaster Michael Todoran (who runs the podcast “LArchitect”) was to allow for provocation and create space for subversion. The question here being where subculture and provocation end, and where mere commercialisation begins. It could for instance be discussed whether eScooters, which also fill the streets in the USA, can be considered a subculture, as was suggested in the panel.
Nevertheless – the cultural sensitivity of this year’s ASLA Conference was high. One culturally charged topic, however, which would have been obvious, given that the event was held in San Diego, was unfortunately largely left out: Mexico and the planning challenge of the border. While there was a (quickly booked up) field trip to Tijuana, the border almost never came up in the content considered by the panels. And that despite the new ASLA president Wendy Miller stating in an interview with Garten + Landschaft that the planners are certainly aware of the planning dimensions of “La Frontera” in mind (you can read the full interview at www.topos-magazine.com). But perhaps this border, too, represents some kind of elephant in the room in the thinking space of US culture. It’s there, it’s huge, but it gets blanked out tenaciously.
As the title of the Olmsted Medal suggests, this annual honor of the American Society of Landscape Architects is named in honor of the father of modern landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. Given Olmsted’s well-loved stature in the landscape architecture community, the honor is unsurprisingly reserved for those who have had an extraordinary impact on the environment through leadership, vision, and stewardship.
This year’s winner is Adrian Benepe, Hon. ASLA, reflecting his long career in the service of public spaces, currently with The Trust for Public Land as the Director of City Park Development and previously with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, including 11 years as the Commissioner. In full disclosure, I have had the privilege of serving with Mr. Benepe in both of these organizations, and know first-hand of his depth of knowledge, commitment to urban public space, and advocacy for the role of landscape architects.
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Mr. Benepe oversaw New York’s greatest era of park investment since the WPA (the Works Progress Administration, the largest American New Deal agency), with millions annually dedicated to park expansion and improvement. The period spans now-famous landscapes like the High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park, but also enhancement of many neighborhood parks across the borough. As commissioner, Mr. Benepe pushed for more innovation, sustainable design, beauty and creativity in the work of the Parks Department, reflected in the many award-winning designs that were built during his tenure. While he is quick to distribute credit across the many partners and staff involved in this work, he provided cohesive leadership and advocacy to sustain and expand the quality of this work.
While the scale of the New York Parks Department is immense, his current purview has broadened to the entire country, in his work with the Trust for Public Land. Working with staff across many offices, his role allows him to push advancements and new approaches to expand and improve urban parks around the country. His emphasis on pushing for best practices in the realm of urban parks expands the understanding among communities and local leaders on what parks can provide: community pride and cohesion, improved public health, resilience to a changing climate, delight and beauty where it is most needed, and simply a place to play. While these considerations may be obvious to readers here, there remains much work to be done to convince city leaders and residents that parks are not a second-tier priority for cities; parks provide benefits towards the solving of many city first-tier issues.
On a personal note, I have seen how Mr. Benepe has gone to great lengths to tout the value and skills of landscape architects to all who may ask. While not trained as such, he has a keen sense of our view of the world, and how we can make cities better. It has been a wonderful experience to be part of the many initiatives and projects that have helped to shape New York and beyond, and his leadership and advocacy has been crucial in pushing them forward.
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently announced the 2013 Honors recipients. Selected by ASLA’s Board of Trustees, the Honors represent the highest awards ASLA presents each year. Reed Hilderbrand wins the Firm Award, Warren T. Byrd Jr. earns the ASLA Medal, Shlomo Aronson will receive the Landscape Architecture Medal of Excellence. The awards will be presented during the 2013 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, November 15-18, in Boston. (A full list of the 2013 Honors recipients you can find here.)
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Reed Hilderbrand of Watertown, Massachusetts will receive the Landscape Architecture Firm Award, the highest award ASLA may bestow upon a landscape architecture firm in recognition of distinguished work that influences the profession. Since 1997, the collaborative work of Douglas Reed and Gary Hilderbrand has been recognized for its design, craftsmanship and extraordinary use of plants. The firm’s work is wide-ranging, from residential and parks projects to cultural and academic institutions and has garnered 12 national ASLA awards just in the past decade.
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Warren T. Byrd Jr. will receive the ASLA Medal, the Society’s highest award for a landscape architect. Byrd taught full-time for 26 years at the University of Virginia, serving seven years as chair of the landscape architecture department. At the same time, he also built and maintained a thriving practice – Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects in Charlottesville, Va. – that has won more than 70 national and regional awards for its work to date.
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Shlomo Aronson will receive the Landscape Architecture Medal of Excellence. The award recognizes significant contributions to landscape architecture policy, research, education, project planning and design, or a combination of these items. During his 50-year career, Aronson, considered the “Olmsted of Israel,” has shaped landscapes throughout this relatively new country. His design legacy displays his leadership in sensitivity to both environmental and cultural concerns and has earned the admiration of his peers worldwide.
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Images: Shlomo Aronson Architects
