public park
Jennie Dean Park
Arlington, Virginia
Potomac ASLA President’s Award, 2023
The park has been an important part of the Nauck community, a historically African American neighborhood, for over 70 years. Until Arlington Parks were officially desegregated in 1962, the park was noted as the “sole recreation area for colored citizens” within Arlington County. Both the park’s masterplan and built design went through a rigorous public engagement process. Community groups were integral to the development of the timeline and historic references on site.
Jennie Dean Park contains two lighted baseball and softball fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, a large group picnic area, a playground, a restroom facility, new parking area, seating and casual use open spaces, a stream corridor, numerous mature trees, and interpretive elements throughout. The renovation of the park carefully reoriented the ballfields to improve access, safety and lighting impact on the neighbors. The new fields incorporate pennants of the African American teams who played in the park until desegregation. A site-specific art piece is inspired by the mill that stood in this location in the early 1700’s and the park’s rich recreational history. Curved bioretention basins weave through the site’s main pathways, bringing planting interest to the heart of the active use zone.
office plaza
7500 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, Maryland
Renovation of a Class A office building in the heart of downtown Bethesda. In addition to interior renovations, the building façade received upgrades and the main entrance and lobby was extended and transformed. A new plane of paving at the front entry plaza provides a strong foundation for the building, with a sculptural organic planter defining new spaces. The curved seating transitions seamlessly between different uses and enhances the flow of circulation as people are directed smoothly toward the newly renovated building entry. The organic shapes create balance between the strong geometries on either side of the plaza space and maintain interest in a neighborhood full of public art.
education
The Historic Douglass High School Education
and Development Campus
Leesburg, Virginia
Maryland ASLA Honor Award in Institutional Design, 2024
The Douglass School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was Loudoun County’s first and only high school for Black students from its opening in 1941 until the end of segregation in 1968. The award-winning building renovation maintained the site’s joint use with the County’s School District and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services. PRCS hosts indoor and outdoor programs with a community center, open gym times, a playground and picnic area, outdoor recreation, preschool and day camp programs, and numerous community events. The 12.5 acre site is also home to large and heavily attended community festivals on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day and on Juneteenth, as well as at other times.
Working closely with a highly involved community coalition, commemorative spaces were created at the building’s front entrance, and along a Heritage Walk toward a new amphitheater space. Interpretive elements were located throughout the property, unifying the site while honoring its legacy.
AMENITY TERRACE AND GREEN ROOF
1201 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC
The renovation of an SOM designed office building, including the largest private outdoor terrace on Pennsylvania Avenue. The fully renovated rooftop, offering panoramic views of the Capitol Building and Washington Monument, provides social spaces for intimate private gatherings and formal functions. The terrace includes a custom-built bar area, artisanal privacy screens, and a variety of seating opportunities. Green roof plantings are integrated throughout the terrace, improving the building’s stormwater capacity.
public park
Jennie Dean Park
Arlington, Virginia
Potomac ASLA President’s Award, 2023
The park has been an important part of the Nauck community, a historically African American neighborhood, for over 70 years. Until Arlington Parks were officially desegregated in 1962, the park was noted as the “sole recreation area for colored citizens” within Arlington County. Both the park’s masterplan and built design went through a rigorous public engagement process. Community groups were integral to the development of the timeline and historic references on site.
Jennie Dean Park contains two lighted baseball and softball fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, a large group picnic area, a playground, a restroom facility, new parking area, seating and casual use open spaces, a stream corridor, numerous mature trees, and interpretive elements throughout. The renovation of the park carefully reoriented the ballfields to improve access, safety and lighting impact on the neighbors. The new fields incorporate pennants of the African American teams who played in the park until desegregation. A site-specific art piece is inspired by the mill that stood in this location in the early 1700’s and the park’s rich recreational history. Curved bioretention basins weave through the site’s main pathways, bringing planting interest to the heart of the active use zone.
PUBLIC PARK
Orange County Great Park, South Lawn
Orange County, California
ENR Best Green Project of Southern California, 2014
California Park and Recreation Society Award of Excellence, 2013
American Public Works Association Project of the Year, 2013
A 30-acre development of the Orange County Great Park, comprised of four new soccer fields, a new Visitor Center facility, development of the Great Park Timeline, and other plaza, pathway, and green spaces for gathering and recreation. An intricately connected series of large ponds capture stormwater from across the site, store it and allow it to be used for irrigation throughout the parcel. Two other amenity ponds allow park users to interact more closely with the water, and provide a dramatic entrance at the park’s current edge. Great care was taken not to disturb the ongoing remediation of this Superfund site.
PARK MASTERPLAN
Walker Mill Regional Park
Prince George’s County, Maryland
Maryland ASLA Merit Award, 2023
A Master Development Plan for the northern portion of the Walker Mill Regional Park, which comprises 240 acres of the 500 acrepark. This is the only regional park of its size inside the Beltway. Centered around a historically recognized 18thcentury plantation, the site also holds large tracts of forested areas, unique agricultural soils, and an extensive network of streams and wetlands. The proposed plan for the site includes an extensive community agriculture and garden program, interpretive elements connecting the site’s past to the community’s present, arts and events spaces, and preserved conservation land.
RESIDENTIAL CAMPUS
Erickson Senior Living, Lantern Hill Campus
New Providence, New Jersey
A seven-building addition on an existing senior living campus. The expansion includes 554 independent living units and 108 continuing care units on a steeply graded 24.62 acre site. The community also features restaurants, health and fitness facilities, and group meeting spaces for a variety of activities. Outdoor enjoyment is provided through multiple terrace amenity spaces as well as a planned outdoor amphitheater space for community events. Carefully graded trails provide connection around and through the site with frequent places for the restful enjoyment of nature. A large dry pond and wetlands are accessible with overlooks on the north side of the site, and existing large trees are preserved at the site’s perimeter.
Transportation
Monterey Salinas Transit “Jazz!” Bus Rapid Transit
Monterey, California
MST’s “Fall in Love with JAZZ” television commercial won the American Public Transportation Association’s first place AdWheel award for best public transportation television commercial nationwide competing against transit systems with more than four million to fewer than 20 million passengers per year, 2013
A new rapid transit line connecting key commuter and tourist destinations in three neighboring cities. Developed as a year-round linear jazz museum that features dramatic jazz themed displays and interactive downloads at 30 new custom-designed shelters along the route. The project included the design of custom shelters and unique paving, in addition to curb and sidewalk improvements, at all stops.