An award-winning new outdoor space in Ohio focuses on the autistic experience.
By Maci Nelson, Associate ASLA
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder enjoy the garden both independently and with support. Photo by Richard Mandelkorn.
In early 2020, Toronto-based Virginia Burt, FASLA, received a cold call and invitation to meet for pizza and discuss a garden project in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The garden would honor the memory of the family’s child, Morgan, whose favorite hobby was gardening, and who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The proposed garden would replace the existing courtyard at the Monarch Center for Autism and its Lifeworks Program, which cared for Morgan, and provides prevocational training and support for people with autism who experience severe emotional, physical, and social challenges.Continue reading Designed for Differences→
What does Dungeons & Dragons have in common with landscape architecture? More than you’d think.
Interview by Maci Nelson, Associate ASLA
When not working as a biochemist, Frank Tedeschi and fellow players gather around custom-built terrain models. Courtesy Frank Tedeschi.
Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game where imagination and strategy are the core of play. To participate, you must build a world that does not physically exist but must be understood by others. Dungeon Masters are similar to designers in that they design experiences for people and curate encounters specific to their players and their world for dynamic interactions. In this interview, Frank Tedeschi, a biochemist and the founder of Dead Box Games, discusses the interdisciplinary process of world-building and the way his professional training influences his game making, mirroring the efforts of designers to create spaces.Continue reading Gateway Games→
The Magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects
