WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design alumni Connor Price and Sean Fasano earned second prize in the urban design category for their capstone project which plans for Pittsburgh's "last big brownfield" to become an innovative technology and mixed-use district within the community.
For the second consecutive year, the West Virginia University landscape architecture program in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design was recognized for excellence in innovation, design and teaching in the Yuan Ye International Competition, an annual landscape design competition.
Connor Price and Sean Fasano, both 2017 graduates of the landscape architecture program, earned the second prize award in the urban design category with their capstone project “Almono.” Shan Jiang, assistant professor of landscape architecture who advised their work, once again earned the Yuan Ye Excellent Guide Teacher recognition. More than 80 institutions competed in the event.
“The Yuan Ye Competition is the most influential event in landscape architecture societies in eastern Asia,” Jiang said. “This is the second time our WVU team has won the second prize – last year it was alumna Yasmeen Juma – so this is a tremendous honor.”
Almono, which is the project’s namesake, is a 178-acre site that sits south of downtown Pittsburgh. As the former home to the J and L Steel manufacturing facility, the site, renamed “Hazelwood Green” in October 2017, is considered Pittsburgh’s “last big brownfield” and slated to become an innovative technology and mixed-use district within the community.
Price and Fasano focused on achieving four goals with their project: establish an open space strategy that interconnects surrounding communities through multi-functional greenspaces; incorporate design principles that are environmentally sustainable and ecologically responsible; establish visual and physical connections between the site and adjacent communities; and create urban places that define the physical, social and historical identity of Almono.
“Their project is an exemplary design work that successfully addressed complicated urban issues in the sensitive areas in Pittsburgh,” Jiang said. “Leading an urban design project from landscape architects’ points of views, the team thoughtfully employed sustainable design strategies to promote the environmental, social and cultural quality of the site while creating vibrant, multi-use public spaces for the industry, as well as local communities.”
Price and Fasano expressed their appreciation for the WVU landscape architecture faculty for their support over the past four years and their third project teammate, Anthony LaRocca, Jr., who did not enter the competition. Additionally, they gave special thanks to Jiang and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Michael Hasenmyer, as well as two team members from ReMake Group, Rebecca L. Flora, principal, and Katrina Flora, special projects manager, for “pushing [them] to the limits and helping make the project as successful as possible.”
The Competition is sponsored by Yuan Ye Award International Competition Organizing Committee, Asian Landscape Architecture Society and International Association of Green Architecture and Residential Landscape.
Price and Fasano submitted their project in fall 2017 and were formally notified of the results in spring 2018. Fasano is now a staff landscape architect with Dewberry in Frederick, Maryland, and Price is a landscape designer for Ayers Saint Gross in Baltimore.
-WVU-
nl/05/22/2018
CONTACT: Nikky Luna
WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
304.293.2394; Nikky.Luna@mail.wvu.edu
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