Landscape Architecture Magazine

A Park’s Post-Fire Rebirth in Altadena

The Eaton Fire stalled earlier plans to upgrade Charles White Park, but now SALT Landscape Architects and Disney are among those reviving and expanding the vision.

Read the story on LAM Online. https://bit.ly/4fabi1V

Article by Patrick Sisson
Photos by SALT Landscape Architects
Aerial image © Google Earth

Landscape Architecture Magazine received a GOLD National Azbee Award for Design Excellence and an Honorable Mention for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE).

This recognition reflects the work of the entire LAM team and the landscape architects, firms, and communities whose projects and stories fill our pages each month.

Urban resilience that’s place-based and people-centered.

In Hoboken, New Jersey, ResilienCity Park demonstrates how resiliency parks can balance social and environmental sustainability to create healthy urban systems.

Designed by OLIN, the five-acre park stores up to two million gallons of stormwater while providing athletic fields, play spaces, native planting, and gathering spaces for the neighborhood.

“Infrastructure doesn’t need to be inhuman. You can have powerful infrastructure that can also be a great place.” — Richard Roark, FASLA

Read the story on LAM Online. https://bit.ly/4947POx

Article by Diana Budds
Photos by Iwan Baan and Sahar Coston-Hardy, Affiliate ASLA / Esto

Landscape architects at the National Park Service are facing staff cuts, stalled projects, shrinking budgets, and growing concern over the future of public lands.

Read the story on LAM Online: https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/the-year-of-doing-less-with-less

Article by Bradford McKee
Illustrations by Eduardo Luzzatti

MAY 2026: ROUGH CUTS

The cover story, written by Bradford McKee and illustrated by Eduardo Luzzatti, reports on deep staff and budget cuts that threaten the National Park Service's stewardship mission. Landscape architects across the agency are navigating stalled projects, shrinking resources, and growing challenges in protecting America’s public lands.

Also in the issue: OLIN’s ResilienCity Park reshapes Hoboken’s waterfront for resilience and connection; Botanica explores medicinal plants and cultural relationships in southeast Louisiana; and SCAPE associate Alyson Demskie shares a visual diary from the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. Plus outdoor goods for al fresco living, and more.

Big news for Landscape Architecture Magazine 🎉

LAM is a national finalist in the Azbee Awards of Excellence, earning recognition in:
• Publication Design
• Magazine of the Year

Magazine of the Year is one of the program’s top overall excellence honors, making this nomination especially meaningful.

Winners will be announced May 14.

LAM won three 2026 Mid-Atlantic Azbee Awards.

🥇 Publication Design (October 2025 issue)
🥇 Design of a Single Article — "The Lessons of Little Island" by MNLA, written by Elie Sechet
🥈 Best Individual Profile — "Elizabeth Kennedy's Quiet Revolution" by Sala Elise Patterson with photos by Sahar Coston-Hardy

Presented by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

In Richmond, the Brown's Island redevelopment orients a key civic space toward both downtown and the James River.

Led by Timmons Group and 3North, the plan restores views, reshapes circulation, and creates spaces for both everyday use and large-scale events.

Read the story on LAM Online. https://bit.ly/4msbA5R

Article by Kim O'Connell
Photo by Dave Parrish Photography
Images by 3North and Hugo Render

APRIL 2026: LOVE, ISLAND

On the cover: Brown’s Island in Richmond is reworked to expand connections between the James River and the city, creating a versatile public landscape by Timmons Group and 3North.

Also in the issue: How firms are weighing the risks and rewards of AI; Dan Barefoot’s path from practice to the 2026 Winter Olympics; and Lowell, Massachusetts, uses $9 million in federal funding across eight park projects. Plus plants and planters for spring, and more~

AI-generated images leave many landscape architects cold, but perhaps there are other ways to use them that can increase community engagement.

Aaron Thompson, ASLA, who used AI assists in the Diverse Corn Belt project workshops, thinks so.

Read the story on LAM Online. https://bit.ly/4bFszwr

Article by Aaron Thompson, ASLA
Image by Aaron Thompson using Midjourney

How AI design tools boost the role of community dialogue New text-to-graphic applications make public engagement a central factor in generating landscape architecture concepts.

Essence (Benzi) Studio reinterprets a brick wall to cultivate neighborhood connections.

At Fayuanli Courtyard, alternating brick patterns, glass blocks, and integrated LED lighting transform a once-solid enclosure into a glowing, permeable edge that draws people in while honoring the spatial rhythms of hutong life.

The adaptive reuse project balances preservation and innovation, using material detail and light to reveal cultural meaning and create a more welcoming street presence.

Read the story on LAM Online: https://bit.ly/4rShVZp

Article by Zach Mortice
Photos courtesy of Essence (Benzi) Studio