STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION

The 2025 Texas ASLA Annual Conference will be held in Houston, Texas at the George R. Brown Convention Center on April 23-25, 2025. Winning entries will be displayed during the conference. 

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, undergraduate students may only submit projects completed during or after the student’s second design year. Graduate students may submit at any point in their enrollment.  Students who graduated in 2024 will be allowed to submit in the 2025 student awards.  Undergraduate and graduate student entries will be judged separately. Each entrant will need to check the appropriate box indicating his or her status on the online entry form.

Entrants who have graduated will select their status based on when the project was completed. (i.e., Senior capstone projects will be considered “undergraduate.”) An entrant must provide proof of registration as a student during the 2024-2025 academic year (i.e., a copy of a student identification card or a certification from NationalStudentclearinghouse.org). If not a current student, please provide proof on enrollment in the 2022-2023 academic year. Student entries may be individual or team efforts. All participants must be a National Student ASLA member or an associate ASLA member in good standing.

APPLICATION

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SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Complete the online submission application

DESIGN ESSAY: A brief one page essay in English (300 words maximum, pdf format), describing the most important concepts of the project. Please relate the narrative back to the chosen project category and the category’s requirements. Include a Project Statement to describe the project and why it’s award-worthy. This statement may be used in promotional materials if the project is selected for an award.

PRESENTATION FORMAT: A compilation of images of the design (such as sections, plans and perspectives) should be submitted as one document in pdf format, with a maximum of eight pages. The pdf must be 11x17. In addition to the pdf, three high resolution images (300 dpi or greater) must be submitted. These will be used in the Awards Book and Awards Ceremony Presentation, so simplicity and minimal wording is preferred. Any other presentation format will be disqualified.

 

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AWARDS CATEGORIES

There are five categories under which an entry may be submitted. An Entrant may submit multiple projects; however, an entrant cannot submit the same project to multiple categories.  There are five categories under which an entry may be submitted. Students may submit multiple projects; however, a student cannot submit the same project to multiple categories. Awards entries are not required to be built. Materials in the submission must not reveal the names of the students, schools or photographer

 All entries (except for those in the Research category) will be evaluated on the following standard criteria:

• Quality of Design
• Quality of Context
• Quality of Narrative
• Quality of Images
• Quality of Presentation
• Environmental Sensitivity and Sustainability

In addition to the above, all categories include specific evaluation criteria, defined below

GENERAL DESIGN

Recognizes: Site specific works of Landscape Architecture or Urban Design. Student Awards entries in this category are not required to be built.

Typical Entries Include: Single-site public, institutional, or private landscapes of all kinds (except entries qualifying for urban design or residential design categories); projects that include historic preservation, reclamation, or conservation; green roofs, stormwater management, sustainable design; design for transportation or infrastructure; landscape art or installation; interior landscape design; and more.

Criteria:  In addition to the standard criteria, the jury will consider the justification for design decisions and application of the design process.

URBAN DESIGN

Recognizes: projects that activate networks of spaces that mediate between social equity, economic viability, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, and beautiful place-making in the public and private realm. Entries in this category are not required to be built or implemented. 

Typical entries include: conceptualized urban projects spatially greater than one block in the realm of public, institutional, or private landscapes; streetscapes, waterfronts, mixed-use developments, neighborhoods, districts, cities, placemaking interventions and civic improvements that may include elements of reclamation, storm water management, transportation or infrastructure studies, art, and more.

Criteria: In addition to the standard criteria, the jury will consider the contribution of the design to creating a healthy, equitable environment, and the relation of the project to the wider urban context.

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN

Recognizes: Site specific works of Landscape Architecture for residential use. Student Awards entries in this category are not required to be built.

Typical Entries Include: Sustainable landscape applications, new construction or renovation projects; historical preservation, affordable landscape concepts for single or multi-family residential projects; activity areas for cooking, entertaining, recreation, and relaxing for residential users, and more.

Criteria: In addition to the standard criteria, the jury will consider the appropriateness of the design for the residential context, and the design’s consideration for its users.

ANALYSIS AND PLANNING

Recognizes: The wide variety of professional activities that lead to, guide, and evaluate Landscape Architecture design. Student entries in this category are not required to be built or implemented.

Typical Entries Include: urban, suburban, rural, or regional planning efforts; development guidelines; transportation, town, or campus planning; plans for reclamation of brownfield sites; environmental planning in relation to legislative or policy initiatives or regulatory controls; cultural resource reports; natural resources protection; historic preservation planning; and more.

Criteria: In addition to the standard criteria, the jury will consider the quality of the analysis and planning effort and likelihood of successful implementation.

RESEARCH