January 10, 2006

Todd Johnson, ASLA, Discusses the 2006 ASLA Professional Awards
Jury chair calls for bold submissions, noting, “The humble, strong, silent approach to practice keeps our work average and fails to build synergy and a dialogue of excellence in the profession.”

When the professional awards jury convenes, what do you hope to see when you look through the entries?
Strong ideas about the role of landscape architecture in connecting people with landscape, and people with people. The profession has such a great range and diversity of work, yet many solutions are rote. If award submitters only knew the challenge of evaluating 500 projects in three days, they would strengthen their submittals. They might even strengthen their conceptual thinking early in the process.

How does the awards program benefit the profession and the public at large?
We believe that the awards program heightens the awareness and pursuit of great work. Designers pay attention to the people and projects that win awards. Architects and developers are curious about what makes great work and should be invited to the awards ceremony. Students pay particular attention to firms that are consistently awarded. I have to say that participating in this awards process offers a larger view of the benefits of the program. Our wish is always that, through press coverage and other coverage of the awards events, the public gains greater awareness of what we can do.

The Residential Design Category had some particularly strong entrants last year. What do you think accounts for that?
There is more range of experimentation in the residential design category. In my experience, it is easier to convince one or two people to allow us to explore than to convince a board of directors or a city council. Residential is personal, appeals to the ego, and is driven by the desire of people—both the designers and the clients—to express themselves. I credit Gary Hildebrand and others for giving residential design its own ground; it’s good for both residential design and other forms as well.

Is there a particular category that you are interested in looking at this year?
I am intrigued by the full range of work that we encounter. I found last year that planning was taking on greater risk and intervening in matters of great concern, such as environmentally sensitive urbanization in third world countries. Research has always been an intriguing possibility for the profession—if we ever got serious about defining research agendas and following through with publication, we would have stronger positions on the objective issues of design. You know, it would be nice just to see strong work, work that takes risks, and work that is more inclusive. If people knew what 500 submittals in three days looked like from the inside, everyone would try to be strong and clear. I said that already, didn’t I?

What categories do you want to encourage?
Research and the Landmark Award are two categories that need stronger representation. Communication is another category that, if you think about it, promotes the values and skills that we bring to projects. Let’s expose our capability and progress. We found last year that deserving projects took risks, made clear and defensible cases for action, and stood a strong chance of providing benefits to the users. These attributes should be found in the submissions for all categories.

The number of entries in the past two years (with the exception of the research category) set new records for ASLA. Why is that?
Landscape architects are beginning to recognize the importance of pushing the envelope. Recognition is important for building careers and the profession. It is important for building strong studios and recruiting as well. The humble, strong, silent approach to practice keeps our work average and fails to build synergy and a dialogue of excellence in the profession. I am encouraged by the increasing strong interest in the awards program. We look forward to a great program this year. The jury is qualified and enthusiastic!

Why do you think the research category lags in submissions?
Research provides indirect and more profound rewards, but it is probably easier to think of landscape as beauty and to assume that investigation is difficult to support financially. Like philanthropy, research requires good measures of faith and insight. I would like us all to invest more in our professional future.