LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Whether you’ve been trying to meet the demands of the planting season, the end of the fiscal year, or the final requirements of your master’s thesis, chances are you’ve been burning the candle at both ends these past few months. In this issue, we’re proud to highlight some of our members’ recent hard work. In tribute to the many accomplishments of his students, Assistant Professor Anthony Fettes writes about the most recent cohort of talented graduates coming out of UNM’s Masters of Landscape Architecture program as well as additional honors and achievements within the department. Courtney McKelvey, Design Leader and Principal Landscape Architect at Dekker Perich Sabatini, shares the rewards of balancing the demands of multiple project types. And in tribute to a distinguished landscape architect who has been putting her heart into the field of landscape architecture for decades, an article about New Mexico’s most recent landscape architect to be selected for elevation to ASLA’s Council of Fellows, Faith Okuma. Congratulations, Faith!

As usual, the NMASLA executive committee is busy cooking up some exciting events in the coming months. These are great ways to connect with other students and professionals in the community and earn continuing education credits.

On July 26th, we will be leading a tour of the Tijeras Creek Cultural Corridor. Watch for upcoming email blasts with additional details.

On August 30th we will be holding our annual golf tournament. This year we’re mixing it up and holding the tournament at Top Golf in Albuquerque. An important fundraiser for NMASLA, we hope this year’s relaxed and fun venue will encourage high participation as we work to raise the funds needed to hire a lobbyist to assist in the defense of New Mexico’s landscape architecture licensure act. Without any action, the act will sunset in 2025.

Before we know it, temperatures will be dropping, and it will be time to meet UNM’s newest class of landscape architecture students at NMASLA’s annual Student Professional Mixer in September. Please plan to join us and consider offering your guidance and leadership as a mentor for the 2024/2025 school year. Also stay tuned for information about another opportunity for continuing education credits at an event in Santa Fe this fall. In the meantime, despite the pressures of the season, I hope you are managing to find time to escape the heat and take advantage of the many beautiful (and cool) high elevation landscapes New Mexico has to offer.

Earlier this month, Judith Phillips, long-time New Mexico landscape designer and writer, celebrated her recent book, The Gardens of Los Poblanos at an event at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm. Published by University of New Mexico Press, the book “recounts the history of these world-renowned gardens and demonstrates the ways in which the farm’s owners, designers, and gardeners have influenced the evolution of this unique landscape.”  The book is available locally for purchase at Los Poblanos and Bookworks.

Kristina Werenko, PLA, ASLA

For the second year in a row, New Mexico has a new ASLA Fellow.  It was announced last month that Faith Okuma, Principal in Charge at Surroundings Studio in Santa Fe, is a member of the 2024 Class of ASLA Fellows, based upon her lifetime of landscape architectural work.

Faith Okuma’s passion for gaining a deep understanding of place and the uniqueness of every site resulted in works that are intrinsically tied to the living world in which they exist. Her work has been quietly reshaping the landscape ethic and development of Northern New Mexico for 40 years. Through a deeply collaborative process with her teams, clients, and communities, Faith has instituted new standards of design and planning that honor the rich legacy of New Mexico and the Southwest, and evolve toward a future of changing climate and environmental resiliency.

Growing up in the arid Southwest, Faith’s life has influenced her approach to landscape architecture and land planning. The daunting beauty of the West fostered in her a life-long-interest in water and resource conservation. As a teen, she learned about plants and landscape design while helping in her family’s Glendale, Arizona retail nursery. In 1978, She moved to Santa Fe and was hired by Craig Campbell, FASLA. She was inspired to learn about then nascent sustainable concepts such as permaculture, constructed wetlands, water harvesting, and bio-engineering.

Here are a few of her notable projects:

POLMOOD FARM - A seminal project inspired by her background, Polmood Farm is an historic property once owned by Bishop Lamy. The final design uniquely responded to the site and seamlessly integrated water harvesting improvements and wild landscape zones.

SADDLEBACK RANCH - Saddleback Ranch is situated southwest of Santa Fe on 4000-acres of scrub grasslands. The previous landscape design was based on New Mexican traditional walled gardens. The owner and the architect re-envisioned a remarkable modernist residence which opens to the incredible 360-degree views of the grasslands landscape.

CATALINA FOOTHILLS - Catalina Foothills is a residence located in the foothills north of Tucson, Arizona. The owners and their architect wanted the design of this family compound to emulate the traditional house forms and vibrant colors found in the Barrio Analco, the oldest historic district in Tucson.

SANTA FE RAILYARD MASTER PLAN - In 2000, her team was selected to create a master plan for redevelopment of the historic fifty-acre railyards property just south of downtown Santa Fe. The master planning and redevelopment of the Santa Fe Railyards highlighted her ability to bring community together to create ground-breaking change.

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABS - Hired in 1985 while with COPA, the ongoing process explored the possibility of landscape development and management for the first time in LANL’s history.

Faith Okuma’s small stature belies her outsized role as a fierce champion of sustainability and resource conservation in landscape architecture in New Mexico and the Southwest. Over decades, her exemplary projects have garnered local, regional, and national awards, showcasing her commitment to integrating water harvesting as a seamless part of her designs; promoting native/drought tolerant plant palettes; and designing community planning projects with a sensitivity to the land. As an advocate, she has advanced these landscape architectural values through her lectures, mentoring of emerging professionals, service on award juries, and role as an expert panelist.

Hello from the UNM Landscape Architecture Program! It’s been a while since we’ve given an update on the program in the NM ASLA newsletter, so there is a lot to catch up on from this past year.

In early May, the 2023-2024 academic year concluded with a reception in the Rainosek Gallery at George Pearl Hall featuring the final projects from the MLA Master’s students, with gallery-style reviews for the first and second-year students the following week. A HUGE thank you to all who served on the thesis committees and participated in reviews this past year, in addition to those of you that contributed to the program through teaching and workshops. The Landscape Architecture program is incredibly grateful for your professional feedback and support!

Congratulations to the 2024 Graduates! - This year we had a graduating cohort of 10 amazing students and would like to recognize Cecily Andersen, Farzin Baik, Jonathon Cunningham, Daniel Lovato, Thea Swift, Viktorija Kristupatis, Abigail (Abby) Kuchar, Amir Maroof, Louise Bani Sarcar, and Maggie Schniderman. As the profession and our challenges continue to evolve in complexity, all the students demonstrated truly elevated work, and congratulations to everyone. Also, we are all extremely pleased to hear that everyone who is staying in New Mexico has found employment in the profession or allied fields.

For subsequent newsletters we will call upon select graduates to share more about their research and final projects.

Fall Competiton Studio Recognition - This past Fall semester the students in the graduating cohort also participated in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Architecture LA+ design ideas competition LA+ EXOTIQUE, asking entrants to design the forecourt of the Museum of Natural History in Paris. In this competition, two UNM MLA student entries received honorable mentions: Farzin Baik for his submission Ginkonomy, and Louise Bani Sarcar for her submission Allée of Darkness. Kudos to fabulous instructor Kate Boles and all participants of the studio. Be sure to check out the completion and the winners in the LA+ website links above.

Thea Swift Nominated for the LAF Olmsted Scholars Program -This year the core LA Department faculty was proud to nominate Thea Swift for the 2024 LAF Olmsted Scholars Program. Thea is one of 52 exceptional graduate students who were nominated this year for being a highly engaged student leader and passion for work focused on social and environmental justice. This dedication was evident in her final Master’s project and collaborative work with the Arid LID Coalition. Congratulations Thea and all the best in your professional career!

UNM Student ASLA x Arid LID Coalition Lunch + Learns - This spring the UNM Student ASLA chapter collaborated with the Arid LID Coalition to host a series of three Lunch + Learn events. These events included three incredible lectures from:

·       Aaron Kauffman from Southwest Urban Hydrology (on 2/21) introduced concerns related to urban development on watershed functions and how Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) can address those concerns.

·       Reese Baker, Ph. Student from The RainCatcher Inc. (on 3/20) presented his work on the potential use of fungi in GSI stormwater structures to break down petroleum and microplastics.

·       John Peña, PE from NV5 (on 4/17) spoke about the collaboration between architects, landscape architects, planners, and civil engineers.

A tremendous shout out to the speakers and the UNM Student ASLA leadership committee for coordinating these highly informative lectures. For students, this series highlighted the importance of connecting with and learning from others beyond the profession as we work toward increasing the multifunctionality of or work to address climate and environmental challenges. With additional speakers in the pipeline, the Student ASLA Chapter hopes to continue this lecture series in the 2024-2025 school year, and we will keep NM ASLA posted on future events.

2024 Jeff Harnar Awards - In April the SA+P hosted the 16th Jeff Harnar Awards Lecture and Ceremony. With the continued generous support from the Thornburg Foundation, we had a successful awards night featuring a keynote lecture by Benjamin Gilmartin, Partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. In the Student Landscape Architecture Award category, we would like to recognize Jeff Coons from UNM for his winning submission – Starscape: Preserving & Appreciating Darks Skies in New Mexico. If you would like to know more about the other winners, please be sure to check out the 2024 Jeff Harnar Awards announcement.

Later this year we will feature a follow up story with one of this year’s jurors, Claudia Meyer Horn from Design Office, and share some key takeaways in anticipation for the 2025 awards.

Follow Us | While we will post more in the NM ASLA Newsletters in the coming year, the Landscape Architecture Department and UNM School of Architecture + Planning posts regularly on Instagram @ landscape_arch_unm & @unmsaap.

Don’t have Instagram? You can still use the links below to access the pages on the web:

https://www.instagram.com/landscape_arch_unm/

https://www.instagram.com/unmsaap/

JULY 26, 2024 - NMASLA Tijeras Cultural Corridor Tour, Albuquerque

AUGUST 30, 2024 - Q3 Event at TOPGOLF, Albuquerque

OCTOBER 6-9, 2024 - ASLA National Conference, Washington, D.C