Session M1 - Design for Access, Design for Equity

Jennifer Wagner, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP
TJ McCourt, J.D. 

Many communities still struggle with inequity in services and amenities. Designers can assist with equity-balance by helping to create public spaces for all members of a community, while taking safe and convenient access into consideration to ensure that the benefits provided by these parks can extend to everyone.

This presentation will explore two complementary methods of addressing gaps in park access:

1. Build new parks in areas that are underserved;
2. Create safer and better opportunities for access to existing parks.

The City of Raleigh has been studying access to the existing park system to create a relatively low-cost way to improve park access. Many communities have roads that cut off access to amenities and reduce the functionality of parks. Providing safe pedestrian and bicycle access will improve the social and physical health of a community. Whether parks are newly designed or existing, safe pedestrian and bicycle access should be a top consideration for designers and planners. 

The presentation will describe relevant park and greenway case studies and a description of the City of Raleigh's Neighborhood and Community Connections Program.

Session M2 - Cities for Life: Planning Inclusive Urban Spaces

Gary Warner, PLA, ASLA, AICP

Often, planners and designers are tasked with designing urban spaces for the benefit of all abilities. And, often, we pull out the Federal, State and local ADA Guidelines and design away. For most of our design careers, designing per ADA code was the target. But when we do, we miss entire populations of our community or we miss entire generations of users for our projects. As planners and designers, we need to step to the side of ADA (which is still important and required) and take a broader look at inclusive planning and universal design. We have been designing homes to allow us to age in place, but we must plan our cities to allow us to live and age in place.

Session L1 - Engaging the Landscape, Engaging the Mind: Outdoor Space in Support of Pedagogy

Ben Monette, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP
Emily McCoy, PLA, ASLA, SITES AP
Dan Jewell, PLA, ASLA

What if a pond was a lecture hall? Or a rooftop was a laboratory? Research shows that hands-on, experiential education is often the most impactful way for children (and adults) to learn. How can we as designers help educators engage outdoor spaces to create deep and meaningful learning experiences? 
 
In this talk, two leaders of Andropogon Associatesí Raleigh office will team up with Durham-based landscape architect Dan Jewell to explore strategies for integrating indoor and outdoor learning environments, from elementary school to higher education. They will discuss a range of approaches, from highly programmed spaces such as robotics and water labs to flexible spaces designed for small group work, outdoor lectures, socializing, and play. Attendees will learn strategies for retrofitting aging campuses as well as designing for integrated indoor/outdoor curriculums on a brand-new campus. 

Case studies will focus on Thaden School in Bentonville, AR (partnership with Eskew Dumez Ripple and Marlon Blackwell); Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC (partnership with ENNEAD and Kieran Timberlake); SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry in Syracuse, NY (partnership with Arcterra); and the Durham Main Library in Durham, NC (partnership with Coulter Jewell Thames and Vines Architecture).

Session L2 - Emerging Professionals and Licensure: Why it matters

Stan Williams, PLA, ASLA
Martha Eberle, PLA, ASLA

The topic of licensure for young professionals has never been more important than it is today. With the current political climate supporting deregulation in the form of consolidation and elimination of many licensing boards, young professionals need to know how this may impact them and how to be proactive now rather than standing on the sidelines of the most important current issue that faces our profession.

The panel will consist of members of the NC Board of Landscape architects as well as the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Board (CLARB) who will provide updates on state and national legislative initiatives to deregulate our profession as well as what the board, other states and CLARB are doing to remain proactive to support our licensees. We will also have a representative of NCASLA on the panel to discuss their legislative initiatives and what young professionals can do to advocate for licensure and become the next leaders of our profession. 

Grab a snack and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Session K1 (Tour) - From Industrial to Urban: Shaping Durham's Revitalization

Eric Davis, PLA, LEED AP
Walter Havener, PLA, LEED AP  

Downtown Durham has seen a renaissance over the last twenty years and this tour will visit some of the iconic projects that served as catalysts in the revival. The featured sites have shaped the public realm by weaving nature with the urban fabric while respecting the unique heritage and Durham creative culture. The tour will explore each projectís historic threads and industrial roots along crafted streetscapes, plazas, courtyards and treasured Durham landscapes. Guided by Walt Havener and Eric Davis of Surface 678, the group will visit the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC), American Tobacco Campus, Durham County Health and Human Services Complex, and West Village.

Session K2 - 10 Most Common Areas of Professional Liability Exposure (ends at 10:00 am)

Stephen Agnew, CIC

We will take a close look at some of the most common areas of professional liability exposure design firms face.  From Contracts, Clients, and communication and documentation.

Grab some coffee and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Session J1 - Drones to the Rescue: How UAS Technology is Promoting Environmental Sustainability

Kyle T. Snyder, MBA
Robert N. Oelberg, PLA

Drone technology is rapidly and profoundly transforming numerous industries: construction, forestry, mining, agriculture, surveying and real estate, as well as land planning and design. Examples of several UAS applications that preserve, protect or enhance the natural environment include identification of natural habitats, such as wetlands; identifying native species; uncovering instances of poaching and the thorough documentation of environmental impacts through the comparison of before, during and after aerial images.

The second part of the presentation is a more detailed account of how UAS technology is expediting the creation of 2D Orth mosaic images and 3D site models. These images and models have a lot more detail and accuracy than conventional standards for landscape plans and virtual models. The images and models generated by UAS technology are captured and available for use expediently and cost effectively. Used in conjunction with conventional landscape plans, 3D fly through videos of ordinary landscape projects are an extraordinarily persuasive tool to promote the cause of sustainable landscapes.

Session J2 (Tour) ñ An Urban Hike: Preserving and Creating Urban Open Space and Public Art in a rapidly growing Downtown

Dan Jewell, PLA, ASLA
Morgan Haynes, AIA
Todd Delk, PE
Andrew Porter, PLA, ASLA

Downtown Durham has experienced phenomenal growth and densification in the past decade.  This leisurely 2-mile walk from the American Tobacco Trailhead and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to the historic Durham Athletic Park... and beyond, will explore how public and private spaces have been preserved, enhanced and created to keep the public realm as welcoming and vibrant as the private realm.  The tour will feature multiple speakers with expertise at each stop along the route, including a conversation about the ongoing SmART Art initiative along the length of the corridor. Comfortable walking shoes recommended.

Mark Hough, FASLA
Stephen Bentley
Russ Holcomb, AIA, LEED AP

In a competitive market in which out-of-state landscape architects are increasingly being considered for projects in all sectors, it is important to take advantage of any edge when going after new work. This session will present a candid discussion between clients - both public and private - who frequently hire landscape architects for projects. They will present the processes they use for selection and offer practical advice on how to gain an edge on the competition.  A lengthy Q&A session will allow for audience engagement.

Grab a snack and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Presentation of Awards, Recognition of Past Leaders & Fellows

Augustine Wong, PLA, ASLA, NCASLA At-Large Member - Awards

Session H - The Future of the Profession and the Value of Connections

Greg Miller, PLA, ASLA, ASLA President    

The profession of landscape architecture continues to evolve.  Changes in the ways that professionals deliver services is creating a new dynamic for landscape architects to become leaders in our local and global design communities.  These changes also can cloud the message about our expertise and experience.  This session will present the ways that ASLA is fostering the connections that place the profession and the forefront of our changing society.

Session G1 - New Techniques for Participatory Design

Professor Emeritus Randolph Hester
Professor Marcia McNally
Associate Professor Kofi Boone, ASLA

This session will introduce new methods for doing participatory design, which is increasingly a requirement for public landscape planning and design projects. Based on the presenters' combined 100 years of practice, and their new book, Design as Democracy, they explain how to do a dozen essential techniques to improve community design. These include: Pop-Up Meeting, Community Camera, Environmental Auto graphy, Cellphone Diaries, The Big Map, Getting a Gestalt, In-House Ah-Ha! Drawing out the Sacred Upside Down, Green Rubber Stamp, Picture Collage Game, and Preemptive Comparison.  The session will include a PPT talk and give the audience hands-on experience.

Session G2 - Playing to Learn, Learning to Play: Creating Habitat for Scientists of the Future

Katherine Gill, MLA, PLA
Betsy Towns, PhD
Jocelyn Glazier, PhD

Design processes and design thinking, common practice for landscape architects, can be powerful learning tools for teaching science, especially when landscape architects collaborate with students, educators, artists and ecologists on the design and build of outdoor learning environments. Though examples mount to demonstrate that hands-on, inquiry-driven learning effectively cultivates the critical and creative thinking skills needed for discovery and innovation, mainstream schools have to balance this type of instruction with fact delivery and test prep. Alternative learning environments such as museums, zoos, and farms routinely offer both the capacity to communicate critical knowledge and platforms for prototyping and assessing inquiry-driven methods for teaching and learning.  We show how we rely on design practice to create place-specific experiences to allow embodied learning: when students create a nature trail, and conduct creek research, and climb through a landscape that makes them feel the size of ants, students learn their impact on the landscape and how to empathize with creatures that may look different from them.  This presentation presents techniques to do design that truly engages students in learning? It also tasks designers to do design that meets educational and ecological imperatives; And, demonstrates models for collaboration and partnering with broad entities to engage in a process of iterating and creating to learn and develop and steward. During the session we speak to our design process, fruitful and frustrating collaborations, and protocols for improving our process and practice.

Kona Gray, FASLA

We are facing challenging times and it is important now, more than ever, to protect the environment. The legacy of our craft tells us that the basis of what we do is rooted in history, environment, philosophy, natural sciences and the understanding and protection of people. The next big thing for global design will be influenced by our history, present dynamics, and the future of Landscape Architecture. Ultimately, landscape architects have the expertise to contribute to the preservation, improvement, enhancement of the environment.

Grab a snack and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Kate Pearce, AICP

Nearly two decades in the making, Dorothea Dix Park, is charting a path to become America's next great urban park. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the 308-acre site is one of the last remaining open spaces in the capital city's downtown. Acquired for $52 million dollars, the site encompasses cultural landscapes, 1.2 million sq. ft. of buildings, connectivity to regional institutions and the most picturesque views of Raleigh. The presentation will cover the park's evolution through a case study format. Content covered will be selection of a world-renowned design team, innovative interim programming, experienced based public engagement, master plan development, public private partnerships, financial and implementation strategies.

Lora Greco, PLA, ASLA, NCASLA President-Elect

Emily Blackwell, PLA, ASLA, NCASLA President

Whitney Campbell Christensen, Esq., NCASLA Lobbyist

Grab some coffee and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Grab a drink and mingle with exhibitors and chapter leaders!

Session D1 - Stormwater Restoration as an Urban Asset: Durham's South Ellerbe Stormwater Project

Walter Havener, PLA, LEED AP
Michael Fowler, PE
Sandra Wilbur, PE

South Ellerbe Creek collects runoff from a highly impervious area of Durham and nearby neighborhoods, receiving almost half the stormwater runoff from the downtown business district. Working with the City of Durham, the project transforms the former Duke Diet and Fitness Center site into a 7-acre natural stormwater restoration that integrates a constructed wetland, stream restoration, and community amenities to improve the health of South Ellerbe Creek and Falls Lake, an important regional water supply reservoir. The site is adjacent to the future Duke Belt Line Trail, creating a community asset with an overlook, boardwalk, and seating areas that will connect downtown Durham with the existing greenway network. The project offers a unique opportunity to change the public perception of stormwater management through green infrastructure to absorb and filter polluted runoff and slowly release the treated stormwater into South Ellerbe Creek to restore a healthy hydrologic balance and create a valuable resource for the community.

Session D2 - Landscape Architects and Arborists: Did we just become best friends?

Laura Ballock, PLA
Zak Pierce, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP
Katie Rose Levin

Trees are more than just circles on a paper, they are living infrastructure that can make or break the long term look and success of your landscape. This presentation will feature three case studies highlighting different aspects of successful tree management, including large tree preservation, tree transplanting, and innovative tree applications. We'll review when and how to involve arborist into your design team strategies to utilize their expertise.  During this presentation we will celebrate the deeply rooted landscape architect-arborist relationship, leaf no idea behind and branch out into amazing designs!

Session C1 - City of Wilson: City Center Revitalization Comprehensive 2030 Plan

Roger Lentz, AICP, Chief Planning & Development Officer
Kimberly Van Dyk, Planning & Community Revitalization Director
Ellen Crain Høj, AICP, CZO, Senior Planner

The Wilson 2030 Comprehensive Plan process intentionally engaged a diverse group of community stakeholders and provided extensive opportunities for participation and involvement throughout the process.

The project had dual focus: a future growth strategy focused on efficient and sustainable development patterns to enhance economic opportunities and local quality of life, as well as a focus on the Center City, with close attention paid to design, preservation of community character, and appropriate redevelopment.

The implementation of this plan over the past 8 years has lead the community to some interesting places, including having art, design and technology central to the mission of revitalization. Wilson provides an interesting case study on how inclusive planning and out of the box creativity can drive private investment, community pride and redevelopment in a small rural city.

Session C2 - Aquatic Play in the Park: Smart Design Practice for Every Space

Kyle Rieger, CPO

Whether the park you are designing is preparing for its first splash pad, upgrading an existing facility or exploring new play solutions, this session provides a foundation for smart aquatic design in any space. 

You know a well-designed aquatic space builds community, fosters healthy outdoor recreation and provides stimulating play experiences for park goers of all ages and abilities. But navigating the modern aquatic play environment can be a challenge. This session will equip participants with a roadmap to key design elements, from feature selection and inclusive play theory, to water management and operations. Participants will then learn how these considerations are applied and synthesized as part of a practical project design. This session will leave participants with a holistic understanding of how to turn any space into a thriving aquatic attraction for years to come.

Grab a snack and check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Michael Walden, PhD
NCSU Economics Professor & Author 

For years, North Carolina has been one of the nation's fastest-growing states, bringing tremendous change to the state's people, industries, jobs, places, environment, and government. Much of this change resulted from the information and technology revolution, which connected the state more fully to the country and the world. But we are now moving beyond the connected age, argues Michael L. Walden, to a new era of living, production, and work, and North Carolina faces not only unanswered questions about the past but also new challenges and opportunities visible on the horizon. What will these new transformations mean for the state's people, places, and prosperity?

NCSU Economics Professor Walden lays out these looming economic issues and offers predictions of future trends as well as multiple policy options for taxation, infrastructure, and environmental issues. While the future cannot be perfectly predicted, Walden's expert analysis is mandatory reading for policy makers, business leaders, and everyday people seeking to prepare for upcoming changes in North Carolina's economy.

Lora Greco, PLA, ASLA, NCASLA President-Elect

Emily Blackwell, PLA, ASLA, NCASLA President

On behalf of the conference planning committee and the NCASLA executive committee, we want to welcome you to the vibrant and eclectic host city for the 2018 North Carolina Chapter ASLA Meeting and Conference - DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA!

Check out the latest products and services our exhibitors have to offer!

Michael Batts, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP
Cassidy Michaux, ASLA 

Let's go for a walk around downtown Durham to explore and learn from the unique urban spaces that exist within the city.  Utilizing our digital sketchbooks (iPad) you will learn new techniques to merge your analog sketching skills in a digital world. Utilizing digital apps, such as Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, you will see new techniques to help you capture ideas within the existing city. We will also help you learn to overcome the fear of sketching and learn the importance of sketching in the design process.

This walk will promote the idea of thought-sketching.  We do not want you to simply recreate a scene within the city.   We will help you understand how to learn from the existing city by recording details of what you see.  We will use techniques to investigate spaces in relationship to its character, scale, materiality or its relationship within the cityís framework.

Bring your tablets, favorite sketchbooks, favorite drawing tools and your walking shoes!