Grantors Continue Their Investment in CSI

LAF has received two grants to support the 2014 Case Study Investigation (CSI) program. CSI is a unique research collaboration that matches LAF-funded student-faculty research teams with leading practitioners to document the benefits of exemplary high-performing landscape projects. The 2014 program features 7 research teams working to evaluate the performance of 21 landscape projects, ranging from the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail to the Monticello Visitors Center in Virginia.

For the second year in a row, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has granted $10,000 to support the study of three Chicago-area projects. For 2014, these will be Palmisano Park/Stearns Quarry, Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, and the Morton Arboretum’s Meadow Lake Restoration.

For three straight years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has supported the CSI program with an Art Works grant, increasing the 2014 award amount to $30,000. The additional funding will go towards the production of two video tutorials on specific methods to evaluate performance. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications for this round of Art Works funding. Of those, 886 are recommended for grants totaling $25.8 million. LAF is one of only 51 groups and organizations throughout the country recommended to receive an NEA Art Works grant in the Design category.