The ASLA FL Design Awards Program encourages the advancement, expansion, and recognition of the Landscape Architecture profession by honoring projects that blend environmental and artistic principles that emphasize beauty, function, and sustainability.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

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The following categories recognize site-specific works as described. To enter, the official entrant must be an Associate, Full, or International ASLA member, or eligible to join ASLA in one of those categories. Professional entries in these categories must be built; Student entries are not required to be built:

Climate Action Impact: New Category!

Recognizes innovative student projects that address the goals of ASLA’s Climate Action Plan, tackling climate challenges such as sea level rise, biodiversity loss, rising temperatures and heat islands, carbon drawdown, disaster resilience, and climate justice. Submissions should demonstrate creative, actionable solutions through design, planning, research, or conceptual studies that promote equity, sustainability and community empowerment.

Recognizes efforts involving the wide range of professional planning and analysis activities that lead to and guide landscape architecture design.

• Criteria: Submissions will be evaluated on creative, forward-thinking design approaches that align with ASLA Climate Action goals, such as carbon drawdown, biodiversity conservation, and climate justice. Projects should demonstrate sustainability through resource efficiency, use of sustainable materials, and strategies for climate adaptation and resilience. The jury will also consider:
  • Community Engagement & Equity: Thoughtful incorporation of equitable outcomes and Indigenous knowledge systems.
  • Evidence-Based Design: Use of measurable impacts, scientific research, and climate data integration.
  • Innovation & Scalability: Forward-thinking solutions with potential for broader application.
  • Use of Policy & Design Integration: Consideration of policy frameworks and their application in climate solutions.
  • Typical entries include: Projects of all scales and typologies that address climate resilience and adaptation, such as parks, stormwater systems, urban greening, sustainable infrastructure, and conceptual explorations. The award welcomes diverse project types, encouraging students to present innovative strategies across various program typologies.

Carbon Accounting: Submissions incorporating carbon calculators (such as Sasaki’s Carbon Conscious tool or ASLA’s Pathfinder (free tool) are encouraged. Students may provide supporting graphics, screenshots, or explanatory narratives of their methodology.

General Design Awards Criteria:

The jury will consider the quality of design and execution; relationship to design context; environmental sensitivity and sustainability; relevant impact to the profession, public, and/or environment, and resilience strategies; and design value to the client, community, and to other designers.

Residential Design Awards Criteria:

The jury will consider the quality of design context and execution, materiality, environmental sensitivity, community benefit, sustainability through Low Impact Development (lid) incorporation, green infrastructure or additional site-specific techniques that are innovative, site specific and maintainable. Emphasis will be given to projects that have attained or are registered for SITES certification.

The following categories recognize either site-specific or non-site-specific works as described. Professional and Student entries are not required to be built or implemented.

Philanthropic:

Recognizes documents, projects, events or functions which contribute to a greater understanding of landscape architecture, which advances the profession, or which make a gift of services to enhance our culture, community and quality of life. Philanthropic entries can be and often are projects with minimal or no budget and will be judged accordingly.  Merely donating your services as a Landscape Architect is not sufficient to qualify in this category.

• • Criteria: Entries shall display a unique approach to spreading the vision and standards of the profession and shall include community involvement and/or direct service to the impacted community.
  • • Typical entries may include: Engaging in communities for placemaking processes, fundraising campaigns, and more.

Research and Communication:

Recognizes efforts involving investigation of landscape architecture-oriented topics and communication techniques contributing to an expanded body of knowledge. Projects that orient research that identifies and investigates challenges posed in landscape architecture, providing results that advance the body of knowledge for the profession, and achieve communicating landscape architecture works, techniques, technologies, history, or theory, and the lesson value to an intended audience. NOTE: Florida Registered Landscape Architects with a principal practice in another state may submit works; however, they must be executed in Florida or Puerto Rico. 

• • Criteria: The jury will consider projects that investigate research, studies, written works (published and unpublished), and innovative application of presentation methods or techniques (i.e. graphic techniques, digital media, and beyond). Student entries may include "Capstone” projects or graduate-level thesis work.
  • • Typical entries may include: Online communications - interactive & multimedia; print media, film, video, audio (i.e. podcasts); interpretive design; exhibition design; public awareness campaigns; investigations into methods, techniques, or materials related to landscape architecture practice; studies of relationships of landscape architecture to law, education, public health and safety, or public policy; and more. Student entries may include "Capstone” projects or graduate-level thesis work.

Planning and Analysis:

Recognizes efforts involving the wide range of professional planning and analysis activities that lead to and guide landscape architecture design.

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