LAF at the 2024 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture
If you'll be in DC for the 2024 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Conference on Landscape Architecture, please join us to celebrate, connect, and share. Stop by our EXPO booth to learn about LAF programs and initiatives and how you can get involved. We hope to see you!
Annual Benefit
LAF's 39th Annual Benefit*
Date/Time: Sun, Oct 6, 7-10pm
Location: Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery
(*Registration Required)
Catch up with friends from practice, academia, and industry over drinks and food in this stunning venue. Tickets to this reception-style event include fine food and an open bar with all proceeds supporting LAF and its key programs and initiatives.
EXPO
LAF's Booth in the ASLA EXPO Hall (#2620)
Date/Time: Mon, Oct 7, 9:30am-5:30pm; Tue, Oct 8, 10am-2pm
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Lower Level, Halls A-C
Stop by our booth to learn about LAF programs and funding opportunities, including LAF's Ignite program for BIPOC landscape architecture students and how you can get involved as an internship provider or mentor.
EDUCATIONAL Sessions
All ASLA Conference Education Sessions, Deep Dive, and Practice Basecamp sessions take place in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Featuring LAF staff...
The Research-Practice Ecotone: Models for Authentic Inquiry and Discovery
Date/Time: Mon, Oct 7, 11am-12:15pm ET
Location: Room 151AB
Speakers: Megan Barnes (LAF), Mikyoung Kim, Rebecca Popowsky
Explore new paradigms in the convergence of research and practice through the metaphor of the "ecotone." This panel will discuss integrated models for navigating the research-practice boundary with case studies like Tidal Philly and Ford’s Michigan Central.
A Collaborative Approach to Research: Advancing Practice through Academic Engagements
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 1pm-1:45pm ET
Location: EXPO Hall - Practice Basecamp
Speakers: Bill Estes, Taner Ozdil, Megan Barnes (LAF), Allison Harvey (2020 Deb Mitchell Research Grant Recipient)
This session will address collaborative approaches to research in landscape architecture, bridging the gap between academics and practitioners. Representatives from ASLA’s Education & Practice PPN, CELA, and LAF will discuss opportunities for seamless connections and research advocacy.
Featuring past LAF program participants discussing their LAF-supported work or a continuation of it...
Cool-Kit: Extreme Heat and Equitable Solutions to Promote Heat Resilience
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 8:30am-9:45am ET
Location: Room 147AB
Speakers: Kimberly Garza (2023-24 LAF Fellow), Keenan Gibbons and Salvador Lindquist (2023 Deb Mitchell Research Grant Recipients)
This panel will critically examine extreme heat impacts on disadvantaged communities and propose solutions to visualize and promote cool equity in the built environment.
Sensory-Responsive Design: Qualitative Insights and Design Methodologies for Crafting Neuro-Inclusive Environments
Date/Time: Mon, Oct 7, 11am-12:15pm ET
Location: Room 152B
LAF Program Alums Speaking: Kathryn Finnigan (2023-24 LAF Fellow, 2022 LAF National Olmsted Scholar), Amy Wagenfeld (2022 CSI Research Fellow)
Sensory-responsive design emanates from an evidence-based connection between sensory sensitivities and neurodiversity. To best meet the needs of the neurodiverse community, a sensory-responsive process must be applied in designed landscapes. Attendees will learn about neurodiversity and techniques to apply in the classroom and in practice.
Unlocking the Carbon Potential of Soils
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 8:30-9:45am ET
Location: Room 151AB
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Christopher R. Ng-Hardy (2022-23 LAF Fellow)
Soils hold 80% of global terrestrial carbon stocks and are critical for carbon drawdown. The nitty “gritty” details of how we work with soils hold the greatest potential for carbon sequestration of any aspect of the built environment. This session shares best practices for maximizing carbon storage in designed landscapes.
Connecting the Dots: Best Practices for Designing with and for Disabilities
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 2:30-5pm ET
Location: Room 154AB (Deep Dive)
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Alexa Vaughn (2020-21 LAF Fellow)
Universal Design is evolving to become more nuanced and human-centered. This highly interactive, fun, and creative session will push you to reconsider your defaults. Learn how to leverage code and lived experience to create inclusive and multi-benefit design solutions and craft a design process that centers people with disabilities.
Bringing Nature into the Heart of Darkness: Restorative Justice in the Garden
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 3:45-5pm ET
Location: Room 152AB
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Daniel Winterbottom (2022-23 LAF Fellow)
Can the environment of a maximum-security penitentiary be transformed into a healing oasis that supports restorative justice and transformation? Incarcerated individuals at the Oregon State Penitentiary raised the funds, and two hundred inmates built the Memorial Healing Garden, demonstrating extraordinary commitment, shared purpose, dedication, and hope.
A Conversation: The Power of Equity in Climate Action
Date/Time: Mon, Oct 7, 11am-12:15pm ET
Location: Room 146A
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Deb Guenther (2021-22 LAF Fellow)
Sparking a broad conversation about the role of equity in all work, this session poses ways the ASLA Climate Action Plan can structure equity as the umbrella. The power of centering equity in the plan’s goals and initiatives will be discussed by leaders of BlackLAN and the Climate Action Plan.
A Conversation with Congress: How Landscape Architects Green Schools
Date/Time: Mon, Oct 7, 2-3:15pm ET
Location: Room 147AB
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Claire Latané (2017-18 LAF Fellow)
This session will explore how landscape architects can increase opportunities to green schools through advocacy and promotion of the values of these spaces. Using case studies, policy insights, and practical strategies, landscape architects will learn how to shape and advocate for legislation to implement nature-based solutions in the education environment.
Homelessness and the Fight for Equitable and Compassionate Design
Date/Time: Sun, Oct 6, 3:45-5pm ET
Location: Room 146B
LAF Program Alum Speaking: Brice Maryman (2017-18 LAF Fellow)
Drawing from case studies, ongoing and completed projects, and stakeholder perspectives from around the country, this session offers tools and strategies to help landscape architects understand the challenges and opportunities in designing more just public spaces in partnership with government, unhoused people, and other stakeholders.
Nothing Special: Fostering Innovation in Learning, Teaching, and Practice
Date/Time: Tue, Oct 8, 2-3:15pm ET
Location: Room 146A
LAF Program Alums Speaking: Phillip Fernberg (2022-23 LAF Fellow), Addison Martin (2024 LAF Olmsted Scholar)
Innovation is not an innate gift but a systematically acquired skill; how that acquisition occurs is seldom made explicit. This session will demystify and demonstrate the cultivation of innovative practices from three perspectives: seasoned practitioner turned professor, director of innovation, and aspiring student designing their next career move.
