Honor Awards

Jacobs
Planning and Analysis

The City of Dallas is leading the way in Texas on planning and implementing a jurisdiction-wide trail network. To accomplish this, the Park and Recreation Department commissioned the landscape architect to team up with city staff on such a visionary plan. Based upon citizen input received during the development of the Park Department’s Long Range Development Plan, A Renaissance Plan, trail development was among the highest priorities expressed. To fulfill the vision to become a premier park system, the Renaissance Plan recommended that one of the city’s “big moves” be the implementation of a regional trail network throughout Dallas. The Dallas Trail Network Plan identifies existing and funded trail corridors within the City, and sets a visionary plan for the development of a vast network of trail linkages. As active projects occur throughout the city, this Plan will guide strategic trail developments in neighborhoods, mixed-use districts, and the extended metropolitan area.

Mesa
Planning and Analysis

Erwin Park is destined to be a celebrated park and landscape in the City of McKinney. Its legacy of pristine Blackland Prairie, family agriculture, and restored prairie is a unique story of man’s relationship with the environment. As the suburbs of North Texas continue to develop, this legacy will be harder to comprehend. Rooted in a thorough natural system's and cultural assessment combined with public process, the Master Plan balances citizen's want of recreation within a restored prairie habitat. A Nature Area, Nature Center, and Nature Preserve each provide a different program and experience for visitors. Farming terraces are preserved and integrated into a cultural / natural interpretive program. The plan removes several miles of park road, restores habitat diversity, and ensures the integrity of visitor experience. A visit to this nature park will surely influence the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts and stewards of the natural environment.

SWA Group
Design - Constructed - Commercial

The Four Seasons Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Houston’s business and convention districts serves as a full service guest hotel and also includes luxury private residences. The property features an on-structure pool terrace that has unfortunately become degraded with age. For the terrace renovation the landscape architect was challenged to meet three goals by creating, first, a completely new and fresh approach to the entire on-structure pool deck area while utilizing the existing pool location; second, boundaries that distinguish between public recreation areas and the poolside guest rooms that open on to the terrace; and third, an active and inviting destination full of amenities that guests and residents can enjoy year-round.

Hocker Design Group
Design - Constructed - Residential

This landscape is a great example of harmonious design of house and site. The house is slid into a native limestone escarpment, on a hill high above a vast lake and thousands of acres of protected wildlife habitat. The house is sited for maximum views and minimum tree loss. The resulting synthesis is a project that feels as if it has been built for years.

Mesa
Design - Unrealized - Commercial

Sofitel is a business class resort hotel different from the often fantastically ornate projects built in the Middle East. This project’s concept and forms are derived from the region’s natural environment rather than from traditional manmade forms found in Islamic culture. Because the site is in a transition zone between the Hajar Mountains and the dunes and tidal flats of the Arabian Sea, analysis and planning efforts focused on water related issues including runoff, reclamation, gray water use, and groundwater recharge. The Client committed to an extensive green roof, native and adapted plants, water reclamation, irrigation using gray water, permeable pavement, mass transit service from the airport, and other sustainable measures.

Coleman & Associates
Design - Constructed - Commercial

This 160 acre shopping center located in southeast Austin has successfully met its goal to fulfill this historically underserved sector of the city with a pedestrian oriented and environmentally conscious destination place for families to gather and enjoy. This site was previously the home to Wille Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic. As a tribute to this heritage, the heart of Southpark Meadows – “The Grove” – is a public plaza with a music stage, large playscape, and water features nestled among a mature stand of Live Oaks. This project recently won the Gold Leaf Award as awarded by the Texas Forestry Service and has achieved a 2-Star Green Building Program rating for its innovative water conservation techniques which was achieved with a 3 acre irrigation pond serving the irrigation needs for the project.

TBG Partners
Design - Constructed - Commercial

A public/private endeavor providing the only public access to Lake Ray Hubbard, The Harbor is an elegant mixed-use development in rapidly expanding Rockwall. The Harbor combines retail and entertainment offerings with active water amenities and intimate gardens to create a unique shopping and recreation experience. Merging Mediterranean and nautical elements, The Harbor’s design articulates a cohesive site character while demarcating two distinct tiers of site circulation. The design also highlights the development’s relationship with the lake, juxtaposing man-made materials with more natural features seamlessly integrating the built environment with the lake edge.

Jacobs
Communications

The awards book was produced in conjunction with the planning of the 2008 Texas ASLA Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The landscape architect’s firm set forth to create a document that not only highlighted these award-winning projects, but to set a standard for the Chapter’s published material. This material will be used to help promote the profession to the general public, prospective professionals, and potential clients. This book has been distributed to more than 600 individual at various events to help promote the profession of Landscape Architecture.