Roberto Rovira
ROBERTO ROVIRA JOINS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Roberto Rovira became part of the Landscape Architecture Foundation Board of Directors on 19April2016, joining a group of national leaders in the field of landscape architecture tasked with supporting the preservation, improvement and enhancement of the environment.
Founded nearly 50 years ago, LAF has been the nexus of inquiry and innovation for the landscape architecture profession. Today, the mission to support the preservation, improvement and enhancement of the environment has never been more resonant. As the world’s population becomes increasingly urban and demands on natural resources more acute, landscape architects play an essential role in solving the complex, interrelated environmental, economic, and social problems we face today.
Through its leadership and philanthropic activities, LAF continues to advance the body of knowledge and support innovative projects and initiatives needed not only for the landscape architecture profession, but for the many professionals and advocates who share LAF’s mission and are critical to its success.
Research. Advancing our applied research in methods and metrics for landscape performance.
Scholarships. Supporting outstanding students to cultivate the next generation of sustainability leaders.
Leadership. Strengthening the profession to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
The New Landscape Declaration:
On Thursday, 20OCT2016, at the annual ASLA conference in New Orleans, LA, the LAF board unanimously voted in favor of adopting the New Landscape Declaration, which crafts a new vision for landscape architecture for the 21st century, copied herewith:
“Across borders and beyond walls, from city centers to the last wilderness, humanity’s common ground is the landscape itself. Food, water, oxygen – everything that sustains us comes from and returns to the landscape. What we do to our landscapes we ultimately do to ourselves. The profession charged with designing this common ground is landscape architecture.
After centuries of mistakenly believing we could exploit nature without consequence, we have now entered an age of extreme climate change marked by rising seas, resource depletion, desertification and unprecedented rates of species extinction. Set against the global phenomenon of accelerating consumption, urbanization and inequity, these influences disproportionately affect the poor and will impact everyone, everywhere.
Simultaneously, there is profound hope for the future. As we begin to understand the true complexity and holistic nature of the earth system and as we begin to appreciate humanity’s role as integral to its stability and productivity, we can build a new identity for society as a constructive part of nature.
The urgent challenge before us is to redesign our communities in the context of their bioregional landscapes enabling them to adapt to climate change and mitigate its root causes. As designers versed in both environmental and cultural systems, landscape architects are uniquely positioned to bring related professions together into new alliances to address complex social and ecological problems. Landscape architects bring different and often competing interests together so as to give artistic physical form and integrated function to the ideals of equity, sustainability, resiliency and democracy.
As landscape architects we vow to create places that serve the higher purpose of social and ecological justice for all peoples and all species. We vow to create places that nourish our deepest needs for communion with the natural world and with one another. We vow to serve the health and well-being of all communities.
To fulfill these promises, we will work to strengthen and diversify our global capacity as a profession. We will work to cultivate a bold culture of inclusive leadership, advocacy and activism in our ranks. We will work to raise awareness of landscape architecture’s vital contribution. We will work to support research and champion new practices that result in design innovation and policy transformation.
We pledge our services. We seek commitment and action from those who share our concern.”
LAF accomplishes its mission through the following core programs:
Landscape Performance Series
An online interactive set of resources to show the value of landscape and provide tools for designers, agencies and advocates to quantify benefits and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions.
Case Study Investigation (CSI)
A unique research collaboration that matches LAF-funded faculty-student research teams with leading practitioners to document the benefits of exemplary high-performing landscape projects.
Scholarships and Fellowships
Financial awards that support the education of new generations of landscape architects by rewarding superior student performance, encouraging diversity, supporting original research, and assisting students with unmet financial need.
Olmsted Scholars Program
The premier national award program for landscape architecture students, which recognizes the top landscape architecture student from each accredited program in the U.S. and Canada, along with the jury-selected national award winners and finalists.
Read more about LAF here: https://lafoundation.org/
