The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) has selected three College of Environment and Design faculty members as Research Fellows for 2018. Jon Calabria, Alfie Vick, and Brian Orland, will collaborate with HDR, Inc., a large environmental engineering firm with offices in Atlanta, doing case study research for the new UGA Science Learning Center and the Historic Fourth Ward Park in Atlanta. Rachel Shields, a second year UGA master of landscape architecture student will serve as the research assistant.
These two projects are among the eight exemplary landscape projects for the Landscape Foundation’s 2018 Case Study Investigation (CSI) program. Now in its eighth year, the CSI program is a unique research collaboration that matches LAF-funded faculty/student research teams with design firms to measure and document the benefits of high-performing landscapes.
CSI Research Fellows lead the teams and work with firm liaisons to identify and develop methods to quantify environmental, economic, and social benefits. The teams conduct research and document the projects through images and narrative that includes background information, descriptions of sustainable features, and lessons learned. The resulting Case Study Briefs are published in LAF’s award-winning Landscape Performance Series database of over 120 projects.
The 2018 CSI program kicks off in February and runs through early August. Seven faculty members from across the U.S. were chosen for this year’s work. The CSI program is highly collaborative with the goal of better integrating the innovative work being done by academia and professional practice to increase knowledge about the design and long-term performance of sustainable landscapes.
The Landscape Architecture Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. Established in 1966, LAF invests in research, scholarships, and leadership initiatives to increase collective capacity to achieve sustainability and cultivate the next generation of design leaders.
