The Ohio Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects has awarded three Master of Landscape Architecture students 2020 Student Design Awards.
HONOR AWARD
James Sasser MLA (‘22) was awarded the Ohio ASLA Student Honor Award in recognition of outstanding academic achievement for his studio project “Maritime Emergence, Cleveland Ohio” executed with faculty advisor Cat Marshall. This honor award recognizes superior professional achievement in projects that embody the creativity, imagination and practicality of the landscape architecture profession.
"Maritime Emergence is a response to increased erosion and flooding along the Lake Erie shoreline in Cleveland, OH. caused by recently magnified climate change. The project employs a ‘living shoreline’ and other green armament techniques to dissipate wave energy and act as a sponge to decrease flooding of I-90 and surrounding project neighborhoods. Each year the Cuyahoga River shipping channel requires 25,000 cubic yards of dredge to maintain economic viability. The current Confined Disposal Facilities (CDFs) reached capacity in 2014. Meeting the demand for beneficial re-use of the dredge material, roughly 125,000 cubic yards will be repurposed to act as the structural foundation for Maritime Emergence. Over the course of 10 years the project will protect the coastline while simultaneously creating aquatic and terrestrial habitats and recreation opportunities. The design is adaptive in nature allowing it to react to rapidly fluctuating water levels in the future."
COLLEGIATE AWARD WINNERS
These awards recognize academic achievement, design competence, and interpersonal skills. Students were nominated by professors in their respective schools and programs to present their research project to the OCASLA jury.
Maci Nelson MLA (20) 2020 Ohio ASLA Student Honor Award
Nicole Trapp MLA (21) 2020 Ohio ASLA Student Merit Award
For more information on this award, please visit