The Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2012 grants in support of research, communication and scholarship. “The Foundation is proud to support these exemplary projects that reflect the expanding role landscapes play in providing social, ecological and economic benefits to society”, said LACF president, Cecelia Paine, FCSLA.  “We look forward to the proponents sharing the results of their work through online resources and print publication, thus multiplying the impact of each grant.”

The annual grant proposals are adjudicated and awarded by a national jury composed of five individuals from public, private and academic practice representing the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairie and British Columbia regions.

 

PROFESSIONAL GRANT RECIPIENTS

"OPERATIVE LANDSCAPES  Building Communities through Public Space"
Alissa North Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Grant Awarded  $7,500 

Grant Objective:

Operative Landscapes, a print publication, examines how public space influences
the structure, success, and continual evolution of communities. There are infinite ways to build a community, yet the defining feature of any community is characteristically the landscape. Whether it is a park, a river corridor, community gardens, a plaza, or a streetscape, the public spaces where people interact provide a shared sense of ownership, and the qualities of these spaces influence how a community evolves.

A well designed open space fosters strong community pride and involvement, inviting improvement of existing structures or additional quality spaces. In this sense, community landscapes are considered operative in that they perform functionally in the constructive development of the community.

Based on 37 globally exemplary projects, where well designed landscape spaces have played an integral role in the development of the community, the intent of this publication, under contract with Birkhäuser, is to demonstrate and understand how public space design positively impacts the community at each stage of the design process. Featured within the range of projects are Canadian examples, with the explicit intent to demonstrate the high quality landscape architectural works produced in Canada, as situated within a global context.

 

"Multiple Options for Understanding and Using Ecosystem Services at the Urban Landscape Scale: A Website Resource"  

Patrick Mooney Associate Professor and Chair, Glenn Brown researcher 

UBC Landscape Architecture Program

Grant Awarded:  $5,000 

Grant Objective: 
 
The concept of Ecosystem Services was developed to explicitly protect the entire range of benefits provided by nature and not just those more obvious benefits like food and fibre production. Ecosystem Services are the benefits people derive from nature. They include climate regulation, flood control, fresh water, pollination, soil fertility, carbon sequestration and improved health and well-being. Current practice in landscape assessment, planning and design emphasizes the understanding of biophysical processes but has not incorporated the protection of Ecosystem Services (ES).

Since the United Nations’ Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was released in 2005, ES have rapidly become a preferred approach to assess and manage the impacts of human interventions in the landscape. This is generally done at the national and regional scale and in more ‘natural’ landscapes. Application of the ES approach is not yet well understood at the smaller scale within the urban regional landscape, but such understanding is necessary for sustainable urban development.

Through the construction of a website with downloadable documents, the research team will explain what Ecosystem Services are and how they can serve multiple purposes at the urban scale. The team will compile background resources: journal articles, professional reports, website links, and case study examples. Our explanations and information will describe different options--ways to use tools with Ecosystem Services at the scales, situations and project types typically encountered by policymakers, landscape architects and allied professionals.

 

"PARKS & REC - Designing Urban Roof Tops to Grow Food"
Katie Mathieu, chef and gardener Victoria Taylor, landscape architect

Grant Awarded:  $3,500 

Grant Objective:

In Spring 2010, Parks & Rec was established on the roof of downtown Toronto restaurant, Parts & Labour. It was designed and operated as a for-profit roof farm by landscape architect, Victoria Taylor, OALA and chef and gardener, Katie Mathieu. The 1800 square foot farm, run free of chemicals, focused on growing produce for use by its main client - the restaurant below - and to study the feasibility of a for-profit, pop-up farm-restaurant relationship in an urban roof top setting. During its two-year course and through interaction with and feedback from its main client and various other  collaborators, both Mathieu and Taylor have become acquainted with the challenges of this unique practice for landscape design, urban agriculture and the opportunities for expansion, education and public relations.

The team has proposed to compile their experiences into an online information source that details the architectural, horticultural, educational and economic challenges faced throughout this project. The aim of this online project is to provide education, support and dialogue on urban agriculture and city planning.  Those considering similar projects will be able to draw on this project its economic, employment, environmental and educational results to assist with presenting for-profit, food security focused initiatives.

 

"Expo 67:  Le patrimoine recent de l’architecture de paysage au Canada"
Nicole Valois, Professeure agregee, Jonathan Cha assistant de recherche
Ecole d’architecture de paysage, Universite de Montreal

Grant Awarded:  $1,000 
Awarded the Gunter Schoch Bursary

Grant Objective:

The study of the installations at the Montreal Universal and International Exhibition of 1967 (EXPO 67) aims to highlight the contribution of Canadian landscape architects to this event and identify the landscape elements that bear witness to this recent heritage period.  More than a dozen Canadian landscape architecture firms played key roles in designing the Ile Notre-Dame, Ile Sainte-Helene and Cite du Havre sectors, from the structure of the islands to plant selection.  Although the significance of Expo 67 to the profession is widely recognized, the extent of participation of landscape architects is not well documented.

Phase 1 of this project was awarded an LACF grant in 2011.  Research was undertaken to interview a number of the landscape architects involved in the overall masterplan for the site.  This second phase will assemble the transcribed interviews along with other archival materials, drawings, then/now photographs into a publication, presentation and journal articles that tell the contributions by landscape architects in both official languages.  In addition, the results of Phase 1 have shown how Expo ’67 has affected the practice of landscape architecture in Canada.

Montrealer’s consider the site of the exhibit a precious asset.  Several of the architectural elements have been designated as heritage sites at both municipal and provincial levels; however, none of the landscape components have been specifically designated, much less recognized as the backbone of the overall success of the Expo and park system that remains.  With preparations for the 50^th anniversary of Expo 67 underway and the master plan for the islands under review, this study aims to recognize a significant milestone in heritage landscape management decisions.

"Integrated Green Roof and Solar Photovoltaic Technologies"

Liat Margolis, Associate Professor University of Toronto
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design

Grant Awarded:  $1,000 

Grant Objective:

GRIT LAB (Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory) Phase I was established in 2010 at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design following the launch of the City of Toronto's Greenroof Bylaw in 2009. Its objectives are twofold: 1) to test, evaluate and potentially improve the construction specifications of green roofs against their environmental and ecological goals, 2) to establish a new educational model for landscape architecture that is based on applied research and trans-disciplinary exchanges.

GRIT LAB Phase II will focus on evaluating the synergistic relationship between green roofs and photovoltaic (PV) arrays. The hypothesis is that green roofs reduce local air temperature through evapotranspiration and solar reflectance and this improves PV performance and lifetime. The integration of PV with green roofs is important because it will contribute to reducing environmental impacts (e.g., climate change, urban heat island) by simultaneously designing for renewable energy, evaporative cooling and stormwater retention on building rooftops.

GRIT LAB will be outfitted with over 300 sensors to allow for the acquisition of performance data in real-time. The LACF grant will support the design of a website for GRIT LAB to promote the communication of research findings. The website will include documentation of the research methodology, drawings of design details, data analysis and publications.

STUDENT GRANT RECIPIENTS

"Cultural Landscapes of Canada and Scotland: A Comparative Study of Cross-cultural Heritage Conservation Policies" 
Desiree Valadares, MLA Candidate, University of Guelph

Grant Awarded:  $500 

Grant Objective:

The proposed project will be conducted over five months (January 2012 until May 2012) at the University of Edinburgh's OPENspace Research Centre. In her research, Desiree will outline, contrast and critically analyze current federal heritage conservation policies in Canada and in Scotland under the supervision of Professor Catherine Ward Thompson and Dr. Simon Bell, who have expertise in European cultural landscapes. Specifically the role of biodiversity conservation in federal heritage policies will be examined. Desiree's research will draw from UNESCO World Heritage Centre's 2003 publication, Cultural Landscapes: the Challenges of Conservation.  In addition to undertaking relevant coursework to complete this study, Desiree will also volunteer with the National Trust for Scotland in the Gardens Department.

 

"Transforming Brownfields through Phytoremediation"
Leila Fazel, MLA Candidate, University of Guelph

Grant Awarded:  $1,500 

Grant Objective: 

As knowledgeable and versatile individuals, landscape architects are capable of transforming brownfield sites to aesthetically pleasing and healthy landscapes. Phytoremediation, a remediation method using plants to mitigate soil and water contamination, could be more commonly used.  There are many brownfield sites within smaller urban areas that remain unoccupied and underutilized as they are not economically attractive to developers. Could phytoremediation be an option to manage these lands through incentives provided within municipal Community Improvement Plans?

The proposal is to create a design guideline and communicate phytoremediation as a tool to transform brownfield sites into functional green spaces while keeping the public's safety and comfort in mind. Leila proposes to develop a design concept for multiple Canadian sites. Site selection will be based on varying geoclimatic setting, scale, and urban context to show the diversity in landscape and design.  Through her thesis work, Leila will answer a number of questions about phytoremediation that will hopefully alleviate the inertia seen in redeveloping brownfield sites.

 

For further information on LACF grants, please contact:

Faye Langmaid, FCSLA, MCIP

Chair of the LACF Grants Programme

fayepaul@mnsi.net