ASLA 2021 Professional General Design Honor Award. Ferrous Foundry Park, Lawrence, Massachusetts. STIMSON / Ngoc Doan Three organizations that represent key sectors of the landscape architecture community have united to create a powerful platform that will uniquely position landscape architecture professionals at the forefront of design, public health and ecological restoration. At a time when communities across the world must address climate change, aging infrastructure, and racial inequality, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Land8 Media, LLC, and the LABash Conference recognized the imperative to act decisively and strengthen the critical roles that landscape architects play in solving these challenges.
Landscape architects plan and design parks and open spaces, transportation systems, water infrastructure, residential, commercial, and educational landscapes, and this alliance will further enhance the work of these professionals. This union will also strengthen the landscape architecture community on every level, from early education through professional leadership. ASLA, founded in 1899, is the principal professional association for landscape architects. Land8 Media, founded in 2008 by young professionals of ASLA, is the premier online platform for the profession, and the LABash Conference, launched in 1970 and now held annually, is the most anticipated gathering of landscape architecture students in North America.
“These partnerships are good for the health and future of the landscape architecture profession, and we’ll be able to help LABash grow. I remember attending as a professional and being very impressed with the overall event. The students who put together LABash are outstanding. We look forward to working with our new partners to become even more inclusive as a design community,” said Eugenia Martin, FASLA, ASLA President.
“Landscape architecture is a relatively small profession if you just look at the numbers, but we can be stronger and more impactful when we join forces to pursue our shared mission and interests,” said Land8’s editor, Matt Alcide, Affiliate ASLA.
Matt Alcide will remain the editor of Land8 and oversee the news, unique perspectives, and community provided to readers. LABash will continue to be led by students at the university program that hosts the annual LABash conference each year.
“Our profession is evolving, and it is time for us to pursue innovative partnerships and approaches to our work that provide greater opportunities for landscape architects, students and educators who are focused on designing positive change in the world. We have long admired the relationship that Land8 and LABash have developed with their networks and followers, and I look forward to a closer relationship that will expand our collective ability to raise awareness and understanding of the profession,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA’s Chief Executive Officer.
About ASLA
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. The Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.
About Land8/LABash Conference
Founded in 2008, Land8: Landscape Architects Network is the social network for landscape architects with over 19,000 user profiles. Landscape architects use Land8 as a resource to read articles, ask questions to the community of users, find jobs, research, view design inspiration, network, and access resources. In 2019, Land8 began advising and providing administrative support to the LABash Conference, the annual student-led conference for landscape architecture students in North America that was started in 1970.