Adjusting to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on face-to-face meetings, officials with Texas Tech's Department of Landscape Architecture this year are turning to an innovative, virtual format for their annual intensive educational program, WreckShop 2020.

The two-day event, organized by Tech's student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, runs from Oct. 22 to 23, and encompasses a series of on-line (Microsoft Teams) networking, professional development and collaborative opportunities.

"WreckShop is a great opportunity for professionals and students to network and learn from each other," said Kathryn Nelson, SASLA Advisor and an instructor within Tech's Department of Landscape Architecture. "Due to the virtual format of this event, students will gain the opportunity to meet professionals from firms that are located outside of the region as travel will not be part of the experience this year. In addition, the department will be able to show off exciting digital platforms that have been adopted for virtual learning as well as technologies for landscape visualization and data collection."

The WreckShop 2020 program rolls out Thursday afternoon (Oct. 22) with a lecture series featuring Katie Coyne, who leads the Urban Ecology Studio at Asakura Robinson in Austin. The Urban Ecology Studio's work spans planning and design disciplines and incorporates resilient design principles, landscape ecology, plant science, health science, climate science and other bodies of knowledge into work on parks, conservation areas, urban landscapes, neighborhood and small area plans, sustainable tourism strategies, and green infrastructure planning and design.

A keynote lecture will be presented by Phoebe Lickwar, an associate professor and landscape architecture graduate adviser at the University of Texas-Austin's School of Architecture. Lickwar is founding Principal of FORGE Landscape Architecture, an award winning critical practice dedicated to catalyzing positive sociocultural and ecological change through exhibition and built work in the public realm. She is a registered landscape architect with more than 15 years of experience in the design and construction of culturally significant gardens and civic landscapes, including the National World War I Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington D.C., the Newport Beach Civic Center Park, and the National September 11 Memorial in New York.

The following day (Oct. 23) is highlighted by a morning firm expo. The afternoon sessions feature portfolio reviews, along with optional interviews and a department expo. Mark Smith, vice president/principal and practicing landscape architect with RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture in Austin, will lead the portfolio review session. With four decades of practice, Smith's responsibilities include concept development, firm-wide design oversight, site planning and master planning, strategic marketing, and firm operations. The focus areas of his practice currently include Transportation Aesthetics, Community Design, and Veterans Cemetery Design.

Tech's Department of Landscape Architecture is housed in the university's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The latest official enrollment numbers released this semester indicate the department is home to 84 undergraduate students and seven graduate students. The program specializes in semi-arid landscapes, while engaging design and planning issues critical to a sustainable, resilient, adaptable earth and its growing urban populations. It's professional B.L.A. and M.L.A. degrees are accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board.

CONTACT: Kathryn Nelson, Instructor, Department of Landscape Architecture, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-2862 or kathryn.nelson@ttu.edu

0924NM20 / Editor's Note: From more detailed information on the Department of Landscape Architecture's WreckShop 2020, please click here