Florida ASLA Chapter

By Emily O'Mahoney, ASLA, Chapter President

The Florida ASLA chapter presented EDSA, Inc., with the Frederic B. Stresau award, and an Award of Excellence for their work on the 800-year-old winemaking estate Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany, Italy. The firm locally sourced materials and craftsmen for installation, used existing lakes and detention ponds with new underground cisterns for stormwater control, and established a trails program for the site.

Florida's ASLA chapter (FLASLA) was founded in 1959 by 11 members and associates. The chapter has grown to more than 1,000 members in 10 sections, covering the state of Florida and Puerto Rico. The Florida chapter went international for its 2012 awards, presenting a Frederic B. Stresau award and an Award of Excellence in the Resort and Entertainment category to Fort Lauderdale-based EDSA, Inc., for their work on the Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany, Italy.

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Frederic Stresau, ASLA, was nominated to the 2012 Class of Fellows by the Florida chapter in the Service category. Stresau's record of pro bono service to his city stretches back over four decades, beginning with a mayoral appointment as a member of the Fort Lauderdale Planning and Zoning Board, and including his selection as the city's most distinguished citizen of the year in 2009.

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The 800-year-old Castiglion Del Bosco is one of Tuscany's largest contiguous winemaking estates, encompassing 4,500 acres of countryside. The site features miles of picturesque hiking and biking trails that meander past streams, waterfalls and hidden historic sites, and provide views of the countryside. The landscape architects used historic hydrology systems to collect and slow infiltration of stormwater runoff, including existing lakes and water detention basins. Cisterns were also buried to keep use of potable water in the landscape to a minimum. Materials on site were locally sourced – including stone, wood, Terra Cotta tiles and native plants – and installed by local craftsman via traditional methods to maintain the site's authenticity.

The Florida chapter also presented an Award of Excellence to DWY Landscape Architects in Sarasota for a residence in Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. DWY also earned an additional award for residential work and an Environmental Sustainability Honor this year.

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Don Hearing, FLASLA, was named Community Leader of the Year by the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce in July. Hearing has been a south Florida-based landscape architect since 1982, with both an architectural firm and a real estate development company active in the area.

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In July, the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce named Don Hearing Community Leader of the Year. Hearing is owner and Vice President of Cotleur & Hearing Landscape Architects, Land Planners and Environmental Consultants, and has been a practicing landscape architect in south Florida since 1982. The FLASLA member also heads an active real estate development company in Pam Beach and St. Lucie County, and is active in numerous charitable organizations in the area.

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