Landscape Architect Articles

CT ASLA Chapter Announces 2026 Landscape Architecture Awards02-20-26 | Association News

CT ASLA Chapter Announces 2026 Landscape Architecture Awards

Twenty Awards Given
by Keziah Olsen, LASN

Devore Associates (Fairfield, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Hillside Residence (Greenwich, CT). Twin Lotus gardens frame the invisible edge pool.

Towers|Golde LLC (New Haven, CT) - LANDMARK LEGACY AWARD for Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Healing Garden at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven (New Haven, CT). The generous meandering path slowly reveals individual garden elements. (Photo: Anton Grassl/Esto)

HLW (Stamford, CT) and PVEDI (Hartford, CT) - HONOR AWARD for Charter Communications Corporate Headquarters (Stamford, CT). Cherry Grove Garden nestles between towers as a seasonal retreat. Spring blossoms drift like confetti; summer invites shaded conversations; autumn glows with golden change; winter rests in quiet stillness. Through all seasons, it offers reflection, connection, and calm - a living canvas harmonizing with the rhythm of daily life and work.

Field Operations (New York, NY) - HONOR AWARD for Yale University Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT). Drawing from the geological shifts and displacements of the Great Unconformity and Eastern Border Fault, the Peabody Courtyard's new bi-level terrace unifies the space, resolving complex grade changes and building elevations with a combination of stairs and accessible slopes.

Clinton + Ries Landscape Architects (Hyattsville, MD) - HONOR AWARD for Darien Commons (Darien, CT). Parking lot plantings help with sense of scale, wayfinding, and sense of place.

Langan (New Haven, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Frank Center for Public Affairs and Pruzan Art Center (Middletown, CT). The landscape architect designed the site lighting to highlight the architecture and create well-lit, inviting gathering spaces that complement the warmth of the limestone pavers and teak furniture. Design conversations focused on safety, comfort, energy consumption, and dark sky compliance.

University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Measuring Performance of Muscota Marsh (Inwood/NYC, NY). Freshwater Marsh View. The restoration project added a freshwater wetland habitat, which creates a buffer to filter stormwater and slow runoff into the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, as well as create a public educational and recreational space for the community.

Langan (New Haven, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Quarry Walk (Oxford, CT). Located near the site's entrance and surrounded by retail and commercial spaces, the civic green has quickly become Oxford's central gathering space - hosting concerts, festivals, philanthropic events, and everyday community life.

Fuss & O'Neill (Hartford, CT) and Wesley Stout Associates (New Canaan, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Wall Street Corridor Master Plan (Norwalk, CT). River Street comes alive with the conversion of a shared street for urban events and festivals. Curbed planting beds and street furniture delineate on-street parking from the pedestrian throughfare.

BSC Group (Glastonbury, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Wilson Gateway Park (Windsor, CT). People of all ages fill the park on a crisp fall day to enjoy the playground, take a brisk walk, and admire mesmerizing wind sculptures.

Kent + Frost Landscape Architecture (Mystic, CT) - EXCELLENCE AWARD for Mystic Seaport Museum Sea Level Rise Resiliency Master Plan (Mystic, CT).

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The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA Connecticut) has announced the winners of its annual Connecticut Professional & Student Awards competition, recognizing excellence in landscape architectural design, planning and analysis, communication, and research.

To be eligible for the professional awards, applicants must be a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the entrant or project location must be based in Connecticut; students must either be enrolled in the University of Connecticut Landscape Architecture program or state residents attending an accredited landscape architecture program in another location.

"The 2026 award-winning projects reflect the visionary power of landscape architecture - turning ideas into action, meeting challenges with creativity, and advancing a shared commitment to a more resilient and vibrant environment," said Sean Ragan, PLA, President of ASLA Connecticut and Senior Landscape Architect at Tighe & Bond's Halvorson Studio in Shelton, Connecticut.

Winners of the 2026 ASLA Connecticut Professional & Student Awards competition include:

Landscape Planning & Analysis
Kent + Frost Landscape Architecture (Mystic, CT) - EXCELLENCE AWARD for Mystic Seaport Museum Sea Level Rise Resiliency Master Plan (Mystic, CT)
Fuss & O'Neill (Hartford, CT) and Wesley Stout Associates (New Canaan, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Wall Street Corridor Master Plan (Norwalk, CT)

Landscape Architectural Design/Built Works - Corporate | Institutional Spaces
HLW (Stamford, CT) and PVEDI (Hartford, CT) - HONOR AWARD for Charter Communications Corporate Headquarters (Stamford, CT)
Field Operations (New York, NY) - HONOR AWARD for Yale University Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT)

Langan (New Haven, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Quarry Walk (Oxford, CT)
Langan (New Haven, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Frank Center for Public Affairs and Pruzan Art Center (Middletown, CT)

Landscape Architectural Design/Built Works - Municipal | Public Spaces
Clinton + Ries Landscape Architects (Hyattsville, MD) - HONOR AWARD for Darien Commons (Darien, CT)
BSC Group (Glastonbury, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Wilson Gateway Park (Windsor, CT)

Landscape Architectural Design/Built Works - Residential
Devore Associates (Fairfield, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Hillside Residence (Greenwich, CT)

Landmark Legacy
Towers|Golde LLC (New Haven, CT) - LANDMARK LEGACY AWARD for Betty Ruth & Milton B. Hollander Healing Garden at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven (New Haven, CT)

Landscape Architectural Research
University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT) - MERIT AWARD for Measuring Performance of Muscota Marsh (Inwood/NYC, NY)

Student Awards / Site Design
Matthew Enright (UConn) - HONOR AWARD for Multifaceted Planting Solutions for the Brooklyn Community (Brooklyn/Waterbury, CT)
Monika Mihok (UConn) - MERIT AWARD for Nature's Nest (Niantic, CT)
Xiaoyu Simba Zhang (UConn) - MERIT AWARD for Roots & Routes: Brookside to All (Niantic, CT)

Student Awards / Planning & Analysis
Taghreed Hussein (UConn) - HONOR AWARD for Beneath the Surface: Green Revitalization in Brooklyn Neighborhood (Brooklyn/Waterbury, CT)
Paola A. Luna Castro (UConn) - MERIT AWARD for Bridging the Ecological Gap in Brooklyn, Waterbury (Brooklyn/Waterbury, CT)
Daniel Hand (UConn) - MERIT AWARD for ReStitch 8: Reconnecting the Brooklyn Neighborhood of Waterbury (Brooklyn/Waterbury, CT)
LillyBelle Doyle (UConn) - MERIT AWARD for Vacant Land and Urban Infill in the Brooklyn Neighborhood (Brooklyn/Waterbury, CT)

The jury for this year's competition was comprised of members of the Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter of ASLA. Select images from this year's award winners can be viewed at https://www.ctasla.org/award-galleries.

About the ASLA
Founded in 1899 and celebrating its 125th year in 2024, the American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members. Landscape architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the landscape architecture profession and advances the practice through advocacy, education, communication, and fellowship.

Learn more about landscape architecture online at www.asla.org.

For more information on the Connecticut Chapter and the local profession, visit www.ctasla.org.