Children's Museum and Tanner Fountain Take Top Design Awards

Business Wire, June 17, 2008

Projects Continue Boston's Landscape Architecture Legacy

WASHINGTON -- For over 100 years, Boston has built a rich legacy of designed landscapes recognized not only for their intrinsic artistry, but also for their stories and history. Harvard University's Tanner Fountain and The Boston Children's Museum Plaza continue that tradition by taking home two 2008 design awards in landscape architecture.

The modern Boston Children's Museum Plaza, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. won the American Society of Landscape Architects' (ASLA) Honor Award for General Design. Completed in 2007, the plaza promotes interactive learning and encourages children to explore each of its complex and alluring corners. An esteemed jury of landscape architects had this to say, "It is playful and daring without being silly and avoids the cliches of working with children's landscapes. A fantastic example of place making." The renovation of the boardwalk adjacent to the children's museum is a vestige of its industrial past into a positive and integral part of the overall visitor experience.

Tanner Fountain, completed in 1984 by Peter Walker, FASLA, and SWA Group, garnered one of ASLA's highest honors, The Landmark Award. While the Children's Museum is meant to excite and encourage discovery, Tanner Fountain - at almost 25 years of age - provides a respite from hectic Harvard studies and the bustle of Cambridge. "One of the first examples of a landscape architect creating public sculpture. It set a precedent for the profession and has stood the test of time remarkably well, retaining the full power of the original idea," said the awards jury. Recipients of the Landmark Award must be projects completed between 15 and 50 years ago, retain the original design integrity, and significantly contribute to the public realm of the community in which it is located.

An additional honor went to Boston's own, Harry Dodson, ASLA, who was nominated by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects to be inducted to the ASLA Council of Fellows. A champion of Smart Growth and New Urbanist ideals, he has developed plans for the revitalization of small towns and villages, as well as major metropolitan centers.

To see more ASLA 2008 award winners, visit www.asla.org.

About ASLA

Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 18,200 members in 48 professional chapters and 68 student chapters. The Society's mission is to lead, to educate, and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environments. Members of the Society use their "ASLA" suffix after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Learn more about landscape architecture online at www.asla.org.