LAF at the 2025 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture

LAF EXPO booth with a white table and postcards in front of a coral red backdrop

If you'll be in New Orleans for the 2025 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Conference on Landscape Architecture, please join us for these events to celebrate, connect, and share. In addition to our popular Annual Benefit, LAF will host a happy hour to showcase some of the research and inquiry we've supported. LAF's Megan Barnes will participate in a panel on research collaboration. And don't forget to stop by our EXPO booth to learn about LAF programs and initiatives and how you can get involved. We hope to see you!

LAF's 40th Annual Benefit
Fri, Oct 10, 8-11pm CT
Gallier Hall (*Ticket purchase required)
On the first evening of the conference, join us for a lively evening of celebration and connection — New Orleans-style! Enjoy great company, a generous spread of food, and an open bar, all while supporting LAF and our impactful work.

LAF Booth in ASLA EXPO Hall (#1824)
Sat, Oct 11, 9:30am-5:30pm and Sun, Oct 12, 10am-2pm CT
New Orleans Morial Convention Center
Stop by our booth to learn about LAF programs and funding opportunities, including our research grant, the LAF Fellowship, scholarships, and the LAF Ignite program.

LAF Happy Hour + Poster Session
Sat, Oct 11, 4:30pm-5:30pm CT
Morial Convention Center, EXPO Booth #1824
Join us for a happy hour to connect and reconnect with our program participants and scholarship winners, past and present. The event will include posters from select program alums to showcase LAF-sponsored research and inquiry.

Education Sessions

Featuring LAF staff...

SUN-B01 Academia + Practice = Knowledge: A Research Collaboration Primer
Sun, Oct 12, 2pm-3:15pm CT
Morial Convention Center, Room 217-219
Academics and practitioners must join forces for research collaborations that create new knowledge to address the pressing issues of our time. However, challenges can arise due to differing terminology, drivers, and approaches. Three panelists who work across boundaries share actionable advice for effective research partnerships across academia and practice.
Includes LAF's Megan Barnes

Featuring past LAF program participants discussing their LAF-supported work or a continuation of it...

FRI-B09 Landscape Architects in the Expanded Field: Lessons from Working with Infrastructure
Fri, Oct 10, 10:15am-11:30am CT
Morial Convention Center, Center Stage-Room 343-345
As local, state, and federal agencies focus funding on large-scale infrastructure projects, landscape architects must adapt their approach to remain relevant and reclaim the public realm. This session will focus on creative methodologies that rethink infrastructure to position placemaking and public space design at the forefront of transformative projects.
Includes 2024-25 LAF Fellow Anya Domlesky

FRI-DD-01 Decarbonization in Practice: Tools, Materials, and Industry Collaboration
Fri, Oct 10, 8:30am-11:00am CT
Morial Convention Center, Room 338-339 (*Ticket required)
Panelists will present the background and best practices associated with decarbonization. The overview presentations will include recent lessons and challenges encountered in practice and an orientation to key resources. Break-out focus groups will dive into detail on each topic: design process, materials specification, and collaborating with industry partners.
Includes 2022-23 LAF Fellow Christopher R. Hardy and 2023-24 LAF Fellow Meg Calkins

SAT-DD-02: Place-based Technical Assistance Strategies to Advance Climate-Resilient Solutions
Sat, Oct 11, 2:30pm-5:00pm CT
Morial Convention Center, Room 338-339 (*Ticket required)
This session will use presentations and hands-on exercises to introduce attendees to and engage them with field-tested, actionable methods and strategies that jurisdictional staff, technical design and planning consultants, and funding organizations can use to support resource-limited communities in achieving their disaster recovery and/or resilience-building goals.
Including 2021 LAF Research Grant recipients Andrew Fox and Travis Klondike

SAT-C01 Advocacy Through Design: Leveraging Existing Design Strategies Through a More Inclusive Lens
Sat, Oct 11, 3:45pm-5:00pm CT
Morial Convention Center, Room 206-207
Accessibility is more than compliance. By leveraging intentionality through design, landscape architects can put empathy into action to become advocates for the disabled community. In this session, learn how to incorporate techniques and strategies to push the boundaries of accessibility and make places more inclusive, welcoming, and joyful.
Includes 2020-21 LAF Fellow Alexa Vaughn

SUN-A07 Staying in the Loop: Balancing Automation and Identity in the AI-LA Era
Sun, Oct 12, 8:30am-9:45am CT
Morial Convention Center, Room 243-245
As artificial intelligence reshapes creative fields, landscape architects face a shifting identity. Once defined by intuition, vision, and expertise, many now engage with AI, reimagining authorship and creativity. This session explores AI’s impact and its expanding roles, as well as strategies for adapting to evolving perceptions at the intersection of technology and design.
Includes 2022-23 LAF Fellow Phillip Fernberg