Award of Excellence

SWA Group
Planning and Analysis

Lake Houston Wilderness Park is the City of Houston’s newest regional park, acquired in 2006 from the Texas Parks And Wildlife Department, which had acquired the land ten years earlier from Champion International Paper Company. The Park is distinctive in two significant ways. First, it is an urban park that is largely an undisturbed and forested wilderness. In the foreseeable future, the Park will be completely surrounded by Houston’s urban fabric. Second, the Park is extraordinary in it large size, comprising almost 5,000 acres. The vision for the Park is to preserve, promote and improve its ecology with minimal recreational development. The Master Plan is both a physical expression of that vision and a detailed strategy for managing and “up-lifting” the environmental health of the Park for generations to come. A key challenge is to make the Park economically self-sustaining. The Master Plan’s detailed strategy achieves this goal by using the ecological assets of the Park for beneficial mitigation programs that generate revenue to the Park’s stewardship.

J. Robert Anderson Landscape Architects
Design - Constructed - Public

Located on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX, the Redbud Center is an interpretive park designed for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and intended to educate the public about the history and role of water and the LCRA in Central Texas. Like the LCRA’s mission, this project in conception and execution is truly all about water. The park is built around LCRA’s new emergency operations building and features an interpretive water feature, a rainwater harvesting system, demonstration planting beds, and an extensive stormwater treatment system. The interpretive water feature models the six lakes and dams of the lower Colorado River, revealing the many functions and impacts of this complex system. Every component of the project was designed with the dual purpose of stewardship—conserving and protecting natural resources—and education—communicating the value and practice of good stewardship.

J. Robert Anderson Landscape Architects
Design - Constructed - Commercial

The Domain, a 57 acre multi-use, smart growth development in Austin, Texas, is the first phase of a 304 acre urban infill community planned on a former industrial site. Characterized by a winding streetscape lined with shops and enlivened by artwork, water features, majestic oak trees, and human activity, The Domain has become an urban landmark that creates a live-work-play experience and celebrates Austin’s eclectic culture, rich history, and eccentric character.

Jacobs
Dennis Jerke
Communications

Both the public and private sectors are recognizing that investing in high quality landscape architectural design is good for business and the community. This practical book describes how to employ the power of design to create and capture added value in the built environment. It examines the many opportunities for using urban design strategically to generate a Return on Perception® - the payoff in economic, environmental, social/cultural and visual benefits. Landscape Architecture is featured throughout.

The purpose for the book is to promote a holistic design-oriented approach to generate additional value – a “return on perception” – when improvements occur in the built environment. It is a guide for political leaders, agency staff, developers, real estate professionals, planning and design professionals, educators, students and community stakeholders that are focused on generating the greatest possible return for their communities.