Garden enthusiasts at SGHS 2019 in Birmingham, AL

BLA candidate Chunfeng “Austin” Lu was awarded the Southern Garden History Society Scholarship to attend the 2019 annual meeting of garden historians, located in Birmingham, Alabama this year.

Austin Lu receives scholarship award at SGHS 2019 meeting

At the meeting Lu, a rising fifth year student, had the opportunity to learn more about the appreciation of historic landscapes and gardens. “Being able to listen to the lectures presented by dedicated researchers is a great opportunity to expand my horizon,” he said. “I was grateful to be able to have this opportunity to attend the annual meeting, which was a rewarding experience for me.”

Read his blog post about the experience.

Lu is interested in researching urban ecology in relation to physical design and social justice issues through the lens of landscape architecture and urban design. Additionally, he is passionate about exploring the application of digital art and technology to advance the relationship between people, cities, and nature.

“The most attractive element in landscape architecture for me is the multi-disciplinary connections between the landscape architecture industry and other fields,” he shared. “Being able to design across various disciplines is the goal for my future. It is excited to gain new knowledge from historic landscapes and integrate into the modern setting.”

Lu has been interning at a landscape architecture firm in Washington, D.C. for his externship component of the BLA curriculum. “After learning planting design during my professional internship, I gained more understanding of the contemporary and traditional methods of planting design.”

“The Southern Garden History Society Scholarship is a great opportunity for landscape architecture students with an interest in garden design, and the historical aspects of the field,” said Professor Max Conrad.

“The 2019 Southern Garden History Society Scholarship encourages me to fully experience the field of historic preservation,” Lu said. “It also helps me explore the possibilities in my future and contribute more to the professional world by integrating what I have learned.”