Exploring how diverse disciplines, cultures, regions, & more intersect to expand the boundaries of landscape architecture.​​
Cross-Pollinate
→ In early November, apply to speak at LABash 2026 here
For any questions, please reach out to speakers@labash.org.
Session Path 1
Multiregional
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Landscape architecture is an evolving field that responds to changing climates, cultures, and contexts-- so, too, must our ways of seeing and designing them. This track invites speakers who have a multiregional perspective, gathering insight from diverse geographies, communities, and design traditions. These cross-regional dialogues bring new perspectives, challenge assumptions, and enrich local practice with a global impact. But, also, these conversations impart wisdom for the community (and students) that they return home to.
By sharing experiences from the field—both literal and metaphorical—participants in this session trace the routes of cross-pollination that shape the future of landscape architecture. ​​​​​​​
On Peru’s Lake Titicaca, the Uros people construct islands from totora reeds / Julia Watson, Taschen
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We urge you to contemplate the following questions:
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What unique challenges or exciting opportunities have emerged from studying, researching, or practicing landscape architecture in a region distinct from your own?
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In what ways have the political conditions in your region of interest made an impact on your research/practice of landscape architecture?
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What impact have the climate conditions in your region of interest made on studying landscape architecture?
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How has language—an undeniably essential component in shaping our perception of the world—altered your perspective on landscape architecture and its various contexts?
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What wisdom do you think can be applied to other places of interest to you?
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Have these regions, in gathering insight from them, gained anything from you studying there?
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Session Path 2
Interdisciplinary​
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In today's complex and interconnected world, multidisciplinary collaboration is no longer a privelege but a necessity, especially within the field of landscape architecture. A truly holistic view of design emerges when diverse disciplines such as engineering, environmental science, architecture, fine arts, urban planning, and ecology intersect. Each discipline brings a unique lens through which to consider critical questions related to ecosystems, environmental impact, urban development, building integration, and the construction of a landscape project.
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Ultimately, this synergistic approach pushes landscape architects to transcend traditional practices, embracing innovative design methodologies that inherently integrate interdisciplinary perspectives.
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Assistant Professor Michelle Franco's The Diggers Studio: Landscape, Labor, and Representation / Phil Arnold, The Knowlton School.
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How has this iterative, culture-focused collaboration reshaped the outcomes of your projects?
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What specific engagement methods have you employed to foster genuine communication and collaboration with a community?
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What specific challenges have you encountered when working directly with a community impacted by your designs?
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Are there any gaps between your disposition and that of the community you’re collaborating with, and how did you fill this gap?
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How do you communicate your ideas with non-landscape architects?
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In designing within a community, how have these communities also learned from you?
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What specific engagement methods have you employed to foster genuine communication and collaboration with a community?
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Port of Morgan City Future Potentials / Landscape Architecture & River-Coastal Science Engineering, Tulane University​​
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What unexpected synergies have emerged from working in a field adjacent to landscape architecture that might not have materialized otherwise?
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How have these collaborations led to more innovative, resilient, or socially impactful design solutions?
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What challenges and opportunities have you encountered in asserting your field's influence on design decision-making within a multidisciplinary team?
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How have you navigated potential disciplinary silos or differing priorities to ensure your expertise is effectively integrated into the project's core?
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Regardless of whether your work leans more towards an engineering, artistic, or ecological capacity, how has your fundamental approach to design evolved through cross-disciplinary engagement?
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How have you effectively leveraged your unique blend of academic schooling and practical expertise to positively impact project outcomes?
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Session Path 3
Cross-Cultural
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As we learn from our "compacted grounds," the benefits of collaborating with the communities we build for are increasingly indispensable. With this topic we invite you to share a project where language, culture, and lived experience intersect with design, and where collaboration across differences becomes important to the process and outcome of a project. It highlights projects where community members are not just consulted but become partners in the design process bringing local knowledge, traditions, and lived experience to the table.
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We urge you to explore how landscape architects can act as facilitators of dialogue between different communities, cultures and histories.
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Interested in speaking to one of these topics?
→ In early November, apply to speak at LABash 2026 here
For any questions, please reach out to speakers@labash.org
