Louisiana LAs Pull Together

Up to 90 percent of New Orleans homes were under water after Hurricane Katrina, with officials warning that levee reconstruction will take months.

Louisiana?EUR??,,????'???s landscape architecture community was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, with members scrambling to contact close to 70 New Orleans-area colleagues after the storm.

At press time none were believed missing, but downed phone and internet lines made a head count impossible, said Chad Danos of the ASLA Louisiana Chapter.

With damage and flooding severe, it?EUR??,,????'???s likely that many firms and landscape architects will be looking for temporary quarters. By early September, the size of Baton Rouge had almost doubled with refugees, swelling the population to near 1 million.

The chapter?EUR??,,????'???s leadership, including Danos and Jose Barro, held an emergency meeting in Baton Rouge on Sept. 1. They learned that treasurer Keith Bleichner, a landscape architect employed by the City of New Orleans, had safely evacuated and was staying with family in Lafayette, La.

The chapter has postponed its annual gathering in New Orleans (which had been scheduled for Sept. 31 and Oct. 1) until late October or early November. The meeting will likely be held in Baton Rouge, Danos said.

The Louisiana chapter is exploring ways to help New Orleans-based firms find office space if they need it. The LSU campus in Baton Rouge may be able to offer firms studio space. Additional plans and fundraising efforts will be put into effect in the coming weeks.

?EUR??,,????'??We certainly don?EUR??,,????'???t want these firms to go under just because they don?EUR??,,????'???t have space to operate,?EUR??,,????'?? Danos said. The state?EUR??,,????'???s ASLA chapter has close to 120 members, with a total of close to 250 licensed landscape architects.

The Louisiana chapter is planning fundraising efforts and is accepting donations. Anyone with resources to share can contact Chad Danos at (225) 756-5440 or cdanos@browndanos.com