The American Society of Landscape Architects recently wrapped up its annual conference. New Orleans, its lush parks, as well as its unique mix of French, Spanish, Creole, and American architecture, provided the backdrop to show off our profession, share wisdom from established landscape architects (or as we like to call them, our new mentors), showcase new ideas from up-and-coming professionals, and bop to some truly amazing live music. While we had a blast exploring the city’s iconic neighborhoods, there’s more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street and beignets. Our feet may ache from all the walking, but our heads and hearts are buzzing with inspiration. Here are a few highlights from ASLA 2025.
- Appreciation for cultural landscapes: Cities are more than collections of buildings, streets, and parks. They reflect the experiences, values, and histories of the people who inhabit them, and the talents of those who design and build them. ASLA 2025 featured a variety of field trips and sessions, such as tours of Terrebonne Parish, Afton Villa Gardens, the Bayou Bienvenue, and others, designed to teach participants about New Orleans’s unique communities. These chances to immerse ourselves in the local area also provided examples of how landscape architects are helping to preserve and celebrate the city’s rich history. Thanks to them, we will never look at historic spaces and materials the same way again.
- Innovative materials and products: Speaking of materials, we’re always on the lookout for the latest goodies to bring our projects to life. From playground equipment that resembled giant wooden orbs and cutting-edge soft surfaces that remind us of bubble wrap, to accessible, safe, public restrooms, and more—the vendors in the Expo offered a bevy of exciting new products that we can’t wait to try in our own designs. The swag was pretty great, too. Shout out to Green Theory for the beautiful, functional tote bags we’re already using to haul our stuff around.
- Solidarity with Indigenous communities: For millennia, Indigenous communities have stewarded the lands that we, in turn, care for as landscape architects. For that, we owe them a ton of gratitude. ASLA really embraced a commitment to amplifying the voices of Indigenous communities that went beyond simple land acknowledgments (although it did include them). This year’s conference expanded partnerships with Indigenous communities announced at ASLA 2024. ASLA’s affinity group, the Indigenous Design Collective, held the first Indigenous youth workshop and hosted multiple educational sessions, a discussion forum, and an Indigenous gathering. ASLA further demonstrated its commitment to supporting Indigenous landscape architects and communities by adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- A commitment to climate adaptation and protection: As landscape architects, the land is our canvas, and nature provides our (metaphorical) brushes. This makes us uniquely suited to protecting our essential (and shared!) natural resources. From ASLA’s new Climate Action and Biodiversity plan to student projects designed to address urban heat islands, to field trips that highlighted wetlands restoration efforts, and beyond, landscape designers at ASLA 2025 showed up to show off their amazing efforts to address the consequences of climate change, and we loved to see it!
- The sounds of New Orleans (and us!): There’s no better way to greet visitors to New Orleans than a jazz band in Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. We were grateful to the band for entertaining us as we braved a sea of people waiting for cabs and ride-shares. We loved adding another musician to our “inspo playlist”–award-winning musician Cody Blackbird, who provided a soundtrack to many events throughout the weekend, including ASLA’s professional and student awards ceremony. Not to blow our own horn—ha!— but the Land 8 party at The Maison featured an incredible local band who rocked the house with their covers of Fugees and Amy Winehouse songs. Thank you SO much, we look forward to seeing you collect a Grammy, one day. Beyond that, we loved hearing everything on the minds of our peers, including overviews of their work, advice for emerging professionals (us again!), and the sounds of everyone celebrating one another’s accomplishments.
- The next generation of landscape professionals: Whether presenting bold ideas at the Game Changers series, strutting across stage to accept national awards, or helping out behind the scenes, students and early-career (EP) landscape architects showed up big at ASLA 2025. We were excited to see new faces pushing boundaries, asking great questions, and shaping the profession! If you missed it, go back and watch the Game Changers talks, which would have inspired us to become landscape architects if we weren’t already. Also, check out the Student and EP award winners. And next year? Get ready; ASLA 2026 in Los Angeles is likely to be another level. Don’t forget to pack comfy shoes!
Did you attend ASLA 2025? Share with us your “list of six” and what you’d like to see at ASLA 2026.
Published in Blog, Cover Story, Events, Featured
