Jun 17 2014
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announces that a contract has been signed with landscape architecture firm Design Workshop to serve as lead consultant for a project greening the streets surrounding ASLA's headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown. The firm has a long history of designing landscapes that combine environmental sensitivity, economic benefits, artistic vision, and community input.
The Chinatown Green Street Demonstration Project involves the design and installation of an interconnected series of vegetated systems and innovative technologies to manage stormwater runoff and beautify the public right-of-way in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. ASLA intends this project to be a world-class model and education tool for developers, designers, city officials, and the public.
Design Workshop will oversee the project through all phases from design and installation to long-term maintenance planning and educational outreach. It will collaborate with the ASLA Site Sustainability Task Force throughout all phases of the project.
"This project is an investment in our city's future. We want to show that landscape architecture can heal the environment as well as provide a safer street design that will benefit everyone," said Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA. "By implementing a more natural way to manage stormwater, it will help the District of Columbia in its goal of becoming one of the greenest cities in the United States while also providing a model for cities around the world. It will also make our neighborhood more walkable and accessible for residents and visitors."
"Design Workshop is deeply honored to be working with ASLA on such a profound and substantial effort," said Steven Spears, ASLA, principal and partner with Design Workshop. "In one's career, there is truly only a handful of opportunities to make a transformative impact toward holistic sustainability. The Chinatown Green Street Demonstration Project, located between the White House and the Capitol Building, will become the opportunity to showcase that street rights of way can be enjoyed and used by all forms of mobility while offering significant environmental, economic, community and artistic impacts."
Project website
About the American Society of Landscape Architects
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use "ASLA" after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural environments; the Society's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.
About Design Workshop
Design Workshop is a firm born in the pursuit of ideas. Founders Joe Porter and Don Ensign, while professors at North Carolina State, set a course to engage clients, staff and colleagues in a collaborative process they labeled "design workshop." For four decades Design Workshop has provided landscape architecture, urban design and strategic services to clients in North America and throughout the world. They are committed to creating special places that meet today's needs and that are sustainable environments for all time. They have developed a methodology called DW Legacy Design®. This proprietary process seeks to imbue every project with a balance between environmental sensitivity, community connection, artistic beauty and economic viability that demonstrates measureable results.