Continue reading »]]> Our prestigious Chapter Awards have been a great way to increase the visibility of high quality projects in the state of Michigan.  This year, both professionals and students are eligible to submit projects.

We have five outstanding award categories, including Landscape Architectural Design, Landscape Planning & Analysis, Landscape Architectural Research & Communication, Landscape Architectural Sustainability and Historical Significance.

Entry Deadline: July 19, 2013 at 5 pm

2013 MiASLA Chapter Awards Criteria (pdf)

2013 MiASLA PowerPoint Template (ppt)

Continue reading »]]> On April 25, 2013, three Michigan ASLA representatives stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of all Michigan Landscape Architects.  Trustee Vanessa Warren, President-Elect SuLin Kotowicz and ASLA Audit Committee Member Tom Mroz participated, visiting staff from Senators Stabenow and Levin’s offices, and staff from Congressmen Justin Amash, Dale Kildee and Kerry Bentivolio’s offices.

Four important policies were discussed, including Small Business Protection Act, the upcoming Innovative Stormwater Solutions Act, to be reintroduced by Senator Tom Udall and Rep. Donna Edwards, the upcoming Safe and Complete Streets Act, to be reintroduced by Rep. Doris Matsui, and Community Park Revitalization Act.

To learn more about these policies, vital to the work that Michigan Landscape Architects do, please visit ASLA’s website: http://www.asla.org/IAdvocate.aspx

Continue reading »]]> The Michigan ASLA was represented at our Lobby Day event at the State Capitol on Thurday April 25, 2013.  The event was a great success with over 60 legislative offices participating.  While there is still a lot of work to do to preserve our license, your efforts are making a difference!  I can’t tell you how important it is keep the pressure up, keep making those calls and visits with your legislators.

Continue reading »]]> DETROIT – On March 28^th, Rock Ventures LLC announced details for “Opportunity Detroit’s” international design competition soliciting ideas for a signature project proposed for the historic Hudson’s Department Store site.  Opportunity Detroit is hosting a free, open call for architects, designers, planners, artists, and community members to present ideas for innovative, creative, and inspired designs for the future use of one of the city’s most beloved locations.

“We want participants to use their imaginations and submit visionary proposals with inspiring ideas that could play an important role in the redevelopment of not only the Hudson’s site, but all of downtown Detroit,” said Reed Kroloff, Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum and competition advisor.

According to Kroloff the competition is seeking proposals that:

• Demonstrate original architecture and design concepts
• Present an innovative vision for the site
• Incorporate space for significant retail activity at ground level
• Provide a creative response to the site’s urban context – particularly as a signature project in downtown Detroit

“Much as Hudson’s served as an icon for downtown Detroit in its day, we envision that this competition will generate the ideas and excitement that will bring new energy to Woodward Avenue,” said Matt Cullen, President and CEO, Rock Ventures.

Registration to participate in the competition began Thursday, March 28 and ends Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at http://hudsons.opportunitydetroit.com. Design submissions are due no later than 5 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, May 31, 2013. Winners will be announced on June 12, 2013. Entrants are asked to create compelling visions for a new, urban development on the vacant 92,421 square-foot Hudson’s site, surrounded by Woodward, Gratiot, Grand River and Library in downtown Detroit.  The competition is about the ideas. Winning an award does not imply that an idea will be developed or built.

The “Redesigning Detroit” competition will award $15,000 for first prize, $5,000 for second prize and $2,500 for third prize and will culminate with a ceremony in the city and a special exhibition. All questions and communication regarding the competition should be sent via email to RedesigningDetroit@opportunitydetroit.com.

The ideas competition will judged by the following experts:

• Deborah Berke, FAIA, LEED AP is the founding partner of Deborah Berke Partners in New York City and is Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University and the first Berkeley-Rupp Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.
• Maurice Cox is the Associate Dean for Community Engagement at the Tulane University School of Architecture and Director of the Tulane City Center, a multi-disciplinary community-based design practice in New Orleans.
• Ned Cramer is editor-in-chief of Architect, Architectural Lighting, and the Architect Product Spec Guide published by Hanley Wood, a Washington, D.C.-based business media company.
• Toni L. Griffin is the Professor of Architecture and the inaugural Director of the J. Max Bond Center on Design for the Just City at the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York.
• Rip Rapson is president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, a private foundation based in metropolitan Detroit, where he initiated a multi-year transition to expand and recalibrate Kresge’s grantmaking through seven strategically focused programs.

In addition to his role as Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Kroloff also led the competition to design the “High Line” in New York City, an elevated former rail line that is now a popular public park for millions of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. He has 15 years of experience running competitions and is also a principal in the private architectural practice, Jones/Kroloff.
Opportunity Detroit began as a breakthrough Kid Rock-narrated and Quicken Loans-produced television spot that aired during the 2012 World Series. Since then it has grown into a movement underscoring the unparalleled opportunities available in Detroit today. What does opportunity look like? It looks like Detroit.

Continue reading »]]> Let your voice be heard and join other Michigan landscape architects on April 25th at the State Capitol Building, 115 West Allegan Street in Lansing.  An issues briefing will take place in Room 55 between 9:00 and 9:30 am.  At noon there will be a luncheon with legislators and staff in the 1st floor South Hallway.  Please join us for this important opportunity to speak with your state legislators to better inform them of the important role of landscape architects in placemaking in Michigan and the relevance of maintaining our current license.  More details will follow.

Continue reading »]]> Posted 27 February 2013

The Arguments Against De-Regulation of Landscape Architects

Background:

Landscape architecture is a profession that blends creativity and science. Every day, landscape architects work to improve our communities and the environment, using their talents in planning, design and land‐use management. Projects that landscape architects design and contribute to include parks, urban design, residential developments, campuses, shopping centers, gardens, transportation facilities, corporate and institutional facilities and more. The profession became licensed in 2008 with Public Act 490.

The following are reasons to keep the landscape architect license in place here in Michigan:

• If licensure is revoked, Michigan will be the only state that does not regulate landscape architecture.
• Without a license to practice, every Michigan-based landscape architect will immediately be placed at a competitive disadvantage with a lack of reciprocity and inability to bring projects and work out of state back here to Michigan.
• Landscape architects compete and collaborate with other design professions, such as architects and civil engineers. Without licensure, we simply cannot compete and our businesses cannot function. Licensure levels the playing field for Michigan landscape architects by eliminating this competitive disadvantage on a regional and national basis, even within our own profession.

• Without licensure, Michigan landscape architects will not be able to effectively compete for projects not only in our own state but in neighboring states as well. As a practical example, an Upper Peninsula landscape architecture firm can now effectively compete for projects at a half dozen or more national forests across the northern tier of Wisconsin and the U.P. because they meet the federal requirement of being a “licensed landscape architect.” Michigan-based landscape architects compete with Wisconsin firms on the basis of providing exceptional service and design expertise in part due to our high level of training. If landscape architecture is deregulated, we will no longer be able to compete for those projects.
• The practice of landscape architecture directly impacts public health, safety, and welfare, and a license is the strongest form of regulation to ensure that the public is adequately protected.
• Licensing is the model best suited to integrate design and construction regulations which often require a licensed design professional for certain projects followed by the need for a design professional’s stamp. Landscape architects currently fully participate in this system, but without a stamp (which comes from licensure), it would be impossible to do so.
• The Michigan Occupational Code currently allows anyone to perform landscape contracting, gardening, landscape design and landscape nursery work and therefore poses no barrier to entry for individuals desiring to work in the landscape trades.
• Projects such as public parks, streetscapes and other “public places” require design by licensed professionals for the protection of health safety and welfare. The education, experience and passing of a national examination ensures that a “landscape architect” possesses the minimum skills necessary to design, seal and oversee projects in the public realm where health, safety and welfare are required.
• Many design projects require a license for a design professional to lead the development. Without a license, landscape architects will no longer be able to lead projects. This will reduce the completion for these projects and will open up opportunities to out of state landscape architects to take Michigan projects out of state!
• Without a license, landscape architects cannot become principals/partners at multi-disciplinary design firms. Landscape architects currently work side by side with engineers, architects and surveyors across the state. Without a license, landscape architects are placed in subsidiary roles to their colleagues.
• Landscape architecture has been recognized as a distinct design profession for over a century. Landscape architects earn a university degree in landscape architecture, like those available at the accredited programs at the University of Michigan and MichiganStateUniversity. In fact, the UM and MSU programs are among the premier landscape architect programs in the country!
• Without a license, UM and MSU landscape architect program graduates will leave Michigan upon graduation to seek work and lead projects in other states.

Continue reading »]]> Michigan State University

Dr. Fabienne Jeanne Joliet, Wes Landon, Yu Wang, & Dr. Jon Bryan Burley, FASLA

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The influence of painting upon landscape development has been widely ignored in the historical development of landscape architecture; yet individuals such as Church, Eckbo, Kiley, Rose, and Marx directly attribute painting as inspiring their groundbreaking design work. The research team was interested in finding other examples where the fine arts have influenced landscape development, reporting the findings in a peer-reviewed journal, and contributing to the historical landscape architectural knowledge base concerning the influence of painting upon landscape.  A landscape architect was the lead investigator of the team composed of a cultural geographer from France, two landscape architects from the United States, and an urban planner from P.R. of China.

The clientele are composed of readers who can understand English and have access to the web, as the publication vehicle for the research was a peer-reviewed journal with free access to all users.  The study team found three case studies which illustrate the influence of painting upon the landscape: a Portuguese landscape that is today managed to reflect the composition principles communicated by artists; an American national park that was chosen by congress based in part by the watercolors of an artist in a time before color photography; and a contemporary living history park based upon a scroll painting in Kaifeng, P.R. of China. The study required the analysis of a collection of images from the Alentejo in Portugal, a literature search and synthesis of the work of Thomas Moran in Yellowstone, and a site visit to Millennium City Park in Kaifeng, P.R. of China.

Portions of the document are translated from French, Portuguese, and Chinese which do not always translate to English easily.  We titled our study the “Silent Language” because of the visual non-verbal nature of artwork. The contents of the paper can be found in: The silent language of artistic representations in landscape: Alentejo (Portugal), Yellowstone (USA) and Kaifeng (P.R. of China). International Journal of Energy and Environment, 5(5): 618-628.

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