Ottawa - May 25, 2022 – The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) is pleased to announce that
- Robert Wright has been awarded the 2022 CSLA Teaching Award,
- Jean Trottier has been awarded 2022 CSLA Schwabenbauer Presidents' Award, and
- Don Vaughan has been awarded the 2022 CSLA Lifetime Achievement Award.
The CSLA Recognition Awards honour the work and commitment of Canadians to the profession of landscape architecture. The awards will be recognized at the CSLA-APALA Congress on June 9th, 2022.
Robert Wright, Teaching Award
Robert Wright has a BSc from the University of Ottawa in Open Space Planning, with a minor in Ecology and an MLA from the University of Guelph. Professor Wright’s work is design centered and extremely eclectic in nature. His notion of design does not privilege the traditional professional disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture or urban design. He places his work within a more contemporary and trans-disciplinary framework.
As both an educator and as a design practitioner, he holds a strong belief that “Design is built theory” meaning that the translation from thought and concept to built works is primary and essential to design discourse. Having had training in both ecology and landscape architecture, he places design as a practice that must at its essence deal with context. He is a self confessed “modernist” with minimalist and situationist tendencies. The art of design is not merely “object” making but the interplay of nature, person, community, city and place.
Rob is the Principal of iz-design an open and exploratory design practice. His practice looks to develop creative design experimentation not only in architecture, landscape architecture but across all the arts. He collaborates with all manner of designers, artists, and professional practitioners across the full range of design and planning practice. His Academic focus is on bringing the University’s expertise together with community, industry, and government. He is a full member of the OALA and a Fellow of the CSLA. Mr. Wright has also been in the past, the Interim Dean of Daniel,. Dean of Forestry, Director of the Centre of Landscape Research, Director of the Landscape Program (8 yrs.), Associate Dean of Research, Associate Dean (4 yrs.) and Director of the Knowledge Media Institute (4 yrs.)
Jean Trottier, Schwabenbauer Presidents' Award
Jean Trottier is Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate urban design seminars and studios. Before dedicating himself fully to academia he practiced in both public and private sectors in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, specializing in resort planning and community design.
Jean chaired the Editorial Board of Landscapes | Paysages Magazine for almost ten years and has served on the Canadian Landscape Architecture Accreditation Council since 2016. He is also a long-time member of the Council for Canadian Urbanism, where he currently chairs the Board of Directors.
Community outreach has been integral to Jean’s career. He served two terms as Chair of Winnipeg’s Urban Design Advisory Committee and facilitated regional and national workshops to advance Canadian urban design practice. As part of his teaching activities, he led multiple design / build initiatives with non-profit organizations and small communities, for which he received the University of Manitoba’s Presidential Outreach Award.
A frequent media contributor, Jean advocates for an expanded urban design role for landscape architecture while challenging the profession’s ideological blinders. He likes a good intellectual jousting and -- as his students once observed – to “question everything.” That’s not about to change.
Don Vaughan, Lifetime Achievement Award
Don received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon in 1965 and shortly after moved to Vancouver to work.
Don founded Don Vaughan & Associates in 1971, which grew quickly and went on to handle the bulk of landscape architectural projects in the City of Vancouver including the world famous Granville Island. Additionally he designed many of the new downtown fountains and plazas, and completed the design of the Skytrain station at Discovery Square which was recognized with an ASLA Merit Award.
In 1981, the name of the firm changed to Vaughan Durante Perry Ltd to reflect the increased role of the partners. During this time, Don earned the first ASLA Historic Restoration Award in 1983 for Shannon Mews. Additional work throughout the province of BC included the design of the new town of Tumbler Ridge followed by the design of the world famous Whistler Town Centre.
Don Vaughan also completed the world famous Sun Yet Sen Garden at this time, earning a ASLA Merit Award.
In 1984 he formed and led The Landscape 86 Collaborative - a team of 35 B.C. landscape architects, to provide the design for site work at Expo 86.
Don received a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Emily Carr College of Art & Design shortly after, with the intent of expanding his toolset to better express art in landscape.
From 1988 until 2010 Don Vaughan founded and ran Vaughan Landscape Planning and Design.
Don was recognized for his exceptional contributions in planning and design with an Honorary Doctorate in 2007 from the University of Victoria.
Projects over this time include the world renowned Concord Pacific Master Plan, David Lam Park, the Nitobe Gardens Restoration, which won a CSLA award, and the Japanese garden at the Museum of Civilization in Quebec, the latter two projects were in collaboration with Shunmyo Masuno.
Don is a Fellow of the CSLA, a Fellow of the ASLA and a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Don also holds several Canadian Weightlifting Records.