SB Beautiful Golden Leaf Awards

We are thrilled to have our Dune parklet awarded a Santa Barbara Beautiful ‘Golden Leaf Award’ through our participation with Allen Construction‘s ‘Locals Helping Locals’ program. Thank you Allen Construction, Dune Coffee, Santa Barbara Beautiful and the Santa Barbara community for showing creative resiliency throughout this pandemic.

KEEPING SANTA BARBARA BEAUTIFUL DURING COVID-19
SB BEAUTIFUL “GOLDEN LEAF AWARDS”
CELEBRATING 55 YEARS OF BEAUTIFICATION

WHO:   Santa Barbara Beautiful continues a 55 Year tradition of beautification with “Golden Leaf Awards”.
WHAT:   SBB honors local businesses & organizations who showed leadership during this challenging time of Covid-19 Pandemic to enhance public space & support the arts.
HARD NUMBERS: (60) Hand-Calligraphed Awards Certificates for “Outstanding Community Support”
QUOTE:  We’re honored to celebrate our 55th Anniversary with Golden Leaf Awards – dedicated to the strength of our community & the individuals who have given joy to our city during difficult times. Congratulations to each and every one!”  ~ Penny Haberman, President SB Beautiful.

WINNING PROJECTS & PARTICIPANTS:
  1. “Light It Blue”: City of Santa Barbara – Nina Johnson, Project Coordinator
    1. Project Description: Local landmarks lit up in blue during the month of May to show gratitude to healthcare & essential workers.
    2. Host Facility Sponsors: Arlington Theater; Lobero Theater; SB Museum of Natural History Sea Center; Cottage Hospital Santa Barbara; Mission Santa Barbara.
    3.  Coordinators/ Artists/ Sponsors: Andrew GartnerGartner Design Co. (Coordinator); Lani Ballonoff, SPARK Creative Events (Sponsor); Kym Cochran & Jonathan Smith, The Environment Makers (Participating Artists); Casey Caldwell, SB Arts Collaborative/CAW) (Sponsor); Jake Hanson, Bella Vista Designs (Sponsor); Ethan Turpin Art & Design (Participating Artist); Nina Dunbar (Coordinator).
  2. “Locals Helping Locals”: Allen Construction – Lindsay Helmick, CFO Project Coordinator
    1. Project Description: Building Pro Bono Outdoor Parklets; Seating; ADA Ramps, etc.
    2. Community Partners: Hayward Lumber; Mission Audio & Visual; CJM::LA; Evergreen SB
    3. Local Businesses: Brass Bear Brewing & Bistro; Dune Coffee; Holdren’s Steaks & Seafood; Kunin Wines; Little Kitchen; Mollie’s Restaurant; Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro Montecito; Restaurant Roy; Valley Project; Villa Wine Bar.
  3. “2020 Design Charette – Downtown State Street”: AIA Santa Barbara Chapter, Project Coordinator
    1. Project Description: Reinvigorate, Reinvent, Reimagine, and Repurpose our Downtown with housing, energy, and life.
    2. Charrette Committee Co-Chairs: Cass Ensberg FAIA & LEED AP; Detlev Peikert AIA, LEED AP BD+C; Ellen Bildsten AIA LEED AP; Matt Beausoleil AIA & 2020 president AIA SB.
    3. Steering Committee: Alex Pujo AIA; Amy Fitzgerald-Tripp AIA; Paul Rupp AIA; Dennis Thompson FAIA; John Campanella; Karen Feeney, Hon. AIASB; Nina Johnson; Tony Tomasello; Jasper Jacobs P.E.
  4. “2020 Awards for Responsive Works to Covid-19~Artists’ Stipends”: County of SB Office of Arts & Culture – Sarah York Rubin, Executive Director
    1. Project Description: In recognition of artists’ essential contributions, up to 20 stipends of $500 each to local artists who created work in response to this unprecedented time of COVID-19.
    2. Dennis Smitherman, County Arts Commission; Karen Kerns, SB Bowl Foundation.  Project Participants:   “#WeMakeEvents” “#RedAlertRESTART” .
  5. Project Description: Local participation in a nationwide event of Red illumination of performing arts & culture venues on September 1, 2020 in support of live entertainment industry during Covid-19 pandemic.
  6. Host Facilities Event Sponsors: SB Bowl: Rick Boller, Executive Director; Eric Shiflett, Program Director. Arlington Theater: Tammy Steuart (Metro Theaters)
  7. Project Coordinator: Christopher Darling
  8. Lighting: SPARK Creative Events

About Santa Barbara Beautiful

Since 1965, Santa Barbara Beautiful has planted over 12,000 trees, provided over $500,,000 in grants to support local art and design projects, funded scholarships to students majoring in environmental horticulture & architecture, and celebrated numerous individuals, residences, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional efforts to make Santa Barbara beautiful.
The purpose of Santa Barbara Beautiful is to stimulate community interest and action toward the enhancement of Santa Barbara’s beauty as a complement to current and future government and private activity.
Santa Barbara Beautiful is an organization of volunteers dedicated to beautifying our area in a variety of ways not only by working independently but also by cooperating with city departments, neighborhood association and other agencies. Formed in 1965 by concerned civic leaders, Santa Barbara Beautiful is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation. Contributions are tax-deductible


UNITY | PROGRESS

Located across from Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden for over 60 years, Unity of Santa Barbara is an integral part of the Santa Barbara community.  We recently had the pleasure of working with Unity on the renovation of their downtown campus.  CJM::LA worked closely with both the Unity leadership team and congregation to develop a new design for their “front yard” space.  What was once a traditional lawn with limited event capacity is now a beautiful courtyard suitable not only for outdoor services, but also weddings and other community events.  Thank you to Allscape Design + Installation for an incredible job with the landscape installation, Stone Concepts for hardscape installation and VE Builders for carpentry work.

BEFORE | AFTER :

Unity courtyard before

Unity courtyard after | new permeable pavers, olive trees and custom wood benches

PROCESS PHOTOS:

CJM::LA verifies hardscape, gravel and wood samples on site

Stone Concepts lays Hydro-Flo permeable pavers by Pacific Interlock Pavers

Allscape installs olive trees in the courtyard

hardscape and olive trees installed in the courtyard

VE Builders installs custom mangaris benches in the courtyard

completed courtyard


WLAM | Landscape Architecture Myth Busting – Part 2

Part 2: More myth-busting as we continue to address common misconceptions about landscape architecture.

Myth #3. Density means eliminating urban green space

FALSE: We can have both density & greener, healthier cities

Larger, denser cities are cleaner and more energy efficient than smaller, suburban towns. Suburban and rural towns may have immediate access to open space and wildlands outside city limits because of their more dispersed organization, but large cities can emulate natural ecologies.

Street trees, courtyards, green roofs and living walls, along with botanic gardens and parks provide a network of outdoor spaces that enhance the biological diversity of our cities and help provide essential infrastructure. This framework of planted spaces is able to capture and treat urban run-off, lower temperatures, improve air quality and provide resilience against climate change. Gardens and community farms also provide food and improve human health.

At CJM::LA, we help make our cities healthier and greener by advocating for more planting and functional outdoor space, especially in our densest multi-family housing projects; designing public parks, paseos, and green roofs; and improving city streetscapes.

transplanted Mexican fan palms line the stairs at Bella Riviera workforce homes in Santa Barbara, CA

plant pockets and climbing vines beautify the drive aisles at the East Beach Collection in Santa Barbara, CA  | architect: WHA

live roof at the Hilton Garden Inn in Goleta, CA

textural plantings line the sidewalk at the Arlington Village apartments in downtown Santa Barbara, CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

entry plantings at homes designed for Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County in downtown Santa Barbara, CA

citrus trees within over-structure planters create a beautiful courtyard at Bella Riviera workforce homes

mediterranean plantings within raised planters help create opportunities for outdoor seating

neighborly gifts grown in downtown Santa Barbara, CA

Myth #4. Planting shouldn’t be done in a drought because plants use water

FALSE: Drought resilience is improved by planting smarter & better managing water resources

During a prolonged drought, there is less available water in the natural ecosystem, which negatively impacts human food and water security. Less water available in aquifers and other natural water bodies means less water for the agricultural industry and for our cities.

Landscape architects provide drought resilience by designing systems to comprehensively and efficiently manage water resources. By implementing bioretention basins, rainwater cisterns, efficient irrigation, greywater recycling and use of climate-adapted and native plants, we optimize our water resources and reallocate the potable water supply for drinking use.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but plants improve our ability to resist the impacts of drought by improving soil health, allowing soils to better capture and store water. Plants also sequester carbon, lower air temperatures, and if used in applications like green roofs, reduce building energy use and reduce the urban heat island effect. We shouldn’t eliminate plants because they use water. Instead, we should be smarter about how we supply plants with water and which plants we elect to use.

Want more info? See these additional links about drought resilience and using green infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of other hazards, like wildfires and climate change.

bioretention plants treat stormwater runoff at the Direct Relief headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA.

 


WLAM | World Landscape Architecture Month

April is World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM), a worldwide celebration of the impact this profession has on our daily lives.

As a part of our ongoing stewardship of the profession, this month we’re showcasing landscape architecture to the world and inviting the public to learn about what we do!  People hold profound connections to the spaces where they live, work and play.  This year we are celebrating the relationship between us and our environment.  We look forward to demonstrating the impact that thoughtful design solutions have on our collective quality of life.  Each week we’ll be posting something new, stay tuned!

 

 

We encourage you to join us in celebrating the landscape architectural profession by posting pictures from your neighborhood that highlight landscape architectural design with the hashtags #WLAM2020 and #LifeGrowsHere.
Be sure to tag @NationalASLA

 

TO LEARN MORE

Find out more about Landscape Architecture educational opportunities here.

Are you a K-12 educator interested in sharing landscape architecture with your students?
Learn more about Landscape Architecture education for teachers here

Are you hosting a virtual story time for your child?  Check this out:
Green Trees and Sam by Shannon Gapp, ASLA/Bolton & Menk.


CJM::LA Team Expands!

We are excited to announce the return of our Design Intern, Mariella Dentzel, at our Santa Barbara design studio!

Mariella comes to us with experience in product, furniture and installation design and fabrication.  While at CJM::LA, she has begun to apply the creative problem solving skills she developed as part of her degree in product design to the field of landscape architecture.  Mariella values the sense of place that successful designed spaces bring to our collective experience of the environment around us.  In her free time, Mariella enjoys exploring new environments on her bike and climbing mountains!


Crossrails Station Roof Garden

Read Full Article:
Crossrails Station Roof Garden
June 7, 2016
Landezine

Image courtesy of Jason Gairn

Image courtesy of Jason Gairn

Part of a new transit link for the city of London, the Crossrails Station roof garden celebrates the arrival of this new hub but also pay tribute to the neighborhood’s past. This exotic garden sits atop a five story mixed use commercial and transit center. The building’s exterior shell wraps the entire building with large openings above the garden creating a dynamic scene for visitors.

Click here to read more about this project.


Cut and Paste

Read Full Article:
Cut and Paste 
June 2, 2016
Design Bureau 

Image courtesy of Martin O’Neill

Image courtesy of Martin O’Neill

In a world of digital creative tools, UK based graphic designer Martin O’Neill prefers a more old fashioned craft. Simply using paper scraps and an exacto knife, he has created collages by hand for magazines, vinyl labels, prints, and more.

Click here to read more about Martin and his work.


The Death of the Traditional Work Desk

Read Full Article:
The Last Writing Desk
May 31, 2016
Dezeen

Image courtesy of Dezeen

Image courtesy of Dezeen

With laptops and mobile devices, the workplace is no longer restricted to the traditional desk like it used to be. Dutch designer Frans Willigers has created a hybrid chair and working desk that will replace outdated office furniture. With everything stored digitally now, the design does not feature any storage areas and employs a clean, simplistic design to create an open and airy office environment.

Click here to read more about this project.


The Park – Las Vegas

Read Full Article:
The Park – Las Vegas, NV
May 26, 2016
Landezine

Park-the-strip-melk-landscape-architecture-01

Image courtesy of Hanns Joosten

Las Vegas isn’t exactly known for its parks, but all that is about to change. New York City based firm !melk has brought cutting edge urban design and green space to the heart of Las Vegas Boulevard.

Click here to read more about how !melk is changing the conversation on the famous Las Vegas Strip.


Kit of Parks

Read Full Article:
Kit of Parks
May 19, 2016
World Landscape Architect

Image courtesy of Ben Gebo

Image courtesy of Ben Gebo

This low cost and portable kit is a great way to activate under programed public spaces. Constructed from a lightweight material, the pack fits into a bike trailer, can be unpacked in 10 minutes and contains a high top table, benches, side tables, stools, games, and planters.

Click here to read more about this project.


The Power Station

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The Power Station
May 17, 2016
Landezine

Image courtesy of Adolfo Cantu-Villareal

Image courtesy of Adolfo Cantu-Villareal

Hocker Design Group has transformed this local Dallas landmark into a new art space, residence and garden. Click here to read more about this project.


Every Chair Tells a Story

Read Full Article:
Every Chair Tells a Story
May 12, 2016
Dwell

Image courtesy of Veerie Evens

Image courtesy of Veerie Evens

Designer Yinka Ilori has turned to simple dining chairs as canvas for telling his personal story. He finds old and abused chairs and up cycles them using Dutch Wax batik–print fabrics that are closely associated with his Nigerian heritage. The traditional patterns are a part of his personal narrative of being British and Nigerian and it resonates with other people of similar backgrounds.

Click here to read more about Yinka Ilori’s work.