Winning award programs are a great way to market your business. Even if you don’t win, some offer constructive criticism of your landscape designs from the contest judges. Two organizations: the American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA) and the Association for Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), have issued their call for entries for 2012. Another great landscape awards program is sponsored by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET). It’s Environmental Improvement Awards call for entries won’t be issued until later in 2012, but you can prepare for it and get some great tips on submitting award-winning designs in general, on its website.
ALSA’s 2012 Awards Call for Entries for the 2012 professional and student awards includes all the contest rules on its site. Entrants must be an Associate, Full, or International ASLA member, or eligible to join ASLA in one of those categories.
Award recipients will receive coverage in many design and construction industry and general-interest media. Award recipients, their clients, and student advisors also will be honored at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Phoenix, Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2012. The award winning projects will be featured in a video presentation at the ceremony and on the awards website following the event.
Check out the ASLA 2011 professional and student award-winning projects for inspiration.
Entry forms for the ASLA 2012 Professional & Student Awards must be received by Feb. 3, 2012, for the Professional Awards and by April 27, 2012 for the Student Awards.
The APLD International Landscape Design Awards Program brings talent to the attention of peers, potential clients and the world of design. APLD also recognizes that sustainability is an increasingly necessary component in all landscape design, and it will be considered in the judging of all pertinent categories.
The best entries, judged by an international jury, will receive a gold award. Other deserving entries will receive a merit award. The judging criteria will total 100 points. A score of over 90 is needed to be awarded gold, and a score over 80 is needed for the merit award. There can be more than one gold, or merit, in each category. This places the entrants in competition within the bar of excellence, as opposed to competition within the pool of entries.
From the gold award entries, the judges will choose the 2012 APLD International Landscape Designer of the Year. Awards will be presented during the awards dinner at the 2012 APLD International Design Conference in the San Francisco Bay Area in September 2012. The APLD International Landscape Designer of the Year will receive free conference registration.
An additional award, the Distinctively Better Plant Design Award, sponsored by Monrovia Growers, will be chosen from the winning entries. The award recipient will receive $2,000 worth of Monrovia products.
Starting this year, entrants will be able to go to a website and upload all of their materials and photos themselves to make entering easier.
The deadline for entering the APLD International Landscape Design Awards Program is Feb. 1, 2012.
