Ottawa - May 23rd, 2023 – The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) is pleased to announce that Heather Cram has been awarded the Schwabenbauer Presidents' Award and Yiwen Ruan has been awarded the Emerging Professional 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-SALA Congress on June 17th, 2023.
Heather Cram, Schwabenbauer Presidents' Award
Heather Cram is a senior principal with over 35 years of experience at HTFC. A pioneer in the ecological movement, her work ranges from detailed design and planning for museums and interpretive centres to urban design, community consultation and community planning. Heather approaches every project with fresh eyes, employing a unique mix of consultation skills and cultural resource management tools to guide her work. Whether planning the evolution of urban neighbourhoods such as the award-winning Wolseley Building Communities Initiative, or creating one-of-a-kind interpretive facilities such as the award-winning Rainy River Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre and National Historic Site, Heather works collaboratively with eclectic client groups to tell their stories with sensitivity, accuracy, creativity and exacting attention to detail.
Heather’s love for Winnipeg has led her from chairing the Manitoba/Winnipeg Fort Rouge Community Revitalization program and sitting on numerous business development zone boards to her recent work on the boards of the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Women’s Enterprise Centre and FortWhyte Alive. Heather became a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects in 2009.
Yiwen Ruan, Emerging Professional Award
Born and raised in China, Yiwen’s journey in Canada started in 2013 pursuing his Master of Landscape Architecture Degree at the University of British Columbia. Upon graduation, Yiwen joined PMG Landscape Architects, where he has worked on a multitude of diverse and award-winning projects. With boundless energy and ambition, Yiwen has risen to every challenge and in only 5 years is now the youngest principal at the firm. His passion for landscape architecture is matched only by his voracious appetite for knowledge, and his belief in the importance of promoting the profession.
Yiwen combines his interests –karate, meditation, and art into his design approach. He believes great design can make our world more wonderful, and his disciplined method and calm demeanor help him to cross boundaries among different design professions to achieve wonderful things. His talents were used to full effect as the graphic designer for Dr. Patrick Mooney’s book titled Planting Design: Connecting People and Place. Yiwen also tests his design philosophy by participating in numerous design competitions. The most recent is a 3rd place finish in Coziness Valley International Architectural Competition by the City of Murmansk, Russia.
Yiwen actively advocates for the profession both by sitting on the BCSLA Public and Professional Relations Committee, and by creating and maintaining connections with UBC and the Chinese community. He is an active mentor, connecting UBC students with practicing professionals for many years, and is regularly invited to attend UBC workshops and events while also supporting PMG’s sponsorship of the PMG Landscape Architects Graduate Award at UBC. Driven by his background and interests, Yiwen's advocacy efforts have led him to create connections with the Chinese-Canadian Architectural and Engineering communities, giving landscape seminars and creating broader relationships that raise the profile of Landscape Architecture in Canada.