Students in LSU’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture recently garnered five national awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, or ASLA, Student Award program—the most of any other university with students who submitted work.

An award presentation ceremony and reception will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego. There, ASLA will present awards to 40 projects in the categories of General Design, Residential Design, Analysis and Planning, Communications, Research, Community Service and Student Collaboration.

Three Reich School projects earned Honor Awards in the General Design category. They include:

• “Chattanooga Central Park” – Emily Bullock and Jessica Carvajal. Faculty advisor on the project was Wes Michaels;
• “The Fluvial Lexicon” – Matthew Seibert and Benjamin Wellington. Faculty advisors on the project were Bradley Cantrell, Kristi Dykema and Jeff Carney;
• “Simulation Space [Revisioning The Fake; Relinking The Real]” – Drew Baum, Sara Davis, Mark Ellender, Courtney Lebeau, Kristen Lonon, Patrick May, Patrick McGannon, Ben Moran, Alex Ramirez and Christian Thonn. Faculty advisor on the project was Kristi Dykema.

Also, Paul Toenjes and Shuntaro Yahiro received an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning Category for their project, “Canals as Greenways.” Faculty advisor on the project was Lake Douglas.

Receiving an Honor Award in the Research Category was “Viable Agricultural Solutions,” a project by Will Tietje. Austin Allen served as faculty advisor on the project.

“We are thrilled that so many of our students and faculty sponsors received recognition from ASLA, the only society representing landscape architects nationwide,” said Van Cox, landscape architecture professor and interim Reich School director. “It is clear evidence of the caliber of students we have currently and reinforces our commitment to producing high quality landscape architects.”

Cox said that most of the students will travel to San Diego in late October and early November to receive their awards.

“Some of the students graduated this past spring and, after submitting a proposal to the ASLA Louisiana Chapter, received a generous travel scholarship to offset some of their expenses,” he said, adding that current Louisiana Chapter President Shannon Blakeman is a 1999 LSU graduate.

Current students will receive assistance to travel as well through the school’s Scholarship and Financial Aid Committee, Cox said.

Full winning project information, along with high resolution images, can be viewed at www.asla.org/2011studentawards.