Tiffany DiasTwo Cal Poly landscape architecture graduates received a $1,000 prize after winning the 2005 national Wayne Grace Memorial Student Design competition.
Kathryn Hergenrather and Joshua Circle-Woodburn presented examples of how “landscape architecture and licensing affect life,” according to a news release issued by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
The competition was sponsored by the Landscape Architectural Registration Boards Foundation, which is in its sixth year. Any students enrolled in the landscape architecture program may participate. This year, four students were awarded for their landscape design entries, which covered a variety of public health and welfare issues that are not commonly acknowledged or understood by the public and legislators.
The four winning projects illustrated how other landscape architects could apply their specialized knowledge and skills to develop design solutions addressing important social problems and protecting the environment. The winning projects also addressed social and ethical issues regarding state licensing for landscape architects.
Margarita Hill, landscape architecture department head, was pleased to hear that two former students had won a national competition.
“That’s a very big honor to us,” Hill said. “We’re proud that both of their approaches showcased sustainability design practices, considering that’s not the competition’s focus.”
Hergenrather and Circle-Woodburn, who both graduated last June, submitted their entries before the competition’s May deadline. They were announced as winners in September. Hergenrather, a San Luis Obispo native, suggested a revamp of the university’s current equine facilities and offered plans to build “a more efficient, environmentally responsible and enjoyable” facility.
Hergenrather’s design, “A Sustainable Redesign of the Cal Poly Equine Center,” also focused on “improving drainage,” “enhancing public access,” “improving student and public exposure” and “improving facility public exposure and use,” she said in an e-mail.
Circle-Woodburn, originally from Kula, Hawaii, designed his project called “Lokahi, A Culturally Centered Sustainable Resort,” to blend Hawaiian cultural elements for design with modern applications for environmental sustainability, and promoted the use of solar activity.
“Basically, I tried to design a sustainable resort that would be a place where people could learn about Hawaiian culture while using materials to support sustainability,” he explained. He added that the design “prevented environmental disturbances to the site with the use of several eco-friendly type lodges.”