2024 LAF Symposium and Awards Dinner
Join us for one or both of these events to showcase and celebrate leading-edge thinking and achievements in landscape architecture and sustainability.
Our annual LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium and Awards Dinner take place in Washington, DC. For those unable to attend in-person, the 2-hour symposium will be broadcast in real time, accessible from any device with an internet connection. The livestream is free, but registration is required.
WHEN
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Times in EDT
4:00pm LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium
6:15pm Cocktail reception
7:15pm LAF Awards Dinner
WHERE
Howard Theatre
620 T St NW, Washington, DC 20001
All events will take place in the same space at the historic Howard Theatre, which is a six-minute walk from the Shaw-Howard University Metro station. Paid parking is available directly behind the venue.
TICKETS
Listed prices do not include additional processing fees charged by LAF's ticketing platform.
Symposium and Awards Dinner
Early Bird: $190 (until May 3)
Regular: $215 (after May 3)
Nonprofit/Academic: $205 (after May 3)
Symposium Only (includes reception)
In-person: $30
Student in-person: $12
Livestream: Pay what you will
Awards Dinner Only
Early bird: $165 (until May 3)
Regular: $185 (after May 3)
Nonprofit/Academic: $175 (after May 3)
By registering, you are also signing up to receive newsletters and program announcements from LAF. You can edit your subscription preferences or unsubscribe at any time.
The symposium is approved for 2.0 Professional Development Hours (PDH) through the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) and meet the health, safety, and welfare requirements (HSW). Livestream viewers must successfully complete a short quiz to earn these credits.
Sponsors
Leadership Programs Sponsors
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Silver Sponsor
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Silver Sponsor
Special thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for their support of the LAF Fellowship and to our symposium sponsors: Community Strategy Partners, Tournesol, and Vectorworks
2024 Sponsorship Opportunities are Available
LAF Symposium and Awards Dinner sponsors help celebrate transformational leadership and share the impactful work of the LAF Fellows with the world. For information on becoming a sponsor, contact Cara Chard at cchard [at] lafoundation.org (cchard[at]lafoundation[dot]org)
LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium
The six 2023-24 LAF Fellows will present their projects, which address shade equity, K-12 STEM engagement, insect biodiversity, the cultural significance of basketball courts, reducing carbon through material selection, and designing for neurodiversity.
Tickets are available to attend the event in-person or watch remotely via live broadcast.
The symposium is the culmination of the year-long LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership, a unique program and $25,000 award that supports mid-career, senior-level, and emerging professionals as they develop and test new ideas that will drive the future of the landscape architecture discipline.
Don't miss this once-a-year event!
This powerful event showcases leading-edge thinking in landscape architecture to address a breadth of current issues within and beyond the discipline.
The symposium is the culmination of the year-long LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership, a unique program and $25,000 award that supports mid-career, senior-level, and emerging professionals as they develop and test new ideas that will drive the future of the landscape architecture discipline.
The symposium is approved for 2.0 Professional Development Hours (PDH) through the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) and meets the health, safety, and welfare requirements (HSW). Livestream viewers must successfully complete a short quiz to earn these credits.
Presentations are followed by a cocktail reception where guests can mingle and meet the Fellows.
Presentations
Material Shift: Facilitating Radical Change in Site Construction Material Specifications
Meg Calkins, Professor, North Carolina State University
Designing Acoustically and Sensorially Supportive Landscapes
Kathryn Finnigan, Design Aide to Hoichi Kurisu, Kurisu International
Cool Conscious Cities: Investigating Causes and Impacts of Extreme Heat and Promoting Cool Equity for All
Kimberly Garza, Principal, Atlas Lab
It Started in the Park: Preserving the Cultural Identity of Basketball Courts as Centers of Socialization for Historically Black Urban Communities
Johnny Shakir Macon, Lecturer, Morgan State University
The Climate Victory Garden: Revisiting the War-Era Victory Garden Movement as a Model for Addressing Biodiversity Loss in the 21st Century City
Betsy Peterson, Owner, August Design Collaborative
Engaging K-12 STEAM Public Education Efforts for Future Landscape Architects to Address Climate Equity
Douglas Williams, Lecturer and Film/TV Artist, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2024 LAF Awards Dinner and Presentation
Immediately following the symposium, the awards dinner will recognize the 2024 recipients of the LAF Medal and Founders’ Award, our highest honors for individuals and organizations that have made a significant and sustained contribution to the preservation, improvement and enhancement of the environment.
Fritz Steiner, renowned ecologist and Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, will be presented with the LAF Medal. The International Living Future Institute, a nonprofit working to build an ecologically-minded and restorative world for all people, will receive the LAF Founders' Award.
Lucinda Sanders, recipient of the 2024 LAF Legacy Award, will also be recognized for extraordinary service and contributions to LAF.
The LAF Awards Dinner will recognize the 2024 recipients of the LAF Medal, LAF Founders’ Award, and LAF Legacy Award.
In addition to hearing from the awardees, the dinner will be an opportunity to continue conversations with the 2023-24 Fellows, meet the 2024-25 Fellowship cohort, and mingle with the LAF Board of Directors and other invited guests.
Honorees
2024 LAF Medal
The LAF Medal is conveyed to a landscape architect for distinguished work over a career in applying the principles of sustainability to landscapes.
Frederick “Fritz” Steiner, FASLA
Fritz is a renowned ecologist, author, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and Co-Executive Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology. Previously, he served at The University of Texas at Austin for 15 years. He has written, edited, and co-edited 18 books.
2024 LAF Founders' Award
The LAF Founders’ Award is conveyed to a firm, agency, or organization that demonstrates a significant commitment to preserving, creating, or enhancing landscapes over a sustained period of time.
International Living Future Institute
The International Living Future Institute (IFLI) is a nonprofit working to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for all people. ILFI runs the Living Building Challenge, the Living Community Challenge, and the Reveal, Declare and Just labels.
2024 LAF Legacy Award
The LAF Legacy Award recognizes past members of the LAF Board of Directors who have provided extraordinary service and contributions to the organization and its legacy.
Lucinda R. Sanders, EdD, RLA, FASLA
Lucinda served on the LAF Board of Directors from 2008-2016, holding several positions, including Vice President of Finance and President. In 2013, she took on the role of Vice President for LAF’s new Leadership Committee, and this work led to the creation of the LAF Fellowship for Leadership and Innovation.
