Land8 will be there….will you?
It is getting close to that time of the year again when landscape architecture students from across the globe throw down their pencils and eraser shields (do students even know what these are any more?), in complete disregard for the huge deadline looming over their heads, and come together to celebrate their love/hate relationship with this fantastically misunderstood profession! This year the students of Purdue University will have the honors of hosting this special conference which has been passed from school to school since 1970.
What is in store in 2011:
The focus of LABash 2011 will be celebrating cultural landscapes and landscape architecture worldwide. They have a great program lined up which will include lectures and demonstrations from twenty professionals, a design charrette, and tours of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Samara House. Key note speakers include Patrick Dougherty, the world renowned landscape artist best know for his woven willow sculptures; David Rubin, a partner at the award winning OLIN Studio; and Mark Dawson a principal at Sasaki Associates and currently the director of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
This year Land8 will once again have a booth at the LABash Expo as well as be involved in Friday night social event. Plus, this year we are hoping to stream some parts of the conference on Land8. We can’t wait to see you all there, make sure to stop by our booth and say hi!
For those of you who haven’t registered yet, you can do so here: http://www.purduelabash.com/home.php
Also, make sure to check out their Event Page on Land8 Lounge and become a member of their Group for the latest updates.
A little bit of history:
I thought it might be nice for those who have never heard of LABash or have just recently been made aware of its awesomeness to give a little bit of the history of this event. As the lore goes…LABash originated back in 1970 at the University of Guelph (well, more accurately in the middle of some field in the vicinity of the university). As could be deduced from the name, LABash started out as exactly that, a “Bash” for landscape architects. Now, I have heard several stories about what sparked this creation of this event. Some say it was started as a rebellion against the ASLA, others have told me that it was started as a rebellion against the University, and finally, I have heard that the Guelph students were just bored, and thought it would be fun to invite a bunch of other landscape architecture students to come drink some kegs with them in a field. Regardless of motive, I think it is important to remember that LABash was started as an event organized by landscape architecture students (voluntarily), for landscape architecture students.
This party was then solidified into tradition in the spring of 1971 when the students of Louisiana State University hosted the 2nd annual LABash. From there it has been passed from school to school evolving a little each year. At some point in its infancy the students decided that it might be a good idea to have speaker come give a lecture. And by the 2000’s it had evolved into a full fledged conference with lectures, workshops, expos, social events, opening and closing ceremonies, tours, and even a LABash King and Queen! Although it has definitely changed in shape and size, LABash continues to be an event planned by student for students…and do not let the formalities fool you, it still holds the reputation of being one of the best parties around!
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