the Connecticut

Landscape Architect A publication of The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

Winter 2011

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

www.ctasla.org

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the Connecticut

Landscape Architect The Connecticut Landscape Architect is published by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Editor W. Phillips Barlow, Principal TO Design, LLC 114 West Main Street, Ste. 201 New Britain, CT 06051 Phone: (860) 612-1700 Fax: (860) 612-1757 [email protected] Editorial Committee Kristen Mitrakis, Elena Pascarella, Stuart Sachs Executive Director Jeffrey H. Mills J.M. Communications 125 South Street, Ste. 281 Vernon, CT 06066 Phone: (860) 454-8922 Fax: (801) 996-5525 Email: [email protected] To contact CTASLA: Mail: 370 James Street, Ste. 402 New Haven, CT 06513 Voice mail: (800) 878-1474 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ctasla.org Address changes or advertising: [email protected].

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From the Editor

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ith this issue of The Connecticut Landscape Architect I assume the responsibilities of editor. Sarah Middeleer’s ten-year term is a very tough act to follow, but I approach my term with optimism. Ultimately, I hope to bring fresh energy and a new perspective to this task. This is a fantastic publication and one of our most effective outreach tools. Since joining CTASLA in 1987, I have been consistently impressed with the quality and professionalism of the CTLA. Sarah and others before her have set a very high standard, and it is one that I plan to maintain. Joining me in producing the magazine is the newly-formed editorial committee consisting of Elena Pascarella, Kristen Mitrakis and Stuart Sachs. As always, contributions and ideas by the membership are appreciated. Possible themes for future issues include: Urban Planning, Great Landscapes of Connecticut, Olmsted in Connecticut, New Urbanism and non-traditional practitioners. Let me know if you would like to write on these topics or if you have other thoughts. To be successful, we need many voices representing all the different aspects of our diverse profession. Included in this issue are the first of two features on the winners of the 2010 CTASLA awards. This year we are taking a different approach to the coverage of these outstanding projects. The projects themselves are to be covered in detail in a revamped Handbook, which will be published this Spring. In this issue of the CTLA we will be focusing on the award-winning firms and designers. The articles are in a question and answer format, which I hope you will find revealing. A consistent complaint among landscape architects is that the public does not understand what we do or how we do it. To that end, the CTASLA awards program is a fantastic public outreach tool. These winning projects are published in Connecticut newspapers and perhaps most importantly, all submitted projects are exhibited in the State of Connecticut Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Thousands of people view these submissions each year, greatly expanding the exposure of landscape architecture in Connecticut. Another great way to highlight our profession is through the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) mentor program, which works with high school students across the state. Landscape architects are welcomed and encouraged to join the program, but we are consistently underrepresented. To learn more about the ACE program, see the accompanying article in this issue. Thanks again to Sarah for her great work over the past decade. The torch has been passed!

W. PHILLIPS BARLOW

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INSIDE

this issue

President’s Message ......................................................................................... 4 Trustee’s Message ............................................................................................. 7 2011 Connecticut Design Awards .................................................................... 8 Yarwood Award .............................................................................................. 22 Conservations with Connecticut’s Newest ASLA Fellows .............................. 24 The ACE Mentoring Program ........................................................................... 28 Book Review .................................................................................................... 30 CTASLA Teams With City of Bridgeport and UConn LA Program ................. 34

Cover photo by Kevney Moses, Wesley Stout Associates

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www.ctasla.org

President’s Message

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strides in our educational programming efforts, including events regarding the Merritt Parkway, the Sustainable Sites Initiative, native plantings, and lighting design and new technologies. These programs give us a great springboard as we prepare for this upcoming year’s events. Our advocacy efforts remain strong as we look to strengthen the role of the profession with the State Departments in Connecticut and, by doing so, ensuring that the value which landscape architects bring to each phase of a project is inherently recognized. Look for an expanded effort in celebrating the legacy of Connecticut native Frederick Law Olmsted this April. As the work of FLO was influenced by the landscapes of CT, it is important for us to be stewards of his legacy as the father of our profession. And we are extremely pleased to continue to support the UConn landscape architecture program. Our efforts in 2010 included ASLA professionals serving as mentors for the senior studio class. It was a great success for both the students and the professionals. There is no doubt that landscape architects will continue to play major roles in shaping the communities that we all live in, and that the efforts of ASLA will resonate throughout the profession.

andscape architecture is alive and well in Connecticut. One only needs to take a look through this year’s design award winners featured in this issue to see the variety of complex projects that are undertaken by landscape architects. It is indeed an exciting time to be a part of this growing profession. More and more, landscape architects are not only playing key roles in major development projects, but are often the lead consultants, not only in Connecticut, but throughout the country and abroad. As the focus on sustainable livable communities, water management, green infrastructure and context-sensitive design becomes stronger, LA’s are being recognized for their unique skills and for being leaders in the challenging design processes that these strategies present. I am especially proud to be a landscape architect involved in ASLA. Having inherited the presidency from Jane Didona, it is important to look back on the efforts of the Chapter over the last year. We made tremendous

WILLIAM N. POLLACK

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Trustee’s Message

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specifically just how much of all of this fits under the regulatory purview of “Health, Safety and Welfare.” For some on our committee the focus seemed to be on the very real concern of alienating fellow professionals. For others the financial wrath and its crippling effect on the Society’s initiatives that a loss in membership may bring was of primary concern. To me the issue comes down to a question of whether or not altering requirements for membership would further our ability to achieve the ASLA’s mission. Ah-ha! So that’s why it is important for all of us to understand the ASLA’s mission…

kay, pop quiz time. How many of you know the mission statement of the ASLA? We all know the pros and cons of these strategic planning devices but the fact is that a well crafted mission statement can be used as a lens to give better clarity to any organizational decision making process. It turns out that at a recent Board of Trustees meeting we all needed a friendly reminder of this. In fact a serious motion was made to require all trustees to know the mission by heart. At our chapter’s annual holiday part this past December I gave a brief synopsis of a few of the multitude of issues and initiatives in which our organization is involved, impacting a truly impressively broad swath of our built environment. Despite the economic downturn, (admittedly a much too mild term for many of us), and it’s affect on the design and construction industry, the ASLA is making profound headway in numerous areas, from the SITES Pilot Project Phase, to moving various legislative issues forward in congress, to developing ways of tapping emerging social networking outlets for the benefit of the profession. Last year we celebrated the signing of Vermont’s licensure law for landscape architects, achieving the goals of the decade-long “50 by 2010” initiative by regulating the practice of landscape architecture in all 50 states. It was this accomplishment that, at least for me, has logically led to a re-examination of the membership requirements of the ASLA — in particular considering a requirement of licensure for full membership. Previously, with not all states having licensing laws regulating landscape architects, discussions on strengthening membership requirements were largely mute. With this obstacle removed I was one of several Trustees who raised the issue at the mid-year Trustee meeting last May. In our profession it would be ridiculous to expect that one’s expertise and practice could span the complete spectrum of roles that landscape architects are capable of filling. To the contrary, all professionals it seems have their own relatively focused areas of practice and it is easy to develop a rather myopic view of the profession. I certainly can admit to this. However, having the opportunity to sit on the Licensure Committee, which together with the Membership Committee has been charged with analyzing the membership requirements issue and forwarding recommendations to the Board of Trustees, has led me to a fascinating re-examination of who we are and what we do as landscape architects; and more

“to lead, to educate, and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environments.” Would an ASLA with only full members who are licensed further this cause? Would we elevate our status amongst our peer organizations, such as the AIA, by having similar membership restrictions? Do we feel, as some do, that this will make it clearer to consumers who may mistakenly assimilate the ASLA title after ones name with licensure? Or is the mission better served by the socalled “big tent” approach, recognizing (and embracing) the fact that our profession has evolved, and continues to evolve, to encompass a multitude of career avenues, many of which simply do not fall under the “Health, Safety and Welfare” regulatory umbrella? These are important questions that we all should be considering. Shortly the recommendations on this issue will be passed down from the national executive committee to our chapter’s executive committee for comment. I would hope you will voice your own opinions before the trustees deliberate at the mid-year board meeting this May. A vibrant and effective organization feeds on the involvement of its members. So…what do you think?

Bob Golde addresses chapter members at the holiday party in December.

ROBERT J. GOLDE 7

www.ctasla.org

The Connecticut Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

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e are pleased to present the winners of the 2010 CTASLA Connecticut Design awards, announced at the chapter’s holiday party in December. The projects themselves will be covered in detail in a new publication to be released this Spring. This issue of CTLA will focus instead on the award-winning firms and designers, to give our readers a better sense of the people behind the awards, the scope of their company’s practice, and how their awardwinning project compliments their vision of landscape architecture in Connecticut and beyond. We hope you find these Q&A interviews to be revealing. This year’s winners are: ■ Landscape Architectural Design — Municipal/Public Spaces Award of Excellence: Kent + Frost, LLC, for Hygienic Art Park (New London) Merit Award: Richard Bergmann Architects, for Children’s A*Mazing Mathematical Puzzle as a Part of Irwin Park (New Canaan) ■ Landscape Architectural Design — Residential Honor Award: Devore Associates, LLC, for Swan Pond (Darien) Merit Award: Anne Penniman Associates, LLC, for Ocean Front House (Westerly, RI) ■ Landscape Architectural Design — Corporate/Institutional Merit Award: Towers|Golde, LLC, for Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Healing Garden/Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Merit Award: Wesley Stout Associates, for Plane Geometry (Greenwich) ■ Landscape Architectural Planning and Analysis Honor Award: LADA, P.C. Land Planners, for The Route 6 Hop River Corridor Master Plan (Bolton, Coventry, Andover and Columbia) ■ Landscape Architectural Research Merit Award: Kristin Schwab, University of Connecticut, for Sustainable Site Design: Criteria, Process & Case Studies for Integrating Site & Region in Landscape Design (Book) The jury was comprised of members of the Upper New York State chapter of ASLA. 8

Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Healing Garden/Smilow Cancer Hospital at YaleNew Haven

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Brian Kent, ASLA / Kent + Frost, LLC

Mystic

www.kentfrost.com Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? From the beginning the project was constrained by a tight budget. A Connecticut state grant provided confidence to initiate the project but the majority of funding would be raised through private donations. This uncertainty influenced the design team to utilize economical yet durable materials such as tinted concrete and salvaged stone. To finish the project, the designers and contractors gave a share of their services pro bono. Many volunteers from the Hygienic organization also provided assistance.

Hygienic Art Park (New London)

Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? Hygienic Art Park embodies Kent + Frost’s philosophy that the best projects spring from genuine collaboration between open minded and creative people. In this case, the landscape architect managed the charrette planning process and brought the design to the conceptual stage before beginning collaboration with artists and allied professionals. Artists were given creative license to develop their work fully within a framework of appropriateness. The Hygienic board included experts in stage performance, acoustics and lighting. The end result is a space containing parts that function perfectly within a holistic composition. In the end, it was how the park functions that convinced us to submit for an award. The 2010 season marked the fruition of a steady evolution of the park’s management and marketing since its opening in 2006. Concerts, festivals and films brought residents and visitors to the park at least two evenings a week for the entire Summer. This steady stream of events has helped foster New London’s growing reputation as a cultural hot spot, and this has Brendan Kempf, Chad Frost, and Brian Kent.

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Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects Kent + Frost, cont’d had a positive economic impact on the downtown district. This project demonstrates that good design coupled with effective programming and marketing can have a clear and measurable impact on a community. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? Kent + Frost seeks opportunities to collaborate with artists and allied professionals whenever possible. We find that good work flows from good relationships. The Hygienic Art Park is a unique project type that doesn’t often present itself. That said, the relationships formed while working on the Hygienic have led to several subsequent projects of different types. Q. What is unique about your office? We are a small firm (currently three people) with a diverse practice, working in all categories of the profession. Our projects range from high end

single-family dwellings on spectacular coastal sites to public housing site improvements. We work with all sorts of clients from commercial developers to non-profits and municipalities. This variety of project types forces us to stay current and creative. Q. What else are you working on? Our current menu includes a town green/fairground for the town of Ledyard, CT, a master plan update for the Mystic Seaport Museum, a mixed use redevelopment of a historic mill site in Mystic, a regional multi-use trail in southeast Connecticut, and a variety of residential projects. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards? What does the office get out of it? We will only submit a project if we think it has truly special attributes that deserve public exposure. As a small

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www.ctasla.org firm with a short history, we hope that the recognition derived from this award will help us gain commissions of similar projects and shine a positive light on the profession of landscape architecture in our community. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? Are award programs a part of your marketing plan? Actually, this is the first award submission our firm has made. Awards programs are not an integral part of our marketing plan since we can’t be certain that we will have such worthy projects on a regular basis. We do hope however, that an improving economy and the increasing appreciation of the value of landscape architects as project leaders will provide more of us in the profession an opportunity to complete projects like the Hygienic Art Park.

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Diane Devore, ASLA / Devore Associates, LLC

Fairfield

www.devoreassoc.com Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? The greatest challenge was to meet the client’s programmatic needs within the setback lines which required working in a lap pool that could only be placed in the front yard! This relatively small lot had 50 foot wetland setbacks to the north and west, a 65 foot setback in the front (south) and a 25’ side yard setback on the east side of the property. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? Being on a relatively small lot, we thought that the photographs captured the design intent better than many of the large-scale residential projects we work on. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? It is in that the jurors’ comments reflect the design intent of the firm, whether we are working on a hundred acres or two we strive to achieve a “beautifully integrated landscape…elegant forms and well resolved design.” Q. What is unique about your office? No matter how long it takes, (even if it means little profit) our goal is to create a simple, elegant design that works with the architecture and the genus loci of the land. Every detail, from planting to fence design, is unique and created specifically for each individual project.

Diane Devore.

Swan Pond (Darien) Native plant woodland garden connecting the pool area to the rear lawn.

Q. What else are you working on? We are working with six different architects on a number of large-scale residential projects. The locations vary from East Hampton, New York to Westport, Connecticut. The style of the architecture and the topography is different for each project, which adds excitement and interest to the office. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards/what does the office get out of it? Besides the pleasure of torturing Andrew Moyers, who each year is charged with creating the display board? Honestly, we appreciate the 11

publicity and the acknowledgement from ASLA members that our office is creating high-quality work. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? Are award programs a part of your marketing plan? We carefully choose which award programs to enter because of the time commitment. This year we submitted projects to the national ASLA and the Tucker Award sponsored by the National Building Institute. We were very pleased to have been selected as one of the recipients of the Tucker Award in collaboration with the architect Amanda Martocchio.

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Terri-Ann Hahn, ASLA / LADA, P.C. Land Planners

www.ctasla.org

Simsbury

Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? Two things — trying to get the residents to see beyond their set preconceptions about the future, and trying to respond to four different towns and their needs. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? Unique clients and successful resolution of very difficult design problem. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? Yes, we tend to work for small and medium sized municipalities. Q. What is unique about your office? Full service landscape architecture and planning services. We focus on working with a wide variety of clients to find a solution that reflects their needs. Each project and solution is unique. We try to avoid predetermined styles or solutions. We try to focus on larger issues such as preserving agricultural land, corridor planning, and community placemaking, as well as site specific issues. Q. What else are you working on? Visioning and charrettes for multiple clients, medical office campus facilities, retail planting rehabilitation plans, and streetscapes.

The Route 6 Hop River Corridor Master Plan (Bolton, Coventry, Andover and Columbia)

Q. Why do you submit projects for awards/what does the office get out of it? Our profession is one where you rarely hear a “well done” so the awards process gives us the opportunity to compare our work against our peers. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? CCAPA, Westchester AIA because it reflects other aspects of our work. Terri-Ann Hahn and Philip Doyle. 12

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Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Robert Golde, ASLA / Towers|Golde, LLC

www.ctasla.org

New Haven

www.towersgolde.com Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? From a design standpoint, the greatest challenge was to provide cancer patients with an unexpected oasis within a highly urbanized medical center that was more evocative of one’s backyard than a cutting edge medical center. Creating this naturalistic, outdoor space for contemplation and intimate conversation required a significant scale shift for a large 14 story institutional building. Creating the garden on the 7th floor of the building also presented a whole raft of technical challenges. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? We chose this one over other projects because it touches on many of the aspects of landscape architecture which we enjoy participating in. As a therapeutic landscape it highlights a growing segment of our expertise. Stylistically the design evolved far from where we started thanks in great part to the input from cancer survivors who helped critiqued the design. It required many unique technical solutions which were achieved in close collaboration with a sizable team of design and construction consultants. Finally, since the garden was very well received by

Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Healing Garden/Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven the patients and staff who use it on a regular basis we felt it was worthy of recognition. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? I would say that the highly collaborative approach to the design solution, (the process), is typical of our work. Attention to detail and removal of barriers to access are also very emblematic of our work. However, stylistically, few of our projects look similar to each other. Our designs tend to be highly individualized in response to unique programmatic requirements of the project and the peculiarities of a particular site. Q. What is unique about your office? Our staff is expected to be continually involved on a project from

Shavaun Towers, FASLA, left, leads a charrette. 14

initiation through design, documentation and finally construction. We think this gives a significant amount of continuity to each project. There has been a trend for larger firms to shift to separate design and construction departments and we have tried to not follow that trend. We believe that the ability to make the right construction decisions in the field is based on a thorough understanding of the thought process that went into the design; likewise in order to design well it is important to experience work under construction to understand how things are actually built, (and not built), in the field. I think this project was a confirmation of that philosophy. Q. What else are you working on? When the recession hit, we were working on projects that varied greatly in scale, context and budget. That variety helped us weather the bulk of the downturn. Although less varied at this point, we still have a good number of interesting ongoing projects. • For a repurposed Class ‘A’ office building in New Jersey with a high

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects profile architectural client in New York, we had fun extending some of the angular geometric vocabulary from the building out into the landscape. We went with a pyramid theme on this one. • We continue to provide consulting services for the New York Botanical Garden for several major landscape enhancement projects. The newly renovated Azalea Garden is scheduled to open this Spring. • Work continues on several residence hall buildings on a private university campus in Fairfield where we have been incrementally implementing an overall landscape master plan for the campus. • At Tulane University in New Orleans we are developing pedestrian improvements to the iconic Central Green. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards/what does the office get out of it? Of course receiving recognition from one’s peers is terrific. Our staff ap-

preciates recognition for their work as much as the partners do. Clients are also very appreciative of project awards. Putting a submittal together requires a thorough evaluation of a project that we don’t always perform otherwise, so in that sense it helps in our marketing efforts. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? Are award programs a part of your marketing plan? Towers|Golde design studio. Submitting our work to of work for academic institutions in award programs is most definitely part the past we have also participated in of our marketing plan. Since our work SCUP programs. We have also submitis done in many geographic locations, ted some of our historically sensitive we participate in award programs of projects to Connecticut Trust for Hishost ASLA chapters in those other projtoric Preservation Award program. ect locations. As we do a fair amount

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Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Wesley Stout, ASLA / Wesley Stout Associates

www.ctasla.org

New Canaan

www.wesleystout.com Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? Like many projects, the Entitlement Phase had significant challenges. While the site design approach was relatively quick, the existing facility exceeded certain zoning requirements, so elements such as visitor parking and site paving were quite restrictive and difficult. We ended up compensating by offering “Green” solutions such as permeable pavement and stormwater cleansing. While the Greenwich Architectural Review Board is typically quite challenging, they were very receptive to the proposed building and landscape design solutions. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? This project was tremendously successful at all levels. I feel it is a perfect example of Good Design adds Value. At one level the project took a vacant, but classic modern building and gave it a brand new life- call it building recycling as compared to the option of demolition. The owner was also willing to consider a contemporary design approach that was creative, fresh and stylish, while also integrating sustainable (green) design principles. We also truly enjoyed this project — we decided to utilize a form vocabulary considered non-traditional within the greater context of the project itself — a fluid, nonrectilinear design in an urban setting under commercial usage. We hoped that our divergence from this standard

Bruce Eckerson, Wesley Stout, and Eric Rains.

Plane Geometry (Greenwich) geometry, from parking design to circulation and site amenities, would provide for the transformation of a dated building and parcel into something striking and fresh. The market responded and the final product was fully leased upon completion at the highest rents ever paid for Connecticut office rents, which makes for a very happy client. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? Yes, we have been involved in a number of commercial office building reposition projects and corporate headquarters buildings. Proudly, we just finished the new Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Stamford which is the largest LEED Gold certified building in Connecticut. Q. What is unique about your office? While working closely with our clients, we try to offer thoughtful solutions to modern design problems. We avoid just one design style. Instead we try to design the outdoor environment in keeping with the building style and strongly linking the inside to the outside. We are also respectful of natural site conditions and the opportunity to integrate sustainable design 16

elements — and, if we can, have a little fun along the way. Q. What else are you working on? Currently, we are working on other commercial repositioning projects, private residential homes in Connecticut, New York and Canada, permitting and construction of mixed-use development projects within the Tri-State area, and a several planning studies focused on historic preservation and revitalization for the modern world. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards/what does the office get out of it? Recognition by our piers of quality work furthers our continued passion and commitment to the industry while informing the public about what we can do for them, their projects and the environment. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? Are award programs a part of your marketing plan? Our commitment to award programs is definitely an integral part of our marketing plan. Award programs not only offer immediate exposure and reputation enhancement, but more importantly, act as a conduit between business operations and both current and prospective clientele.

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Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Richard Bergmann, FAIA, ASLA / Richard Bergmann Architects Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? Since the project was funded by a local garden club, cost was a big issue. Other than a token start-up professional fee, the majority of the work was probono, excluding the masonry contractor’s labor. The client, The New Canaan Garden Club, requested a maze as an educational experience for tots. The project site is a 26-acre former estate recently purchased by the town for recreational purposes. Close to the town’s center, it provides much desired open space as well as exercise areas for the health of the town’s residents. The challenge came when searching for an easily buildable “maze” from materials salvaged from an old demolition site. A standard vegetative maze was ruled out as being impossible to maintain. Since the definition of the word “maze” simply means a puzzle, many avenues of thought were opened. The one that was built accommodates ages 4 thru 8. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? It is an unusual take on a “maze” theme. The Masonry contractor’s workmanship was excellent. I was attracted to the artistry of hardscape.

Richard Bergmann.

New Canaan

Children’s A*Mazing Mathematical Puzzle as a Part of Irwin Park (New Canaan) Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? No, the project was smaller than my normal, private work but I have a sustained interest in mazes. Q. What is unique about your office? I am doubly trained — practicing as both a landscape architect and an architect. The interaction between the two professions — where one leaves off, the other begins — is the most interesting. Philip Johnson said it well, “Landscape and architecture is one art.” Involving myself in everything, I photograph many of the awards’ entries. A master class with Ezra Stoller years ago still serves me well. Q. What else are you working on? An adjoining “Roly-Poly” hill will be Phase II of the winning maze project, for children between ages 2 and 5, using the spoils of a dredged pond from another nearby park. I am also working on ongoing residential landscape/gardens with 19

several long-term clients. I am enrolled in an advanced, welded metal sculpture class, and enjoy hanging out with sculptor Charlie Perry, friend and mentor. I am always giving my time to try and save historic buildings from demolition here in Fairfield County. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards? To see if and how well the design problems were solved with grace, beauty and spirit. Q. What other awards programs do you participate in and why? Other than architectural awards programs, there are many excellent ones sponsored by local, state, regional/ state shelter/lifestyle magazines. And why? Because landscape/architecture awards honor the art, not the business side. Q. Are award programs a part of your marketing plan? You bet they are!

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

www.ctasla.org

Anne Penniman, ASLA / Anne Penniman Associates, LLC

Essex

www.annepenniman.com Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? Given the substantial coastal frontage and protected buffers on the site, we were challenged to fit a lot of site program into a limited area while protecting and augmenting the indigenous habitat. Enclosing the pool while maintaining the ocean view also served as a challenge. Lastly, an ongoing challenge of the site is the harsh condition of wind and salt. We selected appropriate built and plant materials to withstand these conditions. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? We spent nearly four years working on the project with supportive and enlightened clients as well as a talented team. There was great synergy and mutual respect among the designers, contractors and the clients. The clients understood the importance of careful detailing, sustainable design, locally sourced materials and habitat restoration. Q. Is this project typical of your firm’s work? Yes, although (paraphrasing from the writings of Lawrence Halprin) the ex-

Ocean Front House (Westerly, RI) cellence of a project usually is a function of an engaged client who is willing to follow through with the process from concept to installation. This project also had a particularly dramatic setting and prospect. Q. What is unique about your office? One thing that may be different about our office is our collaborative relationship with my husband’s architecture firm, extending back to his and my days in graduate school. As landscape architects, our office understands archi-

tecture, and we are able to apply that understanding to work with many different architecture firms. Q. What else are you working on? A few of our current projects include: the restoration of an historic inn overlooking a barrier beach and tidal pond, and renovations for a retirement community; we continue to work with residential clients on environmentally sensitive and architecturally or historically significant projects. We are fortunate to have projects with great clients and inspiring sites. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards? It’s good to reaffirm our commitment to excellence and careful detailing. It also helps with marketing, and we find that the clients of award winning projects are usually quite pleased.

Anne Penniman discusses site design with a client. 20

Design Awards: The People and Process Behind the Projects

Kristin Schwab, ASLA / University of Connecticut

Storrs

www.plantscience.uconn.edu/la.html Q. What was the greatest challenge of this particular project? At the University of Connecticut, our nationally accredited undergraduate program in landscape architecture has long been the primary focus for our small four-person faculty. Although we have the historic landscape research of Rudy Favretti as a strong legacy, teaching and outreach demands have dominated our work and hindered our capacity for research. In recent years, our faculty has been invested in increasing our efforts in research, in an effort to grow the stature of the program and the profession within the state and region, as well as to develop useful new knowledge, methods and solutions to landscape architectural challenges and opportunities. This book, as one of those efforts, is the culmination of a three-year collaboration that began with a sabbatical — a key to surmounting this general challenge of making time for research. The specific challenges of this research were obtaining funding to support travel, equipment and graphics assistance; learning as first-time book authors about the whole process of developing a manuscript and getting it published; writing with two different people and voices to create a unified book and idea; and balancing the demands of family and other professional activities to respond to the required timetable. Q. Why did you pick this project as an award submittal? My co-author Claudia Dinep and I met while she was teaching in an adjunct role here at the University. As an undergrad alum from UConn with a strong professional background in ecological design, Claudia provided a wonderful spark for my sabbatical opportunity to dig into some research. We spent many months developing our framework for context-informed sustainable site design and were able to integrate the work of

Sustainable Site Design: Criteria, Process and Case Studies for Integrating Site and Region in Landscape Design

Co-Authors Claudia Dinep and Kristin Schwab, backed by UConn student research assistants Mary-Kate Casey, Katherine Liss and Joe Bivona, at the book publication celebration in December 2009.

several talented UConn undergraduate students along the way. So we felt that this was a special UConn story that integrated our teaching and research collaborations nicely. Q. Is this effort typical of your work? What else are you working on? Our research efforts at UConn are both joint and independent. A joint endeavor that integrates work we have each done in community design assistance is the Community Research and Design Collaborative. This is the clearing house for all of our community outreach work, where, through physical planning and design assistance to villages, towns and regions, new methodologies are applied, tested and developed. Peter Miniutti’s Lands of Unique Value land use planning methodology first developed in his work with the town of Mansfield is an example. John Alexopoulos’ work on innovative stormwater management practices on the Jordan Cove housing development in Waterford has advanced the knowledge of these practices through 21

measuring water quality indices. Our case study book on sustainable site design takes more of an academic approach through case study research. Claudia and I have continued to develop aspects of the research in our book, presenting work on its international applications in the Netherlands last Spring and on metrics for regional sustainability in Los Angeles this coming Spring at CELA conferences. Claudia was the first landscape architect to have a residency at I-Park last Summer and is interested in incorporating urban agriculture into her future work. Q. Why do you submit projects for awards? What does the program get out of it? In research, peer review is a critical component. As we work to advance the research component of our program, juried competitions, peer-reviewed articles and manuscripts and other forms of validation and recognition by experts in the field are essential to our success as individual faculty members and as a program.

www.ctasla.org

Aris Stalis Named Yarwood Award Recipient BY JEFF

OLSZEWSKI, ASLA

T

he Yarwood Award is presented annually by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects to chapter members who give unselfishly of their time and talent to further the profession of landscape architecture. The award, first presented in 1987 to Robert E. Gregan, honors the “Father of the Connecticut Chapter of ASLA,” George A. Yarwood (see sidebar). Aris W. Stalis has received the 2010 George Yarwood Award for his many years of tireless support of CTASLA. After serving as a chapter officer for NYASLA, Aris joined CTASLA as a member-atlarge in the Fall of 2003. Since that time Aris has been extensively involved in the chapter, going on to serve as Chapter President in 2006 and Chapter Trustee in 2009. Aris’s dedication to the chapter and the landscape architecture profession is evident in his constant work with ASLA and allied professionals, most notably in his efforts involving local, state and national advocacy. He is currently serving his 2nd year as a member of the ASLA National Government Affairs Committee. In addition to his many other advocacy roles, Aris has served on the ASLA National Public Relations Committee, coordinated the CTASLA design awards, and served as juror for the awards program. Aris continues to be instrumental in building relationships that have helped move the Connecticut Chapter and the landscape architectural profession to an increased level of visibility and public awareness.

Who was George A. Yarwood?

G

eorge A. Yarwood, FASLA (1903-1987) born at Binghamton New York, was an early practitioner of landscape architecture in the state of Connecticut (license #02). After graduating from UMass in 1926, he went on to attend the Harvard Graduate School of Design from September 1927 to March 1928. After working in New York City, Yarwood came to Connecticut in 1929, to work with Thomas H. Desmond and Associates, Simsbury. From Yarwood’s ASLA Council of Fellows Data Sheet, it appears that he left Desmond in 1933 to work with the National Park Service (CCC Camp in Chicopee, MA for three months and then the Central Design Division) and later with nationally renowned landscape architect, A.D. Taylor. In 1943 Yarwood came back to Connecticut to again work with Desmond Associates, eventually becoming a partner. Historic plans from 1950 to 1954 list the firm as Yarwood and Block, though Yarwood does not list this affiliation in his biographical data, perhaps feeling that it was a continuation of Desmond Associates (James Block had been an employee of Desmond Associates). George Yarwood was a prolific designer, producing many plans for low income housing and school sites across the state. Notable projects listed in his ASLA biographical data include work at Trinity College, Renbrook School, United Technologies (East Hartford) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Evidently most of the Desmond Associates/Yarwood archives were lost in the 1955 flood. His service to the profession of landscape architecture includes: • • • •

Founding member of the Connecticut Chapter of ASLA, 1948 First President of CTASLA, 1952-1954 Chapter Trustee, 1956-1957 Member State Board of Landscape Architects, 1967-1972

He was elected an ASLA Fellow in 1964, and received the national ASLA Presidents Award in 1980. George A. Yarwood died in 1987.

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CONVERSATIONS

CTLA talks with Connecticut’s newest ASLA Fellows Whitney A. Talcott, FASLA, Principal of Talcott Associates in Waterford, and Susan Cohen, FASLA, of Riverside, were inducted as fellows in the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2010. Following are brief interviews with Susan and Whitney.

Whitney A. Talcott: Serving the Profession INTERVIEW

W

BY

ELENA M. PASCARELLA, ASLA

hitney, when did you first decide that landscape architecture would be your chosen profession and where did you obtain your initial education? I grew up in Tokeneke, Darien, Connecticut a peaceful and not overly-managed natural settling (then!). I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I majored in English and Psychology. A friend of mine from UNC enrolled at the new Master’s program in landscape architecture at North Carolina State which was about 25 miles away from Chapel Hill. I was intrigued by what I saw there and started taking courses. I then enrolled in the program which was part of the NC State School (now college) of Design. The School of Design included architecture, product design and landscape architecture and had an architecture faculty much influenced by the Bauhaus as well as the work of many international level visiting professors and critics, including Buckminster Fuller. I was one of the “Street

People” at NC State. “Street People” was a term the faculty used to describe students in the MLA program who had undergraduate degrees in non-design fields. Professor Richard Wilkinson, chair of the LA program, strongly believed in having a student body with diverse backgrounds. The faculty was diverse as well, including architects, urban planners, psycho-geographers and anthropologists, not your standard LA faculty. I had originally thought to study architecture but decided that landscape architecture was a much more interesting and fertile field because it was more comprehensive than just ‘a building.’ Landscape architects were able to work on the context or “the big picture” of a project. What elements of the profession interest and excite you the most? I was in school when Ian McHarg’s Design with Nature made such an impact on our world, he was teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. A

few of the LA professors at NC State also taught there, commuting back and forth every week. I took a course in real estate development with a professor Whitney Talcott, FASLA who was also teaching the same course at Penn. I developed an interest in land design for conservation and natural resource preservation, which continues to be an interest and a focus of my work. A number of other professors at NC State influenced my current professional interests. Dick Wilkinson saw the big picture and was able to make us understand how to figure it out. My thesis advisor, Linda Jewell wrote the construction column for Landscape Architecture magazine for many years and worked with me on several townscape studies, this piqued my interest in town planning. Have your ideals and goals as a landscape architect changed over time?

Left: EC Goodwin Technical High School, New Britain, CT. Mr. Talcott led the site design and construction for this Connecticut Department of Public Works project. Right: Master Plan for the Talcott Farm Planned Residential Development, Old Lyme, CT. 24

My ideals have not changed. My goals have changed and adapted to the changes in the profession. Striving to create, enhance or rehabilitate a site while minimizing its impact on the environment has always been my guiding principle. Landscape architecture has always been a “green” profession. However, the new terms of “green” and “sustainability” have recently been adopted by other professionals who are finally realizing the importance of goals that landscape architects have always sought to achieve. Currently, I do a lot of volunteer work with the Connecticut Green Building Council (CTGBC). I enjoy this work because it allows me to focus on my sustainable design goals and to also interact with individuals from other design professions. I feel that landscape architects are very well suited in integrating multi-disciplinary teams in that they provide the “connective tissue” for multi-disciplinary work. How do you see the profession changing since you began your career? How has the economy affected it? One of the major changes in the profession since I began my career has been the introduction of the computer and internet. This has changed the way we work, share ideas, drawings and information on a global scale and has changed the way we design and see the world. Computers have also given small offices the ability to be much more productive. Contract documents have also become much more important. This is probably due to the fact that society as a whole has become more litigious. The current economic downturn has severely affected the design professions although some offices have felt it much more than others. Business surveys have always indicated that landscape architecture is a growing profession and that there will be an increased need for landscape architects in the future; but it is the responsibility of the landscape architects to assert themselves. There is always a need for good design and I believe that those landscape architects who have positioned themselves with

excellent sustainable design skills and credentials will prosper. You have worked for large engineering firms, architecture firms and development companies as well as for you own firm. What were the contributions of landscape architects to those larger firms? In multidisciplinary firms, the landscape architects always have to work hard, establish their positions, and assert themselves. One of my professors at NC State said (simply) “to be a professional, you must profess.” I enjoy working with a diverse group of design professionals because it makes the project much more interesting and allows the LA design conversation to start at the beginning. Why did you become involved with CTASLA and what is your current role with the Chapter? I became involved with CTASLA in 1993 when I served as Vice President. I became involved because at the time I was working in a survey/engineering

firm and I was the only landscape architect on staff. I wanted to have more interaction with other landscape architects. I then served as Chapter President and later as trustee where I became more involved with ASLA on a national level. Through my work with national, I became involved with accreditation reviews for academic landscape architecture programs through the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). Initially I was part of LAAB’s Roster of Visiting Evaluators (ROVE) and I served on eight different accreditation teams, then I was appointed to the LAAB Board. The LAAB is comprised of three practitioners, three academics, three members of the general public and representatives from ASLA, CELA and CLARB. I have served on LAAB for six years and currently am the chair of the board. I would like to see CTASLA continue to raise the profile for the landscape architecture profession in Connecticut. Since I have been involved with (continued next page)

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Talcott, cont. CTASLA, we have moved the profession along through an upgrade from a title to a practice act, we have grown from 125 to over 250 members and we have also helped to achieve accreditation of the University of Connecticut Landscape Architecture program. Currently in the design world, there is a major focus on urban planning, transportation design and planning. It would be great to see landscape architects in Connecticut serving as leaders in these initiatives. What would you like to see the Connecticut Chapter work toward? I would like to see membership in the chapter become an indispensable asset to all licensed landscape architects in Connecticut. Currently we do not have 100% membership; we should strive to achieve 100%. With more members we will be able to serve our members better, do more, and raise the public awareness of our profession.

Susan Cohen: A Leader in Landscape Architecture Education INTERVIEW

BY

W. PHILLIPS BARLOW, ASLA

S

usan, how did you decide on a profession in landscape architecture? Good question! I never heard about the profession growing up or in college, but as soon as I heard the words “landscape architect” from the owner of a local nursery, I knew that I had found the work I would love to do. At that time I was living in Greenwich, married with two young children, and creating gardens in our small yard. I made an appointment to visit A.E. Bye in his office, and he talked to me about his designs and encouraged me to go back to school. He was incredibly generous with his time, and he pointed me in the right direction, first to The New York Botanical Garden and then to City College.

Did you have any exposure to the field of landscape architecture as a child? Yes, I was exposed to Susan Cohen, FASLA landscape architecture when I was a child, but I did not know the name for it at the time. Our corner lot in New Jersey sloped in two directions. My dad, a mechanical engineer, terraced our back yard with a curving stone retaining wall that served as the back for a stone seat around a terrace, which he also built. Then he built another retaining wall at our sloping side yard to create two level spaces, a lower square of lawn and an upper space that became my mother’s flower garden. What accomplishment are you most proud of? Becoming an ASLA Fellow is an amazing honor, and one that makes me most proud. If I could name one other, it would be designing the garden setting at The New York Botanical Garden for the temporary exhibition of sculptures from the Museum of Modern Art. That project, which involved working with works of art I had known since childhood, was a wonderful experience, and I had the privilege of working with both the museum curators and the extraordinary horticulture staff at the Garden. If you were not a landscape architect, what profession/field do you think that you would be in? I cannot imagine not being a landscape architect! But I probably would have taught. I have had the opportunity to teach at both The New York Botanical Garden and City College and

26

it has been a great pleasure to see my former students succeed. Do you have a design style or philosophy? My general feeling about design is to keep it simple…actually, keep it simple, but also rich and beautiful.

Susan Cohen teaching at The New York Botanical Garden.

What about ASLA membership do you find most rewarding? I appreciate the ASLA for the sense of collegiality and support it provides. I always know there are other landscape architects to whom I can turn for advice. And we all are fortunate in Connecticut to have access to the varied and useful continuing education programs provided through CTASLA. What do you see as the future of landscape architecture in Connecticut? Our field is more widely recognized now than when I began my studies, when none of my friends had ever heard of the profession. I hope that this recognition of the important leadership, collaborative, and educational

roles of landscape architects will continue to grow. I also expect and hope that more young people will be drawn to a career in landscape architecture. What do you see as the biggest immediate challenge to our profession?

27

Despite our gains, a continuing challenge is recognition and understanding of our work. Also, we all must bring ourselves up to speed on the challenges of sustainable and ecologically appropriate landscapes.

www.ctasla.org

The ACE Mentoring Program: Promoting the Profession BY

W. PHILLIPS BARLOW, ASLA

H

ow many times have we all heard a practicing landscape architect explain that he/she did not even know that the profession existed when they were considering careers, but rather stumbled upon it after starting to study architecture or engineering? How often do we complain that the public has no idea of the scope or breadth of our work? Well, the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) mentoring program is an ideal way of promoting our profession to High School students, who may go on to become landscape architects or simply be more knowledgeable about landscape architecture. ACE is a nonprofit mentoring organization which was started in 1994 with a goal to “engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue degrees in the integrated construction industry through mentoring; and to support their continued advancement in the industry through scholarships and grants.” ACE students volunteer for the program and meet on their own time, after school hours. Practically, ACE is a partnership between allied design and construction professionals including landscape architects, architects, engineers, interior designers, construction managers and clients. These professionals work under a team leader to mentor students through at least a year of their high school career. Many students participate for several years. Today there are ACE chapters in 200 cities throughout 36 states and the District of Columbia. Some vital statistics of the program include:

A mentor critiques a design.

• •

•

•

•

The program had 10,000 students and 4,000 mentors in 2010. 97 percent of the students who participate in ACE programs graduate from High School compared to the national average of 73.4 percent. Ninety-four percent of those who participate in the program go on to college versus the national average of 68 percent. More minorities are enrolled in ACE than in any other after school program. Nearly four times more Latino ACE alumni enter civil, electrical and mechanical engineering professions than their non-ACE counterparts.

The Connecticut ACE chapter was formed in 1998 as the nation’s second affiliate. ACE mentor program of Connecticut now has student teams in five Connecticut cities (Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Stamford). Since the first year with only 20 students, the program has expanded to serve over 250 students from 39 high schools. Approximately 28

100 design and construction professionals representing 69 firms serve as ACE mentors. For 2010, Bob Golde (Towers|Golde, New Haven) Brian Bacon (Towers|Golde) and I (TO Design LLC, Hartford) serve as ACE mentors. In addition, Bob serves on the CT ACE Board of Directors and TerriAnn Hahn (LADA, Simsbury) serves on the advisory board. Past landscape architect mentors include Steve Ossias. Landscape architects are represented on the national ACE Board of Directors by Bill Kuhl from New York state.

How the Program Works

Volunteer students meet after school hours and are assigned to a team of up to 20 students. Typically the teams meet every two weeks for two hours at the office of the team leader. Mentors lead the students through all phases of a project, starting with how to use a scale and culminating in a presentation of their completed design to teachers, mentors, parents and fellow students. Often mentors will take the students on field trips to construction sites and behind-the-scene tours of

design and engineering offices. There is no cost to students, only the investment of time. Typically the design projects are building-focused and the mentoring team leader is a building architect. The landscape architect’s role is similar to the role that we play on a building design team. That is, we have a supporting role. Typically each of the project team support members (landscape architect, engineers, and interior designer) will take one or two class periods to lead the students through the specifics of their discipline as it applies to the group project. As landscape architects we are often asked to further help in developing the project documents and graphics. Perhaps future projects might be led by landscape architects, and involve a park, streetscape or urban design? The Potomac chapter of ASLA had a recent success with an ACE project that involved D.C. students in a greenhouse garden and outdoor classroom design. Bob Golde, ASLA is a typical mentor. He got involved in the program

because he realized that on the New Haven teams there were no landscape architects. He has become such an advocate for the program that he has volunteered to be on the Connecticut Chapter’s Board of Directors and has convinced other landscape architects to become mentors. I joined the program for similar reasons and An ACE student presents her team’s project. have not been disappointed. This is my third year in the protionally. We need young (and younggram and I have worked with students at-heart) landscape architects to step from Bloomfield and Hartford High up and take advantage of this great Schools. Design projects have included opportunity, which not only serves a field house, transportation center motivated, often disadvantaged, high and library. The enthusiasm of students school students but is professionally is contagious and the experience rerewarding as well. This is also a faninforces the importance of landscape tastic opportunity to meet and work architecture and the need for us to “be with allied design professionals in a at the table.” more relaxed setting than our day-toHistorically, landscape architects day work. Those interested in joining have been underrepresented in the a 2012 ACE team can contact Maria Connecticut Chapter and I suspect naLoitz at [email protected].

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BOOK REVIEW

Recommended Plant and Planting Design Resources REVIEWED

BY

KRISTIN SCHWAB, ASLA, A SSOCIATE PROFESSOR

L

andscape architects, as “generalists” in the design world, are often faulted for not knowing enough about the medium with which they are most identified: plants. At the University of Connecticut, students in the program of landscape architecture benefit from the program’s close relationship to the horticulture, plant science and natural resource expertise in our college. As I prepare for the Spring semester’s course on planting design, I thought I’d reflect on some of the more useful resources gathered over the last couple of years, some of which are “home-grown” right here at UConn. They address a wide range of information and concepts in book, web and built form, from native plants and naturalized plantings to urban street trees and planting techniques, highlighting the fact that even with narrower confines of planting design, there is a lot to know and learn and many valid approaches, old and new.

Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation by Donald J. Leopold (Timber Press 2005) Written by a plant ecologist from SUNY Syracuse, this guide provides

OF LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECTURE, UNIVERSITY

OF

CONNECTICUT

a straightforward catalogue of native grasses, wildflowers, vines, shrubs and trees. The color photographs are mostly up-close leaf and branch subjects which are handy for identification purposes, but do not offer whole plant form information, though it’s a good comprehensive listing that provides focus on our region. The appendix sorts plants according to environmental conditions such as shade or wet soils, and for habitat value for birds, mammals and butterflies. UConn Plant Database by Mark Brand (www.hort.uconn.edu/ plants/) Created over ten years ago and faithfully maintained and updated by Plant Science professor Mark Brand, this highly useful web-based database provides northeastern U.S.-specific woody plant information and can be searched by botanical or common name, as well as by site conditions and plant characteristics, including invasiveness, natives, pollution/salt resistance. As more and more of our information on plants (and everything else!) is obtained online, this site has become the go-to source for quick information and good digital imagery for planting design here in New England — bookmark it!

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Professional Planting Design: An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings by Scott C. Scarfone (John Wiley & Sons 2007) An approach to planting design centered on the concept of “mixed beds,” where “the goal is to interweave a variety of plant types to get the best value and visual impact out of the available planting area over the longest period of time.” Emphasizing the mixed use of herbaceous and woody plants in spatial compositions to provide seasonal visual change and interest, the author adapts the ecological term “succession” to cultural plantings. Such designed succession occurs both in the short term seasonal ebb and flow of foliage and flower growth, and in the longer term growth and maturation of plants, as opposed to the classic natural ecological succession concept of grassland to mature forest. These types of visually rich garden plantings are reflective of the historic tradition of Gertrude Jekyll and contemporary approach of Oehme, van Sweden &

Associates. Rather than a regional approach with reference to specific plants, the work lays out general design concepts and principles that can be applied in any situation or region. The Self Sustaining Garden: The Guide to Matrix Planting by Peter Thompson (Timber Press 2007) Based on a similar concept of mixed plantings, with more of an emphasis on natural plant associations and how these can cut down on the intensive maintenance and care needed to manage gardens. This approach is premised on the basic principles of: what does your garden grow? (observing what types of plants exist and thrive on site), control in the garden (changing attitudes toward interference with natural processes and weeds, etc.), down to basics (soil analysis and care), and partnerships with plants (seeing the potential of plants doing work themselves, rather than requiring human work). Although primarily aimed at a residential audience, the concepts are

equally applicable to larger landscapes and the changes we should be encouraging in the landscape maintenance industry.

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The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn by John Greenlee (Timber Press 2009) As more and more emphasis is placed on naturalizing larger scale designed and managed landscapes, the term “meadow” has taken center stage. Recognizing that a meadow requires more than just a simple scattering of “meadow mix” seed, this book, lushly illustrated with color photographs, provides comprehensive coverage of the vegetative form with chapters on such topics as “The Lure of the Meadow,” “How and Where Grasses Grow,” “Meadows for a Purpose,” “Grasses for Meadows,” “Making a Meadow” and “Establishing and Maintaining and Meadow.” This work provides not only practical guidance on an important emerging landscape type, but also great visuals to share with and encourage clients. (continued next page)

www.ctasla.org

Plant Resources, cont’d Urban Tree Selection Manual by John Alexopoulos, Paula Stahl and Robert Ricard (University of Connecticut 2007) In the forward by Glen Dreyer, this handbook’s unique value is set out: The approach taken in this publication sets it apart from many other works which simply give information about what trees look like and how they grow. Here, the authors emphasize site analysis, and provide a series of commonly occurring scenarios for street trees. The different types of sites are linked with groups of trees that will do best given the limitations that each type of location imposes upon tree growth. The spatial limitations imposed by buildings, street and pedestrian traffic and overhead utilities are paired up with a solid list of 43 regionally-appropriate selections which is offered in the fact sheets, along with lists of not recommended and salt, wet soils and shade- tolerant selections. The booklet

is available through UConn’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Store, as are many of the publications listed here and more. Trees in the Urban Landscape: Site Assessment, Design and Installation by Peter Trowbridge and Nina Bassuk (John Wiley and Sons 2004) In response to the historic lack of understanding and specialized technical standards for urban street tree plantings, this book contains the collaborative approach and research of a landscape architect and horticulturist. With an emphasis on the subgrade conditions for street trees impacted so heavily by compaction, the research developed standards for structural planting medium, root control, and aeration/moisture control methods to ensure both the health of urban trees and integrity of constructed infrastructure. Among other valuable information, the book contains formulas for sizing structural soil volumes to suit tree

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size, sample tree planting ordinances, and species recommendations for a variety of urban conditions. Willow Structures Demonstration Garden by Julia Kuzovkina UConn Plant Science professor Julia Kuzovkina has focused much of her research on urban horticulture in the last few years in the emerging area of willow production for phytoremediation and biofuels, as well as in the use of garden structures. She has established a willow structure garden at the University Research Farm which is well-worth visiting. It gives you a good sense of the spatial qualities and aesthetic potential of this unique and emerging plant form. While you’re out there, stop by the Waxman Conifer Collection, which houses the research nursery of the late Dr. Sid Waxman, renowned for his pioneering plant breeding of dwarf conifer varieties.

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www.ctasla.org

CTASLA Teams With Mayor Finch, the City of Bridgeport and the UConn Senior Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Studio BY

WILLIAM N. POLLACK, ASLA, LEED AP, CTASLA PRESIDENT

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The student mentor teams were as follows: Jane Didona, ASLA, owner of Didona Associates Landscape Architects in Danbury was paired with Jackie Grenus of Waterbury; Tom Tavella, FASLA, of Fuss & O’Neill in Trumbull was paired with David Kaufman of Huntington, NY; Bob Golde, ASLA, co-owner of Towers|Golde in New Haven was paired with Elisa Lathrop of North Stonington; Phil Barlow, ASLA, co-owner of TO Design in New Britain was paired with Mike Rettenmeier of Ashford; Stuart Sachs, ASLA, owner of PRE/view Landscape Architects in Bridgeport was paired with Danielle MacVane of Manchester; Ian Dann of the S/L/A/M Collaborative in Glastonbury was paired with Allen Reinhart of East Lyme; Dave Dickson of Milone & MacBroom in Cheshire was paired with Brian Kaye of Bristol; Thomas Hammerberg of Stantec in Hamden was paired with Jason Morehouse of Prospect; and William Richter, ASLA, co-owner of Richter & Cegan in Avon was paired with Jessica Carrier of Canton. The program was a great success and CTASLA is extremely appreciative of the efforts of the students and mentors, professor Schwab, and the City of Bridgeport. We look forward to a similar effort this Fall!

his past Fall, CTASLA partnered with Mayor Bill Finch, the City of Bridgeport and the University of Connecticut senior landscape architecture studio to conduct a study of the grounds at the City Hall Annex in downtown Bridgeport. This program was kicked off at the UConn landscape architecture studio in Storrs on November 5, 2010. CTASLA professional landscape architects were teamed with the seniors from the UConn undergraduate landscape architecture program to develop site plans for the City Hall Annex property. Nine students were each paired with a professional mentor to create a site design concept incorporating sustainable site design practices. Students began with research into Bridgeport’s sustainability initiatives (www.rpa.org/bgreen) and the Sustainable Sites Initiative (www.sustainablesites.org). On November 5, Associate Professor Kristin Schwab, ASLA, along with the senior landscape architecture studio, hosted the professional mentors for a panel discussion on the future of landscape architecture in Connecticut, nationally, and abroad. In addition to the senior studio, the junior and sophomore landscape architecture students were invited to attend this discussion. The students developed challenging questions for the professionals and there was much discussion about the tremendous value of becoming a licensed landscape architect. Among the topics discussed, it was noted that landscape architects are becoming leaders on more and more planning and site development projects. Many design professionals noted that work on “Greenfields,” or undeveloped land, has become less the norm and that projects are more often undertaken on sites that have previously been developed. While working on the Bridgeport project, the senior class visited the professional mentors’ offices to work on site design concepts. A stakeholders meeting took place at the City Hall Annex, where the students met with various groups to gather input on the uses and the history of the site. At this meeting, students also conducted a site inventory and inspection in order to develop a site analysis plan as part of the class assignment. At the end of the semester, the students presented their work to a jury that included professional licensed landscape architects and Mayor Finch. Three top designs were selected for further development that will take into consideration the comments from the jury (see graphics from the winning projects on page 35). In April of 2011 (National Landscape Architecture Month), the students’ work will be on display in Bridgeport City Hall. The projects will also be displayed at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford alongside the professional design award winners.

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Bridgeport City Hall Annex Finalists

Jackie Grenus & Jane Didona Brian Kaye & Dave Dickson Left: City of Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch thanks UConn professor Kristin Schwab and CTASLA president Bill Pollack for their participation in the City Hall Annex project. Below: UConn landscape architecture students and mentor-professionals pose with City of Bridgeport officials at the jury event in December.

Elisa Lathrop & Bob Golde 35

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