SITES 2013 Volume 7 Number 3

2013: Volume 7, Number 3

Michigan Chapter of the American Societ y

of Landscape

Architects

(800) 722-8546 | www.MiracleMidwest.com

Table of contents 2013: Volume 7, number 3

Michigan Chapter of the American Societ y oF Landscape

2

Letter from the president

6 I grew up in Detroit and Saginaw. These cities were thriving then and have been spiraling in decline ever since. Both cities have tremendous assets. Many people in both cities are working hard just to gain a foothold against further decline.

I have also lived in and worked with small communities in northern Michigan for two decades. These communities are also blessed with substantial assets.

Many of them are also in decline. Very few of them have significantly invested in the long-term future. Change is upon them, nonetheless.

As I was starting my education in landscape architecture, an architect friend advised my father that landscape architects were simply architects who couldn’t do calculus. Secondly, the only time I came close to being sued was by an engineer’s organization for listing “site engineering” as one of the services offered by my firm.

Is there a common thread amongst Detroit and Saginaw, small communities in northern Michigan, and misconceptions about landscape architecture? I believe there is and I will call it “small thinking”. When money was flush, we often failed to build sustainable futures for

our major cities. Small rural communities previously not open to change now watch as inevitable change erodes employment, school systems, and the very fabric of community. And finally, here we are 35 years later facing deregulation and the majority of our graduates in landscape architecture seeking employment somewhere other than in Michigan. Small thinking is with us.

Michigan should be (NEEDS TO BE!) the center of gravity for big thinking. We need every bright brain we train to apply that energy to the problems at hand. We need agencies which impose constraints to work with entities that want to make changes to find mutually-satisfying solutions rather than stalemates. There needs to be a network, grounded in mutual respect and understanding, between allied professions and regulatory agencies that supports and requires high standards of professional practice.

Big thinking comes from leadership. Leadership is central to our profession.

Mark Robinson, LLA, ASLA President, Michigan Chapter of ASLA

Senior Living Communities: Place Matters

by Nathan G. Elkins, ASLA Influence Design Forum

Architects

General Motors Technical Center: The Master Plan for the Reinterpretation of one of America’s Most Iconic Corporate Campus Landscapes

by Lorna Allen, ASLA SmithGroupJJR

12

2013 Student Award Winners Michigan State University & University of Michigan

16

A Tribute to Kent Anderson: Michigan ASLA Landscape Architect Legacy Series

by Hamilton Anderson Associates

events calendar Tuesday, October 22, 2013 Landscape Lighting Lecture College of Architecture and Design - Lawrence Technological University - Southfield Campus 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

November 15-18, 2013 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo Boston, MA

Editor’s notes ON THE COVER: An overhead view looking into the sculpture garden at the Grand Traverse Senior Living development.

Image courtesy of Influence Design Forum.

Please remind your friends that SITES has gone digital. Send updated email addresses to: manager@michiganasla.org

Senior Living Communities: Place Matters

by Nathan G. Elkins, ASLA 2

A view from the corner of the sunken outdoor dining space which will be excavated down to provide accessibility into the garden level of the building.

Image courtesy of Influence Design Forum.

When senior living developers collaborate with landscape architects to plan their projects, lives are transformed. Designs can be planned beyond the building to create a comfortable, yet invigorating environment. These settings provide for both an exciting and relaxing way of life, which allows seniors to live their lives to the fullest. A positive “way of life” is established by focusing on unique spaces that are designed to promote relaxation and senior therapy, nurturing and healing environments, in combination with active and passive recreational areas.

THE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE INTRIGING According to Christopher Leinberger, a Brookings Institute economist, “baby boomers make up approximately 77 million Americans or one-quarter of the US population. With the leading edge of the population now approaching sixty-five years old, the group is finding their suburban houses too large.

Many of these millennial parents, or front-end boomers, are selling their socially isolating homes that have for years overly-depended on the automobile. Instead, they are looking for the freedom that comes with living in a walkable, accessible community with convenient shopping, dining, quality healthcare, transit, and cultural activities.” Leinberger and his book, The Option of Urbanism, go on to state, “walkable senior living communities will be at the forefront of this population shift with an estimated 1.5 million Americans retiring every year until 2020.”

WALKABILITY MATTERS Giving special consideration to the desires of seniors enables the conceptual design process to become more creative and expose the opportunity for better design and thinking. Today, seniors and those moving towards retirement demand certain necessities, all of which hinge on walkability and the idea of remaining connected to the community. Requirements may include providing a safe, accessible, relaxing and socially stimulating environment. The location of the senior living community is a fundamental element to establish connections to nearby neighborhoods. Creating a “walking community” enables residents to continue to live a customary

lifestyle – together with designed outdoor spaces that integrate the surrounding community and allow for recreation and social interaction.

CASE STUDY: GRAND TRAVERSE SENIOR LIVING Grand Traverse Senior Living, currently under development in Traverse City, Michigan, is the latest senior living community taking shape with ambitions to connect its residents to the community framework. The Boston-based developers are collaborating with the Michigan firm Influence Design Forum (IDF), an urban design and planning studio that previously infused walkability concepts into The Village at Grand Traverse Commons (see previous SITES article Vol. 6 No.1 to learn more). Located within the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, this 64-acre brownfield redevelopment property, aims to provide its residents with greater flexibility, choice, and personal autonomy.

This ideal site location boasts a picturesque campus, historic arboretum of trees, and framework for walkable and bicycle-friendly sidewalks and streets.

The development location is also easily accessible to public transportation, nearby dining, shopping and quality healthcare. The site is an all-inclusive for the active senior seeking high mobility and way of life that provides social, recreational and other daily activities that will support residents to remain integrated in the community.

The design concept for the grounds of the senior living development supports the remarkable site location and the desired amenities of its residents. An expansive exterior courtyard was designed with three different levels of social interaction: meditative space, activity and art space, and dining and social space. The first level is where individuals can quietly reflect, relax and meditate individually or with a small group. The second level of the courtyard offers varying levels of interaction where family and friends can spend quality time together. Integration of the arts and other group activities are also conducted here. These two spaces are connected by a sculpture garden that will be curated by the development group and programmed to feature local artists. The third level of the courtyard is designed to be highly interactive and social and provide opportunity for continued on page 4 3

Senior Living Communities: Place Matters

c o n ti n ued fr o m page 3

chance encounters that may turn into friendships, a place where residents are encouraged to dine outdoors, socialize, and recreate. From a morning yoga class to an evening by the outdoor fire, residents are provided with many options to sustain a viable, healthy and safe lifestyle.

Design detailing focuses on maximizing the best use of space through the development. For example, a parking court, with the ability to be closed off, was designed to provide additional on-site space for special events and outdoor programs. Specific materials were chosen for universal accessibility, increased mobility and sustainability.

The up-front planning and design process that went into selecting a site, understanding walkability opportunities, integration with the surrounding neighborhoods, and developing an integrated site design program that supports interaction, health, and well-being are combined to create a model senior living development. The needs of residents were strategically intertwined within the development, making this specific senior living option ideal for individuals in transition from living on their own to living in a multifaceted community. Because of places like Grand Traverse Senior Living, the stereotype of retiring into a senior living community is being transformed. Retirees are able to actively and independently retreat into a healthy, relaxing lifestyle that remains integrated into the community.

With a professional background and education that combines design with sociology, landscape architects are positioned to understand this generation shift and demographic change that is taking shape. Landscape architects are most adapted to facilitate and lead the planning and design for the development of these communities.

For more information contact: Nate Elkins, ASLA Influence Design Forum (231) 944-4114 nate@influencedesignforum.com www.influencedesignforum.com 4

Background: One of the activity spaces that will be programmed for multiple uses to promote community interaction between the senior residents.

Image courtesy of Influence Design Forum.

B O A R D WA L K BENCH

w w w. f o r m s - s u r f a c e s . c o m

general motors technical center:

The Master Plan for the Reinterpretation of one of America’s Most Iconic Corporate Campus Landscapes

by Lorna Allen, ASLA 6

Saarinen’s West Lake with the Design Dome in the background.

Image courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

To many, Michigan’s connection to the auto industry is undeniable for it is home to the Big Three: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

What few realize is how the auto industry has greatly influenced architecture and planning, and more so the design of early corporate campuses, namely General Motors Technical Center (Tech Center).

Located in Warren, Michigan, the Tech Center has eluded passersby for decades. A dense perimeter forest surrounds the 330-acre site which has served as the company’s headquarters for research and design since it opened. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen and landscape architect Thomas Church, the construction of the Tech Center began in 1949 and was completed in 1955. The Tech Center opened in 1956 with a ceremony presided over by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The original campus design consisted of six distinct facilities featuring metal and glass curtain walls and colorful glazed brick end walls placed within a well-defined rectilinear landscaped campus with a large formal lake at its center. In 1985, the American Institute of Architects honored the Tech Center as “one of the most outstanding architectural achievements of its era”. The Tech Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and placed on the State Register of Historic Sites in 2002.

On the cusp of the 21st century, GM looked to Hargreaves Associates in collaboration with KMD Architects and Ove Arup & Partners to re-imagine the Tech Center campus. The group aimed to redefine the campus with dual private interior spaces, each centered on equal-sized lakes representing the history of the west campus and the future of the east campus. The landscape was intentionally designed to unify the campus while providing variety through expanding vistas, water features, interior courtyards, and a distinct contrast between vast open spaces and densely vegetated planting areas. After decades of corporate volatility, the integrity of the historic landscape was jeopardized due to issues of declining plant material, and unresolved maintenance issues.

Above: Saarinen Mall designed by Hargreaves Associates.

Image courtesy of SmithGroupJJR.

In 2013, landscape architects at SmithGroupJJR developed a new landscape master plan for the future of the Tech Center’s campus based on detailed observations and assessments. Priority status for future project implementation and maintenance efforts were assigned based on immediate need, location within the campus, use, and financial feasibility. The intent of the Master Plan is to provide a framework for making informed decisions about the future of the campus landscape. The aim is to create a healthy, vibrant, and engaging outdoor campus environment that respects the heritage of the campus, reflects the innovative spirit of GM, and ensures the long-term viability of the natural environment for the benefit of current and future employees and visitors (see notes on page 11 regarding design solutions). continued on page 8 7

General Motors Technical Center

c o n ti n ued fr o m page 7

GM President Harlow Curtice and Vice President Charles McCuen Reviewing Model with Architect Eero Saarinen. Image courtesy of Michigan Modern

The GM Technical Center’s official opening ceremony in 1956 was presided over by President Dwight D. Eisenhower with more than five thousand people in attendance.

Image courtesy of GM Heritage Center Archive

The design accounts for the improvements to be implemented incrementally over many years. The Master Plan provides GM a “road map” for the desired improvements. Achieving the vision is dependent on a strong commitment from leadership and the ability to: • Increase awareness, appreciation, and support of the many positive attributes of the campus and the potential value it can bring to Tech Center employees.

• Align resource needs (staff and budgetary) with the proposed policies and projects.

• Embrace a holistic approach to campus operations to resolve longstanding maintenance and operational issues.

In order to facilitate and clarify implementation, the Master Plan was divided into two categories: campus-wide policy and specific projects, of which over forty were addressed. Both categories are intended to be realized simultaneously based on need and priority.

It is understandable why “built” projects take priority over operational improvements. Built projects are seen as soon as the investment is made, provide instant impact and benefit, and typically do not require an introspective review of current practices, standards, or budgets. In new campus settings, this approach may not be critical, but within an established campus setting, the need to develop and follow specific policy is the key to preserving a healthy, high-quality campus environment. It is with this mindset that five

8

Where Today Meets Tomorrow, aerial rendering from GM Brochure.

Image courtesy of GM Heritage Center Archive

“The 2013 Tech Center landscape plan proved an interesting case study of an aging campus landscape and the balance to maintain the integrity of the original design�

- SmithgroupJJR

campus-wide policies were developed to ensure that proper, proactive campus maintenance standards are implemented for the entire campus.

IMPROVE PLANT HEALTH On a campus such as the Tech Center, declining tree health is inevitable due to age, neglect, disease and other maintenance issues. It was recommended to complete a tree survey before moving forward with new projects. The tree survey is to be utilized as a tool and updated periodically to reflect the health of the campus forest and to aid in the development of a focused action strategy. continued on page 10 9

General Motors Technical Center

c o n ti n ued fr o m page 9

PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE Being proactive and systematic about maintenance saves resources, time, and overall maintenance costs. It was recommended to develop a comprehensive maintenance manual to assist in the management and scheduling of the landscape resources, tools, and budget. The maintenance program will identify preferred levels of service, priority zones, and performance-based standards. An effective maintenance program will reflect a commitment to providing the optimum level of maintenance for the campus.

IRRIGATION Due to budget constraints, the Tech Center was required to minimize the use of the irrigation system for nearly 2 years and subsequently fell into disrepair. Faced with opportunities for new projects on the campus, the Master Plan recommended a comprehensive irrigation master plan study to assess what parts of campus have irrigation and functionality, and to estimate potential need/use. Moving forward, it was recommended that irrigation systems should be used for the establishment of newly installed landscapes and in locations that require irrigation through drought events. GM management was guided to set a goal of designing new landscapes to succeed without irrigation, and to select plants for their suitability in non-irrigated areas.

OUTDOOR CAMPUS ACTIVITIES The campus was designed to be experienced from an automobile.

Pedestrian connectivity and outdoor spaces as a result were disconnected and underutilized. The landscape architect recommended increasing and improving the outdoor spaces and pedestrian connections to better utilize the campus for employee recreation and enjoyment. Studies have proven that outdoor space for active and passive recreation provides positive results for increased employee productivity.

10

Rendering of Landscape Master Plan and campus improvements.

Image courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

The master plan’s goals are achieved through the following design solutions: • • • • • • •

Respecting the site’s historic significance.

Strengthening campus identity and wayfinding.

Improving visual interest and the physical environment for visitors and employees.

Integrating sustainable landscape practices.

Improving landscape health and long-term viability.

Utilizing native plantings to create habitat, encourage wildlife, and enhance the campus’s environmental sustainability.

Being maintenance and cost conscious.

CONSISTENT DESIGN PRINCIPLES The Tech Center campus is unique and hugely significant to the history of mid-century design. The principles that guided the creation of the campus also guided the creation of a cohesive, unified campus. It was recommended the design principles which created the campus be utilized to maintain and enhance it as well.

The Tech Center proved an interesting case study of an aging campus landscape and the balance to maintain the integrity of the original design intent while incorporating innovative practices and management techniques.

For more information contact: Lorna Allen, ASLA SmithgroupJJR (312) 641-6718 Lorna.Allen@SmithGroupJJR.com www.smithgroupjjr.com 11

Student Spotlight: MSU & U-M 2013 Landscape Architecture Student Award Winners

michigan state university Jon Doherty (Honor) Jon received his Bachelors of Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University this past May. Choosing landscape architecture as a career path allowed him to blend his passion of design and engineering into one career.

He would enjoy the opportunity to gain work experience in both the public and private sectors working on a range of projects including: restoration, urban plazas, parks and recreation, and planning. At the time of the interview Jon was still searching for an entry-level position. Congratulations Jon!

Eric Jazdzyk (Honor) Eric started his Freshmen Year at Michigan State University as a “No Preference” student, leaving an open mind as to where his future might lead him. This opportunistic thinking led Eric to the decision to take Introduction to Landscape Architecture his first semester, “simply because it seemed like an interesting career and I wanted to learn more.” This class laid the groundwork for his fascination of the profession, or as he states:

“...the mixture and variety of work landscape architects could achieve throughout their career. The profession seemed very rewarding with a sense of achieving better solutions for current day issues. This idea of improving the landscape, variety of project types and my interests in biology and the outdoors really swayed me into choosing Landscape Architecture as a career.”

Eric’s interest in designing spaces for large groups which promote a positive social interactions amongst a diversity of users has drawn him to pursue a career in the public sector. Nice job Eric!

12

Kennon Lorick (Merit) Kennon was born and raised in New York, but made the decision to transfer to Michigan State University to study landscape architecture in 2009.

“I chose the major because I wanted to combine my love of plants and the outdoors with my interest in design. I enjoyed the program at MSU, especially the professors, my classmates, and studying abroad.”

Her goal is to practice and study sustainable design in urban areas.

Way to go Kennon!

Eric Kopinski (Merit) From a young child, Eric has always had an interest in plants and being outside in natural environments. Each year his family would travel to a national park to hike and get back in touch with nature.

When he was fourteen, he obtained his first self-employed job designing, installing and maintaining gardens. It was around this time he became interested in a career in landscape architecture. In the broad field of landscape architecture, Eric is most interested in designing green spaces utilizing native species for people to enjoy.

More specifically he would like to focus on wastewater treatment, riparian buffers, pedestrian greenways, and bioretention basins.

“This way nature and education about native species can be brought back to communities.”

Currently, Eric is working toward his masters of Environmental Design, focusing on rain garden aesthetics, performance, and management. He expects to be finished in December 2013. Kudos to you Eric!

Michigan State University Student Award Recipients

Left-Right: Eric Kopinski (Merit); Jon Doherty (Honor); Kennon Lorick (Merit); and Eric Jazdzyk (Honor). Image courtesy of Dr. Jon Burley University of Michigan Student Award Recipients

university of michigan Christina Strasser (Honor) Christina’s journey to landscape architecture includes a Political Science degree, a year traveling abroad studying languages, and a position as a layout assistant and ad operations manager for a newspaper. Through these experiences, she realized her love for both design and cities, especially the spaces that make them interesting and usable.After being introduced to landscape architecture by her best friend’s husband, who received his MLA from the University of New Mexico, she decided to pursue her MLA at U-M. She chose to attend U-M because of the strong emphasis on ecological design within the program. This allowed her to focus her graduate work on the overlap of ecology and urban design.

Currently Christina is working as a landscape designer at an ecological consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on habitat restoration and landscape preservation in the city and around the Bay. Congratulations Christina!

Stephanie Austin (Merit) Stephanie gained a strong interest in the environment through her family’s participation in environmental groups during her upbringing as well as her own environmental studies and participation in groups at the University of Michigan. She explains her decision to pursue a career in landscape architecture, “Over the course of my undergraduate studies in architecture, I found that my work focused as much on the site of a building as the architecture itself. so transitioning to landscape architecture was a natural move for me when I decided to pursue a graduate degree.”

Christina Strasser (Honor).

Image courtesy of Aaron Fargo

Stephanie Austin (Merit). Image courtesy of Stephanie Austin.

Her interests in the field of landscape architecture are varied, though she is particularly passionate about historic preservation, ecological design (with a focus on stormwater management), and spatial analysis. She plans on becoming a licensed landscape architect and pursuing LEED accreditation in the future. Good work Stephanie!

13

Style your surroundings with timeless and appealing streetscape products. Tree grates manufactured by EJ provide natural drainage and enhance any urban, campus, or park setting.

Learn more at ejco.com or call 800 626 4653 East Jordan Iron Works is now EJ

Toni Gasperoni Eastern/Northern Michigan tonig@landscapeforms.com 800.430.6206 x1318 Amanda Nawara Southwest Michigan amandan@landscapeforms.com 800.430.6206 x1320 Designed by EfraĂ­n E. VĂŠlez

OLITHAS D E S I G N . C U LT U R E . C R A F T.

A Tribute to Kent Anderson: Michigan ASLA Landscape Architect Legacy Series “His work reflects a passion for community, economic development and environmental stewardship,” - Hamilton Anderson Associates

Kent Anderson, ASLA Hamilton Anderson Associates Detroit, Michigan

by Hamilton Anderson Associates

Above: Kent Anderson, one of the founders of Hamilton Anderson Associates Image courtesy of Hamilton Anderson Associates

16

Kent spent the first eight years of his life in the small town of Nahma in the Upper Peninsula, located where the Sturgeon River, one of the three rivers sharing the same name in our state, meets Lake Michigan. The nearest highway (US 2) was seven miles away. Through the middle part of the last century, Nahma’s sawmill supplied the wood components for the teetertotters, swings and merry-go-rounds in America’s schoolyards and neighborhood parks. Everything in Nahma was built and owned by the lumber company, with four hundred or so residents taking pride in the mill and its products. When the mill was bought by another company in 1952 for $250,000, the entire town was included in the sale including about 150 homes. The mill defined the community as a place. Exposure to the life of a company town and the fragile dependence on a natural resource had a latent influence on Kent’s career-defining interest of working with communities and landscapes facing the challenges of change.

The boulevard on the main street of Nahma was lined by white-washed houses with white picket fences and screened-in porches. It was punctuated by the stump of a mammoth white pine unceremoniously cut off at about fifteen feet above the ground. For many years it was a stoic sentry acknowledging the community’s heritage, but eventually it rotted completely away. The broader symbolism is that not much remains of Nahma today, but Kent’s experience of living there when it thrived and returning to see it erode over time, instilled a curiosity about places.

Kent studied landscape architecture at MSU in the early 1970’s, which proved to be a fortunate experience as the MSU program is recognized for providing a strong education in the basics of professional practice. He met his wife-to-be, Colleen, through a group project assignment. They will have been married for 40 years this next year. Upon graduating from MSU, he was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

as one of a handful of students with an LA undergraduate degree. His skills earned him a steady stream of teaching and research assistantships that provided in-state tuition, union wages and full health insurance.

The graduate research program at Wisconsin provided three critical avenues for learning: meeting and collaborating with graduates from a variety of disciplines and educational backgrounds; involvement in research-based projects; and flexibility for Kent to explore his interests in archaeology, land-use law, environmental history and biological sciences in pursuit of his MSLA. Mentors like Leo Jacobsen, Phil Lewis, Evelyn Howell, Arnie Alanan and Bill Tishler introduced the importance of research through their work in urban design, ecology, cultural resource analysis and historic preservation.

Kent’s thesis work explored the rise and fall of pioneering economies and the impact on communities, focusing on the context of these early places and assessing their potential for historic preservation.

When Kent and Colleen first moved to Wisconsin, Colleen found work as an estimator for medical systems in hospital construction. In 1978 she accepted a promotion that required relocation to Detroit. Kent pushed off completing his dissertation to join John Grissim’s office for a short time before starting a partnership with a colleague to design furniture for a rapidly evolving KD (knock-down) furniture market. Their partnership designed prototypes for two successful products. Kent improved his communication skills from making multiple presentations to buyers ranging from local retailers to larger department stores. A mill near Grand Rapids was contracted to build the products, and a national sales organization was engaged to represent the products. When Kent and his partner received a buy-out offer in 1983, they accepted it. His partner went on to success at Hermann Miller and Kent finished up his degree (just under the 5-year time limit) and joined the architecture/landscape architecture firm of Shervish Vogel Merz PC (SVM) in Detroit.

Kent worked for SVM for over 11 years. He met his current business partner, architect Rainy Hamilton, Jr., and they worked together on many projects for the firm. The three principals had distinctly different personalities and styles

Above: Kent Anderson (pictured center) in action at a cost model workshop.

Image courtesy of Hamilton Anderson Associates

of leadership. They all taught at the architecture school at the University of Detroit and each possessed traits from which to draw valuable lessons.

They created a working environment that seemed to be unique among most firms at the time—architects, landscape architects and interior designers working side by side to solve problems and find solutions. They also relied on giving important leadership responsibilities to young and inexperienced staff, pushing hard to develop people as fast as possible. Kent’s work with SVM often blended goals for environmental restoration with interpretations of the convergence of invention, material, culture and transport. There were always fascinating projects. Among SVM’s most important work was the initiation of the major effort to transform Detroit’s decaying, working east riverfront area into a public waterfront. continued on page 18 17

Kent Anderson

c o n ti n ued fr o m page 17

The design of Founders Garden in Midland celebrates the heritage and philosophy of The Dow Chemical Company and its founder, Herbert Dow, while also communicating the impact Dow had and continues to have in defining Midland as a place.

Image courtesy of Hamilton Anderson Associates When SVM was about to be absorbed by the architectural engineering firm of Albert Kahn, Kent decided to join with Rainy Hamilton, Jr. to found a new firm, Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA). Hamilton Anderson Associates earned numerous professional awards for design and planning excellence in its first twenty years, including 13 projects earning national recognition. The firm’s work with non-profit groups, community development associations, corporations, institutions, foundations and governments on wide-ranging neighborhood plans, investment strategies, development initiatives, city-wide and regional planning is highly respected. A current initiative is serving as a lead technical resource for the 50-year plan to right-size Detroit, defining strategies for addressing the needs of a shrinking city.

Kent has devoted his career into breathing new life into distressed urban landscapes with the goal of transforming them into revitalized, repurposed 18

environments. His work reflects a passion for community, economic development and environmental stewardship; where these needs are addressed collectively through innovative design. Through his work in Detroit, he continues developing his understanding of the dynamics of shrinking cities—places struggling to govern, no longer able to provide jobs and unable to stem the tide of divestment. The methodology and design philosophy employed by Kent and other design professionals are helping to build archetypes for post-industrial cities across the globe.

For more information about Hamilton Anderson Associates contact: Kent Anderson, ASLA (313) 964-0270 KAnderson@Hamilton-Anderson.com www.hamilton-anderson.com

www.ironsmith.biz

tree grates

trench grates

IRONSMITH an employee owned company.

Paver-Grate™

bollards

Suspended pavement system is nearly invisible when placed, the PaverGrate™ fits into any size tree pit, utility corridor or pedestrian walk way.

2013 MICHIGAN ASLA OFFICERS AND STAFF

PLEASE JOIN US IN WELCOMING OUR NEWLY ELECTED 2014 MICHIGAN ASLA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

President Mark Robinson, ASLA

Associate at Large Joane Slusky, Associate ASLA

President Elect John McCann, ASLA

Secretary Christy Summers, ASLA

President Elect SuLin Kotowicz, ASLA

Interim VP of Government Affairs Bill Sanders, ASLA

VP Marketing Craig Hondorp, ASLA

Treasurer Monica Schwanitz, ASLA

Immediate Past President Christy Summers, ASLA

Executive Director Derek Dalling

VP Education Joane Slusky, ASLA

Member at Large Bob Gibbs, ASLA

Trustee Vanessa Warren, ASLA

MSU Student Representatives Jessica Pilon, Student ASLA Jonathan Doherty, Student ASLA

VP Gov. Affairs Bill Sanders, ASLA

Associate at Large Tina Fix, Associate ASLA

VP of Marketing, Craig Hondorp, ASLA VP of Education Scot Lautzenheiser, ASLA Treasurer Monica Schwanitz, ASLA Secretary John McCann, ASLA Member at Large Robert Gibbs, ASLA

U of M Student Representatives Katie Dennis, Student ASLA Chris Strasser, Student ASLA SITES: Editor and Layout Andrew McDowell, ASLA andy.mcdowell@cardno.com Advertising Sales Joane Slusky, Associate ASLA joane@junosolutions.us (517) 485-4116

visit us at: www.michiganasla.org find us on: linkedin.com, facebook.com and twitter.com 1000 W. St. Joseph Hwy., Suite 200 Lansing, MI 48915

Want to get involved? MiASLA is always looking for chapter members to participate at a greater level. Please feel free to reach out to the Executive Committee or staff members: manager@michiganasla.org

Best place to steal a kiss since 1962.

Framers Modern Bench

TM

For over 50 years, we have designed, engineered, and manufactured timeless site furnishings so you can bring communities to life.

V ICTOR STA N L E Y.COM

Claire McFarland

15

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Lansing, MI PERMIT #515 2013: Volume 7, number 3

Michigan Chapter of the American Societ y oF Landscape

Architects

1000 W. St. Joseph Hwy., Suite 200 Lansing, MI 48915 www.michiganasla.org