Charlottesville, VA  (October 11, 2019)…The Master Plan of the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont has been named among the best in the world, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which recently honored the plan in their 2019 Professional Awards.

Announcement of the award was made during the second Community Night held Thursday, October 10 at City Space. Area residents and supporters attended to view never before seen schematics, meet the new Executive Director Jill Trischman-Marks and hear updates about the progress of the Garden, which included encouraging fund-raising news.

“Over and above the increasing support from the community to our Annual Campaign – which has more than tripled in just two years – we’ve recently received gifts and pledges totaling a half-a-million dollars,” said Joan Swanberg, President, Botanical Garden of the Piedmont.

Also in attendance was Brian Daly, Director of Parks & Recreation for the City of Charlottesville.

“Charlottesville Parks and Recreation is extremely pleased and excited to learn of the annual Honor Award for Design and Analysis received by the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont and their design team from Mikyoung Kim Architects and Charlottesville’s own Waterstreet Studio,” said Daly. “This prestigious award from the American Society of Landscape Architects is a major milestone in bringing alive a facility in McIntire Park that will serve all of Central Virginia.  Our congratulations to the the Garden Board and their team.”

Founded in 1899, the ASLA is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. Each year, the ASLA Professional Awards honor the best in landscape architecture in the general design, analysis and planning, communications, research and residential design categories from the United States and around the world. The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont received an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning category.

In selecting Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, the judges said, “The plan calls for the site to be sustainable and resilient, encouraging a new kind of civic engagement that demonstrates how landscape can influence both the ecological and cultural systems of a community.”

“We’re thrilled to be a part of the vision plan that makes this Garden a place of resiliency, healing, and unity for downtown Charlottesville,” said Mikyoung Kim, Founding Principal, Mikyoung Kim Design. “For the ASLA to acknowledge the work we’re doing there— and for the jurors to highlight it as demonstrative of how landscape can influence both the ecological and cultural systems of a community— is such a great honor.”

“We are honored to have played a role in the development of the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont Master Plan with an incredibly talented design team guided by Mikyoung Kim Design,” said Jake Fox, Design Associate, Waterstreet Studio. “Kudos to the thoughtful and dedicated the Garden Board who have nurtured the idea of this Garden for many years and guided the vision for what it could be for our Community.”

the Garden Executive Director Jill Trischman-Marks will attend the ASLA Awards Ceremony in November, where the plan and the design team will be officially recognized.

In receiving the award, the Garden is in good company. Among the seven other honorees this year is a project focused on revitalizing the Great Wall in the Shanxi Province of China.

About the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont
Created in 2013 through a public private partnership with the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is a 501c3 organization that is building an urban oasis and community resource for all residents of and visitors to Greater Central Virginia. The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont will be an admission-free neighborhood hub and a discovery center, celebrating the flora of Central Virginia and offering learning and entertainment opportunities for ALL. Occupying an 8.5-acre space in the eastern section of McIntire Park, The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is currently in the design phase, under the direction of the award-winning landscape architects Mikyoung Kim Design and Waterstreet Studio. For more information, please visit www.micintirebotanicalgarden.org.

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT:
Laura Peet
Chairman, Marketing Committee
l.peet@piedmontgarden.org
(917) 860-6285