LPA earned the "Award of Excellence" in the American Society of Landscape Architects-Southern California Chapter's 2018 Quality of Life Awards for the design of interactive outdoor learning environments for Tarbut V'Torah (TVT), a community day school in Orange County.
The Quality of Life awards are presented every two years; the Award of Excellence recognizes one project that "represents an outstanding advancement in leadership, contribution, understanding and/or achievement in the field of landscape architecture and that improves the quality of life in Southern California and beyond," according to the ASLA.
LPA's design for the re-imaging of the TVT campus features an array of different outdoor learning and play areas to support a new maker building and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) curriculum. Students and teachers were included in design charrettes to develop the plan, which includes learning labs, a farm, an outdoor art courtyard, an interactive water play creek and reading nooks.
The design also turns sustainability into a functional learning experience, with a stormwater retention and treatment system, drought resistant plants and a green roof on a new fitness facility.
