Connecticut Landscape Architects Celebrate "LA Month" with Exhibit, Olmsted Event, and Award

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - April 8, 2013 - PRLog -- The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (CTASLA) will celebrate National Landscape Architecture Month with an exhibit of landscape architectural works at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford this week (running until April 14) and a program celebrating Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, in Bridgeport on Wednesday April 17.

The exhibit – hanging on 150 feet of wall space in the Lower Concourse between the LOB and the State Capitol -- will feature CTASLA’s annual Connecticut Design Award winners as well as other displays showcasing the contributions of landscape architects to the built environment and sustainable landscapes in Connecticut. Members of the public are urged to visit the exhibit and tour the Capitol Building.

The program on the evening of the 17th: “Frederick Law Olmsted: Connecticut Yankee,” will take place at the Bijou Theater in Bridgeport. Featured speakers will include author Justin Martin, who has written Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (see http://books.google.com/books/about/Genius_of_Place.html?...);  and filmmaker Lawrence Hott, who has produced a documentary on Olmsted to be released this Fall (see http://www.florentinefilms.org/index.php?id=99).

The evening will also include a cocktail party, buffet dinner, and presentation of CTASLA’s annual Olmsted Award, recognizing an organization or person from Connecticut who has employed the principle of stewardship of the land as a guiding force in their actions. The 2013 award will be presented to William DeMaio, Director of the New Britain Parks and Recreation Department, a tireless advocate for urban parks, overseeing more than 800 acres of park lands in New Britain, including the city’s Olmsted-designed Walnut Hill Park.

Most known for his work in creating New York’s Central Park, Olmsted was born in Hartford in 1822 (and is buried in Hartford’s Old North Cemetery). He and his firms designed many influential landscapes across the state, including the campus of Hartford’s Institute of Living, Long Hill Estate in Middletown, and Seaside and Beardsley Parks in Bridgeport, among others.

The event on April 17 is also a fundraiser for the Karen Ann Shopis-Fox Memorial Scholarship, which supports education in landscape architecture and environmental studies. Cost to attend is $100. Sponsors for the program include Urban Mining, NE, Victor Stanley, and Apex Lighting, Inc.  The cocktail party is being generously sponsored by Unilock, Inc.

Registration information can be found at http://www.ctasla.org.

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About ASLA: “Green since 1899,” ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 48 professional chapters. The Connecticut Chapter is comprised of 275 members across the state. ASLA and its local chapters promote the profession of landscape architecture and advance its practice through advocacy, education, communication and fellowship.

Landscape architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation. Landscape architects protect public health, safety and welfare through environmentally conscious planning and design. Like engineers and architects, landscape architects are licensed in the state of Connecticut.

Learn more about landscape architecture online at http://www.asla.org. To learn more about the Connecticut Chapter of ASLA, see http://www.ctasla.org.