CALL FOR ENTRIES

ASLA Southern California 2023 Excellence in Design

“Honoring the Legacy and Shaping Our Future, By Embracing Change and Transformation”

DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR SUBMISSIONS IS SEPTEMBER 1

About the Quality-of-Life Design Awards

As the Southern California Chapter of ASLA ultimate recognition of design achievement, it is the intent of this awards program to celebrate professional excellence, innovation, and creativity by recognizing the firms, individuals, and agencies responsible for outstanding works of landscape architecture and environmental planning that promote an enhanced quality of life in Southern California and beyond.

Criteria for Judging

  • Quality of design
  • Functionalism and artistic merit
  • Relationship to context
  • Overall relevance to the profession, the public and the environment
  • Promotes the enhancement of quality of life, environmental responsibility, and sustainability.
  • Projects that demonstrate new technologies methodologies or approaches.
  • Provides a social function and benefits to the local community.

The Jury

The jurors will be given access to all project submissions for preliminary scoring and review 3-4 weeks ahead of coming together for an all-day working session to debate, discuss and select awards.

Eligibility

Project entries will be accepted for projects from ASLA Fellows, Members, Associates, or Affiliates; from other non-member landscape architects; public agencies and private developers with the endorsement of landscape architects connected with the submitted entry.  Individuals submitting must be able to identify their working, staffed physical office in the Southern California Chapter area, including San Diego County. Students enrolled in a college, university, or extension landscape architecture curriculum are eligible for the Student Category.

Awards Celebration

Winners will be announced and exhibited at a celebration on Thursday evening, October 12 at the Westin Anaheim Resort in Anaheim.  Digital invitations will be sent to members and firms under separate cover.

JURORS

Andy Bowden, FASLA

Landscape Architect, Consultant
Newport Beach

Jacqueline Higgins, ASLA

Vice President of Planning, Forever Balboa Park
Chapter President Elect, San Diego

Stephanie Landregan, FASLA

Program Director, UCLA Extension
Los Angeles

Larry Scarpa, FAIA

Architect, Brooks + Scarpa
Los Angeles

Joseph Yee, FASLA

Landscape Architect, Retired
Newport Beach

Robin Mark

Program Director – The Trust for Public Land
Los Angeles

Benjamin Ball

Artist and Designer – Ball-Nogues Studio
Los Angeles

AWARDS

Award of Excellence

The Jury may select one entry from all the project submissions that represents an outstanding advancement in leadership, contribution, understanding, and/or achievement in the field of landscape architecture and that improves the quality of life in Southern California and beyond.

Honor Award

A first place award in each sub-category may be given at the discretion of the Jury to recognize superior professional accomplishment.

Merit Award

Any number of merit awards may be given in each category at the discretion of the Jury.

All uploaded entry material must conceal the identity of the entrant. All winning entries become the property of SOCAL ASLA and will be used for educational and promotional purposes.

CATEGORIES

GENERAL DESIGN

This category recognizes constructed, site-specific works of landscape architecture. Professional entries in this category must be built. Entries in this category will be submitted and judged under only one of the following sub-categories:

  • COMMERCIAL DESIGN: shopping areas, industrial parks, mixed use developments, parking areas, and office complexes.
  • HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION DESIGN: public and private grounds, urban spaces, gardens, estates, and other sites demonstrating integration of historic value into the design process.
  • INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN: churches, school campuses, hospitals, assisted living facilities, military installations, cemeteries, civic centers, and theaters.
  • LAND AND WATER RECLAMATION AND CONSERVATION: reclamation and/or design of power line, flood protection, habitat restoration, and drought tolerant sites.
  • LANDSCAPE ART: art forms created with landscape elements, art in public places, and projects in collaboration with artists.
  • PARK AND RECREATION DESIGN: national, state, or local parks and playgrounds, marinas, botanical and zoological gardens, and fairs.
  • RESORTS: hotels and similar facilities.
  • TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES DESIGN: parkways, interstate and other freeways, rest areas, parking overlooks, airports, and mass transit.

CRITERIA: The jury will consider the quality of design and execution; design context; environmental sensitivity and sustainability; and design value to the client and to other designers. (At the jury’s discretion, project entries may be reassigned to a more appropriate category for award consideration.)

ENTRY FORM

RESIDENTIAL

This category recognizes site-specific works of landscape architecture for residential use. Entries in this category must be built.  NOTE: This category will be divided into “under $300,000” and “over $300,000” in construction budget. Please indicate estimated construction budget on the entry text document.

  • DEVELOPMENT DESIGN: model complexes, entries, recreational complexes, common areas or streetscapes in multi-unit housing projects.
  • RESIDENTIAL GARDEN DESIGN: project of one- or two-unit homes on a single lot.

CRITERIA: The jury will consider the quality of design and execution; context; environmental sensitivity and sustainability; and deign value to the client and to other designers.

ENTRY FORM

ANALYSIS & PLANNING

This category recognizes the wide variety of professional activity that leads to, guides, and evaluates land use and development.

Typical entries in this category might include:

  • Urban, suburban, rural or regional planning efforts
  • Development guidelines; transportation, town, campus or recreation master plans
  • Plans for reclamation of brownfield sites; environmental planning in relation to legislative or policy initiatives or regulatory controls
  • Cultural resource reports; natural resources protection; historic preservation planning

CRITERIA: The jury will consider the quality of the analysis and planning effort; context; environmental sensitivity and sustainability; likelihood of successful implementation; and value to the client, the public and other designers.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Please provide a simple site plan to give jurors context of the entire project. This plan should be submitted as one of your digital images. Do not send a hard copy or full-sized planning documents.

ENTRY FORM

RESEARCH

This category identifies and investigates challenges posed in landscape architecture, providing results that advance the body of knowledge for the profession.  Typical entries include: Investigations into methods, techniques, or materials related to the practice of landscape architecture; studies of relationships of landscape architecture; studies of relationships of landscape architecture to law, education; public health and safety, or public policy; and more.

CRITERIA: The jury will consider clarity and importance of research question, hypotheses, or goals; significance of historical data, where relevant, and links to current knowledge; appropriate research design and use of rigorous methods of inquiry; the clarity of presentation of outcomes; and the outcomes’ potential applications to practice.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Please submit relevant graphs, tables, site plans, and/or planning documents as digital images. Do not send a hard copy or full-sized planning documents.

ENTRY FORM

CONCEPTS, IDEAS, AND THEORIES

Many landscape architects develop concepts, ideas, designs, and/or theories that are never implemented. This category provides the opportunity to recognize these concepts and un-built works.

CRITERIA: Entries here can be from any of the other categories.

ENTRY FORM

STUDENT WORK

This category invites Landscape Architectural/Planning/Urban Design students to submit work of superior design quality, innovative landscape architectural planning, analysis, research communications, and/or leadership.

ENTRY FORM

SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE

All submissions are due by August 25 by 5:00 pm (PST).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR ALL CATEGORIES

A separate entry form must be submitted for each project entry. The entry form and entry fee payment via Credit Card should be emailed to awards@socal-asla.org.  Checks for entry fee can be mailed separately to the ASLA Southern California Chapter at 360 East First Street; #371; Tustin, CA 92780.  Upon receipt of the entry form and fee, an email with a Project Entry ID will be sent to the primary contact person with an invitation to upload files to a shared folder on Dropbox.  The Folder will be set up for you. DO NOT add additional folders.  All project descriptions, images, and image summaries should be submitted digitally and uploaded to this Dropbox folder.

Materials in the submission must not reveal the names of the entrant and/or landscape architects, firms, other designers, or photographer.

Project Statement: In 175 words or less, describe the project and why it’s award worthy. This statement may be used in promotional materials if the project is selected for an award.

Project Narrative: Addressing the criteria for the General Design category, describe in 1300 words or less the project location, scope and size, site and context investigation, design program, design intent, materials and installation methods, environmental impact and concerns, collaboration with the client and other designers, and other significant issues.

Images:  Include at least (1) site plan, plus five (5) but no more than ten (10) drawings and/or photographs in a single .PDF file not to exceed 10 MB. Drawings and photographs must be “8.5×11” format and landscape orientation.  Up to 3 images accepted for a montage which will be counted as part of the maximum 10 images submitted.  Brief captions of no more than 25 words each are to be placed at the bottom of each image. Label the .PDF file with the project entry number (do not label using your name). NOTE: failure to submit images will lead to disqualification of entry. Winners will be required to submit high resolution photos, 300 dpi or higher. Photography credit must also be listed for each image and will be concealed from the jury.

ADDITIONAL AWARD CATEGORIES:

PUBLIC STEWARDSHIP

This category recognizes people or organizations that have significantly contributed to enhancing the environmental quality within our chapter through their ideas and actions. This category is open to members of the public, associated professionals, or public officials who have made a major difference in improving the quality of life in the Southern California environment. Submissions should include a one-page summary describing the candidate’s contributions toward creating an improved quality of life in the chapter area. Additional back-up or exhibit material is limited to five (5) pages. No fee is required for submission. More than one award can be given at the discretion of the Jury.

EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES CHAMPION AWARD:

This award recognizes any individual, group, or organization who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and a sustained level of commitment to social and environmental justice in Southern California.

CRITERIA: The jury will consider relevant accomplishments and impact, leadership, social and environmental justice advocacy, partnership with communities in Southern California, and advancement of landscape architecture.

RECOGNITION: The Jury may select two (2) Awards for any individual, group, or organization.

SUBMISSION: Any chapter member may submit a nomination.  No fee is required for submission. More than one award can be given at the discretion of the Jury.  To submit in this category, contact awards@socal-asla.org to receive an awards ID and information to upload the submission to DropBox.

NOMINATION NARRATIVE: On a maximum of one (1) page, please include a biographical statement of the nominee, relevant accomplishments specific to social and environmental justice, impact to communities, and advancement of landscape architecture.

QUESTIONS

Questions about the awards program or submission requirements should be directed to Vicki Phillipy, Executive Director, SOCAL ASLA at (714) 838-3615 or 71-267-5281. Also visit us at www.socal-asla.org/awards