DALLAS, Texas — April 20, 2020 — Though we often focus on the impact of the built environment, landscape architects play an essential role in maintaining and improving community health—which is vital now more than ever. As social distancing and wide-open spaces become a hotter commodity than ever in the age of quarantine, it is not hyperbole to state– as CallisonRTKL’s lead landscape architect Noel Aveton does– that landscape architects are on the front lines to save the world.
In honor of World Landscape Architecture Month, our Planning, Landscape and Urban Design (PLUD) have chosen some of their most memorable articles from our You Are Here blog.
Could North Texas Be the Next “Blue Zone”?
In case it wasn’t readily apparent, spending time in nature has numerous mental and physical benefits, from improved memory to lower stress to better eyesight for children. We have many clients ensuring residents have full access to nature. Newland Communities at our Canyon Falls project in Northlake, Argyle and Flower Mound, Texas is a great example of a developer who understands the intrinsic and extrinsic value of allocating a significant portion of the development to natural/public space.
Noel Aveton, PLA, LEED Green Associate, IFLA, ASLA
Vice President
Landscape Architects Save the World
Wherever the threat occurs (and that is pretty much everywhere), the underlying problem is much the same: Tactics used in the past—building sea walls, raising buildings on stilts, or even moving them to higher ground—have proven to be of limited utility. We need to be smarter, more aligned with other design professions and more diligent in our standards—and this all takes higher and more consistent protocols, best practices and professional unity.
Noel Aveton, PLA, LEED Green Associate, IFLA, ASLA
Vice President
Designing through Gratitude: Introduction
Considering a contemplative space such as Thanks-Giving Square alongside the desire for more public space in the Downtown core is where the confusion resides. Johnson’s intent for an experience void of any visual or physical noise led to Thanks-Giving Square becoming more of a park as it aged. As a response, the move to recapture meaning compromised the original intent of the space as a contemplative one, with varying layers of information added over time in order to explain a message to the public.
Michael Friebele, LEED AP BD+C
Senior Associate
Designing through Gratitude: An Anatomy of Public Spaces
The one thing we can count on to remain steady in our city is its complexity. What if there was a public space that addressed this complexity directly? What if there was a place that focused on our similarities—like the little things we take for granted every day? Can a public space embody “gratitude” as a concept? The Foundation believes that by increasing the presence of gratitude in daily life, they can promote understanding and create a common ground for harmony.
Collin Koonce, PLA, LEED AP BD+C
Senior Associate