2009 Grants

“elementsDB: +20 Contemporary Open Spaces.”
Cynthia L. Girling, CSLA, Professor and Chair Landscape Architecture Program, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia

elementsDB is a database of field-measured components of urban development including parks, urban plazas, waterfronts, open spaces, streets, residential, commercial, civic and industrial sites that catalogues and compares good urban design examples. Under development since 1995, it has recently been converted to a web-based application. Currently open spaces are under-represented in the elementsDB. The LACF funding will assist with the addition of 20 CSLA award-winning public spaces crucial in the sustainable development of Canadian cities. In addition to giving planning, design and illustrative information, open space cases provide environmental performance indicators for such factors as rainwater management, impervious vs. pervious area and protected habitat. Soon to be launched as a broadly accessible web application for academic, professional and community reference in planning and urban design, elementsDB is a proven educational tool for public decision-making applications. As the database moves to its final stage of development collaborators and research partners will be able to nominate and add cases remotely.

“Landscapes Infrastructures: Emerging Paradigms, practices and technologies re-shaping the contemporary landscape.”

Pierre Belanger, CSLA, Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto

The main intent of this project is to publish the proceedings of an international symposium on the emerging relationship between landscape and infrastructure that was held at the University of Toronto in October of 2008. Drawing from examples of major public works worldwide, prominent scholars and practitioners discuss how the recent emergence of landscape ecology is instigating a shift in the conventional engineering of infrastructure towards the integrated design and durability of regional systems of water, energy, transport, food and waste. The publication will achieve the following objectives: a) trace the historical relationship between landscape and infrastructure, b) elucidate the complexity of current ecological challenges and c) project global-regional economic shifts towards the reclamation of the discourse on infrastructure for the 21st century.

“Transforming Landscapes: Four generations of Established and Emerging Landscape Architecture Practices”
Alissa North, Assistant Professor, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto

Gathering and exhibiting the exemplary work of four generations of established and emerging Canadian landscape architects will be an opportunity to publicly honour the 40 years of teaching that retiring University of Toronto Professor Ed Fife, FCSLA has had on the profession. Through a two week exhibit and one day symposium to be held at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, 230 College Street, U.of T. students, professionals and the public will be invited to view an exhibit that celebrates generations of Canadian landscape architects. LACF funding will assist with the collection, printing and mounting of the exhibit such that it could become a travelling or permanent exhibit for future generations of landscape architects. Student Grant

“Climate Change Mitigation Strategies”
Hope Gunn, Master’s Candidate in Landscape Architecture, University of Manitoba

The purpose of the proposed research is to assess the affects of sea level rise on the coastal landscapes of Prince Edward Island and to explore methods of adaptation through planning and design. The intent of the research is to provide communities of PEI with the information needed to increase their adaptive capacity and decrease their current vulnerability to sea level rise. The City of Summerside will be used as a case study to propose a method for assessing the vulnerability of individual properties, by combining the potential impact risk with the property’s adaptive capacity into a single index variable. The resulting maps can be used to influence future development and planning projects within the community.This research project will address the role landscape architects could have when planning future projects within areas vulnerable to sea level rise. Adaptation strategies which are often categorized by either, protection, accommodation or retreat techniques will be examined, and protocols for when each should be applied will be recommended.

Special 75th CSLA Anniversary Project 

“Landscapes and Landscape Architecture in Canada: An Illustrated History”
Ron Williams, FCSLA, FRAIC, Professor Emeritus, University of Montreal

LACF has funded the early research and more recently the finalization of the French and English versions of “Landscapes and Landscape Architecture in Canada: An Illustrated History”. The principal objective for this book is to provide the Canadian landscape architect and interested members of related professions as well as the public with a single-volume overview of the development of the “designed landscape” in Canada. There is a great wealth of published materials covering various aspects and periods within the field, but as of yet no book recounts in an orderly fashion the full range of projects, ideas and people that animate and have created the landscape architecture of Canada. The landscape has powerfully affected Canadian life and thought; this book will explore the art and science of modifying the natural landscape to accommodate the life of human beings, from the extensive but little-known interventions of the First Nations to the complex creations of the many cultural currents that characterize today’s Canada.

2008 Grants

Old Gas Stations, New Fuel for Environmental Awareness
Alexandre Man-Bourdon, Master’s Thesis in Landscape Architecture at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

This research project addressed the role landscape architects can play as interpreter of the process and function on sites that are undergoing bioremediation and brownfield clean-up. The creative abilities of landscape architects to engage the public and help to educate/inform the public of the negative impacts that our lifestyles have. The research sought to link, in residents, the abandoned and derelict sites within neighbourhoods with the day to day actions we participate in such as filling our cars with gas, garbage disposal, stormwater treatment, etc.


“Landscapes Infrastructures: Emerging Paradigms, practices and technologies re-shaping the contemporary landscape.”
Pierre Belanger, CSLA, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto

The main intent of this project is to organize an international symposium, to be held in the fall of 2008 on the emerging relationship between landscape and infrastructure. Drawing from examples of major public works worldwide, prominent scholars and practioners will be invited from around the globe to discuss how the recent emergence of landscape ecology is instigating a shift in the conventional engineering of infrastructure towards the integrated design and sustainability of urban infrastructures including water, energy, transport, food and waste systems. The symposium will: a) trace the historical relationship between landscape and infrastructure, b) elucidate present technological shifts and c) expose regional-global economic impacts to reveal contemporary practices and pedagogies, towards the reclamation of the discourse on urban infrastructure in the 21st century.


“International Garden Festival – Student Design Competition.”
Alexander Reford, Director, Jardins de Metis, Reford Gardens in Grand-Metis, Quebec.

The International Garden Festival is the leading venue for the public exhibition of contemporary gardens and landscapes in Canada. Fore the past eight years the Festival has provided over 100 professionals working in the fields of landscape architecture, architecture and visual arts in Canada and abroad with a unique opportunity to create avant-garde ephemeral gardens and exhibit them to the public at large.

The LACF funding will assist with a new endeavour for the International Garden Festival a student design competition for 2009, the 10th anniversary of the festival. Students enrolled in landscape architecture and environmental design programs at universities across Canada will be invited to participate through a design competition. Providing there is sufficient sponsorship one to three winning teams will be selected to prepare detailed plans and drawings and to participate in the construction of the garden (by a professional crew).

2007 Grants

“Cornelia Hahn Oberlander & the Art of the Possible”
Kathy Stinson, Researcher and Author

Funding contributed towards the research of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander & the Art of the Possible. This book when completed will be a narrative of Cornelia’s life, starting with her childhood in Germany and including the moment she articulated her life’s dream, at the age of eleven, to become a landscape architect. It will describe her escape from Germany as a teenager during the Holocaust, the pursuit of her dream at a time when Harvard was just beginning to accept women into their School of Design, and the work she has done since that has earned her the descriptor “Canada’s premier landscape architect”. A number of her projects will be used to illustrate her process and philosophies. Playgrounds and green roofs will receive special attention, as will the concepts of sustainable development and least intervention, and the extensive research and collaboration behind every project.


“Sustainability by Design: A Vision for A Region of 4 Million”
Patrick Condon, Design Centre for Sustainability, The University of British Columbia

LACF Funding contributed towards the printing of Sustainability by Design: A Vision for A Region of 4 Million. The book summarized the research findings generated by a collaborative, stakeholder-driven process for developing and testing sustainable design principles in “real world” sites and towards building awareness of and implementation capacity of sustainable development in communities throughout the Greater Vancouver region. The book is available across Canada, allowing the project results to reach a national audience. The book is a key tool for clearly articulating in the minds of citizens and decision-makers what a sustainable region should look like.

2006 Grants

Yvonne Cardoso, University of Guelph, Master’s Thesis
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To raise environmental awareness of Tommy Thompson Park among three target audiences through the use of landscape narratives. The audiences, being children and school groups and park users were included in the study. The results were presented to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) Board for use in future planning of the park.


LES VÉGÉTAUX COMME ÉLÉMENTS DU PAYSAGE SONORE :
Relations qualitatives entre conditions environnementales, morphologie et organisation
Edith Normandeau, Universite de Montreal, Maitrise en emenagement- Option Paysage
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The plants as soundscape (sound landscape) elements: qualitative relation
between environmental conditions, morphology and spatial organization of
plants in production of sound atmospheres at Montreal Botanical Garden. The research showed that the sounds produced by plants (e.g. fluttering in the wind) are more than banal phenomenon. They influence our conception and design process and permit a qualitative analysis of our environment.

A post occupancy evaluation of school ground naturalization projects
Tracy Penner, BLA, Environmental Landscape Design Consultant
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A post occupancy evaluation of school ground naturalization projects measured the viability and long-term success of these landscapes. The study found that where landscape architects had been involved in the design the longevity of the garden had a better chance for survival. One of the most important aspect for continued success of the garden as a learning environment is the long-term commitment by the school administration and staff. The results of this study have been shared with Evergreen Foundation who fund many school ground naturalization projects.

Canadian Professional Practice Manual
James Taylor, FCSLA, FASLA, Professor Emeritus, University of Guelph

Publication of a manual on Canadian Professional Practice that is available as a resource to students (university and college programmes in landscape architecture and landscape technology), practitioners and candidates for the LARE or other examination processes. The manual is available across Canada, a portion of the sales profit are returned to the LACF as ongoing funding.

2005 Grants

Ecological aesthetics: Nature and capital at the Niagara Escarpment’s Milton Quarry
Jennifer Foster, Ph.D. Environmental Studies at York University
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Jennifer’s work was an investigation of the interplay of different landscape visions and ideals by the participants involved in land use planning disputes for the Niagara Escarpment. The intent of her research was to chronicle the aesthetic sensibilities motivating different preferences for the landscape. The results have been disseminated to the Niagara Escarpment Commission and municipal governments.

2003 Grants

”Green Roof Policies: Tools for Encouraging Sustainable Design”
 Goya Ngan Landscape Architect, BCSLA

This report describes policy used in Germany to encourage the construction of green roofs. The underlying purpose of the report is to offer practical and attainable solutions for sustainable urban development. Specifically, it has assisted Canadian municipalities in incorporating green roofs into their official plans, policies and operating procedures.

Since green roof policy in Germany is widespread and varied, this report gives a general description of the different types of policy and focuses on four examples to demonstrate how the policies may be implemented. The thesis contained recommendations for Canadian policy makers who want to develop green roof policies.

2001 Grants

A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Therapeutic Gardens In Ontario Healthcare Settings
N.H. Perkins, Professor, University of Guelph

A series of Post Occupancy Evaluations (POE) were conducted at six hospitals in Southern Ontario and the results from these evaluations were disseminated in an international conference, an invited address at a healthcare conference and used to inform a follow-up study at the CAMH psychiatric facility in Toronto. Benefits of the POE’s and results continue to be used in research and design even today. A project utilizing the results has been implemented at the Community Mental Health Clinic in Fergus, Ontario. As well both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Guelph have been presented with the findings in an effort to increase and deepen their understanding of the special needs and requirements for therapeutic garden design. In 2005 a university wide seminar course was offered to students in other disciplines on Human Health and Natural Environments. Much of the information obtained from POE’s of Ontario hospitals was incorporated into the course material.


Placing a value on urban forests and alternative suburban landscapes
James McCarty, University of Guelph, MLA thesis
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LACF funding, as well as funding from other sources, was used to develop and test a system of determining the value of urban trees. CityGreen along with Geographic Information Systems software (ArcView) was employed to test the feasibility of placing a monetary and environmental value on urban trees. The results provided additional information that has since been used in other research studies.