ASLA Central States Announces 2024 Excellence in Design Awards
黄瓜社区; Design has been honored for work in landscape architecture that improves the quality of life in the Central States Region and beyond.
has recognized 黄瓜社区; Design with three . These awards celebrate professional excellence and recognize firms, individuals and agencies for outstanding works of landscape architecture in the Central States Region. The 2024 ceremony took place on Friday, April 19, during the Central States Conference Awards Luncheon.
The three projects recognized include University of North Dakota University Avenue Streetscape Improvements in Grand Forks, North Dakota (Honor Award, Design Built); in Des Moines, Iowa (Honor Award, Design Unbuilt); and the in Springfield, Illinois (Honor Award, Planning).
"We are incredibly honored to receive these ASLA Awards, each recognizing distinct projects that showcase 黄瓜社区's dedication to excellence in landscape architecture. Each project embodies our mission to create meaningful and sustainable environments, and these awards affirm our commitment to innovative, community-focused design and planning that meets current needs and anticipates the future aspirations of the communities we serve," said 黄瓜社区 Landscape Architect and Senior Partner, Cary Thomsen, PLA, ASLA.
In partnership with the City of Grand Forks, the University of North Dakota worked with 黄瓜社区 to complete a $13 million renovation of a one-mile stretch of University Avenue. Before these improvements, prospective students visiting the university encountered a wide, bleak, four-lane road that was difficult to maneuver. 黄瓜社区's design converts this unimpressive entrance road into a prized asset for the campus and community. The design focuses heavily on creating long views along the corridor, with special care to keep sidewalks aligned and consistently wide enough to allow four people to walk side by side. Plantings, monuments, fencing, supplemental trees and lighting were spaced to accent the rhythm of the corridor.
The ICON Water Trails, a key component of the聽Central Iowa Water Trails initiative, indicates 黄瓜社区's innovative approach to landscape architecture. This initiative, spanning over 150 miles of Central Iowa Waterways and featuring up to 86 different points of access, is designed to reconnect Iowans and visitors with the state's rivers and waterways.聽It not only enhances the local quality of life but also provides a new recreational amenity, attracts new talent to the state, and stimulates tourism and economic development across the聽region.
The Third Street Greenway, a community-driven聽project, is a testament to the power of collaboration and shared vision. It聽connects historically divided and disrupted areas within the City of Springfield, Illinois, creating a linear park corridor with a multi-use trail, pedestrian walkways, and community gathering spaces. This project brings a level of community connectivity not seen in Springfield in the past. The greenway, set to become a backbone for Springfield, also aims to create new opportunities for redevelopment, further enhancing the potential for community growth and prosperity.
Participation in the ASLA Central States award program helps broaden professional boundaries, increases public awareness of the role of landscape architects and raises the standards of the discipline. The Central States encompasses six individual chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects, including the Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Prairie Gateway, Nebraska/Dakotas and St. Louis聽chapters.