Presentations from Part 1 of the 2021 LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium
On June 15 and 17, 2021, the 2020-2021 cohort from the year-long LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership presented their projects at our virtual symposium. This unique fellowship program provides a $25,000 award that supports working professionals as they develop and test new ideas to bring about impactful change to the environment and humanity and increase the visibility and leadership role of landscape architecture.
Fellow Presentations
El Río está vivo… y nadie lo sabe!: Re-envisioning Flood Control in the Río Piedras Watershed
Edmundo Colón Izquierdo, Principal, ECo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Rio Piedras, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is undergoing major transformation, changing from a natural soft bottom biodiverse river to a concrete lined channel, a single purpose piece of infrastructure. With enough funding from federal sources, can this project by the US Army Corps of Engineers become a model for next-generation multi-benefit flood management infrastructure? Will landscape architects lead the way?
Additional Information and Resources:
LAF Fellowship Spotlight: Beyond Flood Control
Redistributing Power: Energy Justice Beyond Kilowatt Hours
Andrea Johnson, Visiting Assistant Professor, Rhode Island School of Design (formerly with Terreform Center for Advanced Urban Research and The City College of New York)
2015 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist (Graduate)
Confronted with the uncertainty of climate change and rising inequality, Andrea’s project explores the role of landscape architecture in emerging renewable energy networks. Using NYC as a springboard, Andrea has produced a set of design scenarios that seek to reinforce environmental justice movements and reimagine distributed energy production and storage at the neighborhood scale.
Additional Information and Resources:
LAF Fellowship Spotlight: Bringing Environmental Justice to the Energy Grid
Redrawing Infrastructure: 2500 Years of Water Management
Diego Bermúdez, Principal and Partner, Bermúdez Arquitectos, Bogotá, Colombia
The pre-Hispanic Muisca settlers of Funza engineered and inhabited the flood plains along the Bogotá River in Colombia. Colonial interventions understood land as separated from water, overlooking local traditions and ecologies. In the 1920s, a water management system was built to dry out the land. Diego presents a re-imagined water network that encourages biodiversity and preserves adjacent structures that reflect elements of local cultural, social, economic, and political history.
Additional Information and Resources:
LAF Fellowship Spotlight: Reimagining Water in the Bogotá Savanna
Symposium
The 2021 LAF Innovation + Leadership Symposium can be viewed in its entirety. Part 1 includes the presentations above along with opening remarks, a panel discussion, and moderated audience Q&A.
- Part 1 recording (Runtime 1:33:04)
- Part 2 recording (Runtime 1:30:19)
Host a Follow-up discussion
If your design firm, organization, class, or student group is interested in viewing the symposium or its component presentations, we've created a discussion guide to help prompt follow-up conversations around themes of climate change adaptation, environmental justice, and inclusive design.
