Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2025 Landmark Award. Restoring the Glory, the Restoration of Forest Park. St Louis, Missouri. HOK / Forest Park Forever
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ (Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ) announced that Restoring the Glory, the Restoration of Forest Park, St. Louis, designed by the landscape architecture firm HOK in Washington, D.C., has won the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2025 Landmark Award.?
The Landmark Award is bestowed upon a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community.??
At 1,370 acres, Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. The site of the 1904 World¡¯s Fair, funding and maintenance challenges in the 1970s and ¡®80s degraded the park¡¯s quality, rendering it less functional and unsafe. In 2000, the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever (FPF) engaged the design team at HOK to restore some of the park¡¯s most iconic landmarks in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Fair. The restoration modernized amenities, reintroduced natural systems, and reconnected visitors to the beloved public space, transforming it into an area for recreation, sports, civic and cultural events, and more.? ?
¡°Forest Park is the nation¡¯s largest urban park, while always remaining at the heart of St. Louis. HOK¡¯s restoration honors George Kessler¡¯s original vision while embracing modern sustainability and resiliency,¡± said Brian Jencek, Director of Planning, HOK. ¡°By restoring ecosystems, improving access, and creating inclusive spaces, we¡¯ve prepared the park to serve its community¡ªand future generations¡ªas a vibrant, democratic landscape.¡±?
The restoration of Forest Park is a nationally recognized success story. With more than 15 million visitors annually, the park is the sixth most visited urban park in the U.S. and was recently named the best city park in USA Today¡¯s readers' choice awards for the second consecutive year. The park continues to be recognized as a national destination and the pride of its city and region.?
¡°The restorations of Government Hill and Emerson Grand Basin have stood the test of time and delighted millions of Forest Park visitors for a generation. Forest Park Forever was proud to partner with HOK and the City of St. Louis on these signature projects, which remain wonderful examples of landscape architecture for the entire St. Louis region to enjoy,¡± said Lesley Hoffarth, P.E., President and Executive Director of Forest Park Forever.?
The Landmark Award was announced as part of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2025 Professional Awards. Thirty-five winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. Read more in the awards press release.
Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony at the in New Orleans, October 10-13. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information, visit .
Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.
Award Categories
General Design
Award of Excellence
???A Floating Forest: Fish Tail Park in Nanchang City
Nanchang, China
Turenscape?
Honor Award
The Beach at Elliott Bay
Seattle, Washington?
SurfaceDesign, Inc.?
Honor Award
Guitou Wetland Park: Reclaiming Public Space for the Rural Forgotten
Shaoguan City, China?
YXDesigners?
Honor Award
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund
Kinigi, Rwanda?
MASS Design Group + TEN x TEN?
Honor Award
More than Human: A Land Bridge for Cultural and Wildlife Connections
San Antonio, Texas
STIMSON?
Honor Award
The Shepherd Arts Park: Community, Art, Play
Detroit, Michigan
OSD ¨C Office of Strategy & Design?
Honor Award
A Walk in the Woods: Re-Wilding, Experimentation and Pedagogy at UMass
Amherst, Massachusetts
STIMSON? ?
Honor Award
Waterloo Park: Reclaiming Public Space in the Center of Austin
Austin, Texas
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.?
Honor Award
Mill 19: A Catalytic Postindustrial Landscape
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TEN x TEN + D.I.R.T. Studio?
Urban Design
Honor Award
Jiaxing Station Park
Zhejiang, China
Z'scape + MAD?
Honor Award
Shanghai Underpass Hubs: Bridging Divides, Building Community
Shanghai, China
FISH DESIGN?
Honor Award
China Basin Park: A Dynamic Urban Connector
San Francisco, California
SCAPE?
Honor Award
Generosity of Place: Water Street Tampa¡¯s Continuous Canopy
Tampa, Florida
Reed Hilderbrand LLC?
Honor Award
??Turning Gray into Green: Meishe River Greenway and Fengxiang Park?
Haikou City, China
Turenscape?
Honor Award
UNIT.City: Transforming an Industrial Zone into an Innovation District
Kyiv, Ukraine
KOTSIUBA?
Residential Design
Award of Excellence
And the Wild Comes Right up to the Door
Princeton, Massachusetts
STIMSON?
Honor Award
The Little Project: Unlocking the Potential of an Everyday Urban Lot
St. Paul, Minnesota
Ping Design LLC?
Honor Award?
Huckleberry Perch
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design?
Honor Award?
Inez Point: Embracing an Old Growth Forest
Whitefish, Montana
Design Workshop, Inc.?
Honor Award
Springy Banks
East Hampton, New York
LaGuardia Design Group?
Honor Award
Sendero Verde
New York, New York
AECOM LAUD NYC?
Honor Award
Norweta
Chicago, Illinois
Site Design Group, Ltd. Honor Award
Analysis & Planning
Award of Excellence?
Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park: A Landscape of Healing and Renewal
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Design Collective with Carmichael Associates?
Honor Award
Somerville Pollinator Action Plan: A Pollinator¡¯s Guide to City Living
Somerville, Massachusetts
Offshoots, Inc.?
Honor Award?
Rural Abundance & Vitality: The Chaobai River Basin
Tianjin Municipality, China
Sasaki Associates, Inc??
Honor Award
Sea2City: Reimagining Reconciliation in Design and Policy
Vancouver, Canada
Mithun + ONE, and PWL Partnership?
Communications
Honor Award
Greening Five Points: Growing a Grassroots Movement in Denver
Denver, Colorado?
Design Workshop + Design Workshop Foundation?
Honor Award
WORKS with Nature: Low-Carbon Adaptation for a Changing World
Boston, Massachusetts
Climate Positive Design?
Honor Award
Playbook for the Pyrocene
SWA Group?
Honor Award
Empty Pedestals
Southwestern U.S.
Kofi Boone, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ & M. Elen Deming, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ?
Research
Honor Award?
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Time: Adaptive Management for Coastal Salt Marshes
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania Environmental Modeling Lab (EMLab)?
Honor Award
Charles River Floating Wetland Pilot Project: Multi-Year Findings
Boston, Massachusetts
Sasaki Associates, Inc + The Hideo Sasaki Foundation and Dr. McNamara Rome?
Honor Award
LONGQUAN MOUNTAIN Park: Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research
Sichuan, China
ZAP Associates LLC?
Jury: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award
Jury Chair: Thomas Balsley, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, SWA/Balsley
Members:
C.L. Bohannon, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, University of Virginia School of Architecture?
Carol Coletta, Coletta and Company?
L. Irene Compadre, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Arbolope Studio? ? ? ? ? ? ??
Adam Greenspan, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PWP Landscape Architecture?
Matt Hickman, Architectural Record?
David Hocker, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Hocker Design Group?
Shannon Nichol, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, GGN?
Jury: Analysis & Planning Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research, Communications & Landmark Award
Jury Chair: Diane Fernandez Bibeau, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, City of Boston?
Members:
Sierra Bainbridge, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, MASS Design Group?
Francisco Brown, Metropolis Magazine?
Keiko Tsuruta Cramer, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, WRT?
Claire Latan¨¦, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Cal State Poly Pomona / Design with Mental Health in Mind?
Adrian Smith, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, City of New York?
Bo Yang, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, University of Arizona?
Adam Yaracs, AIA, IKM Architecture?
IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares Trujillo, IFLA America Region?
CELA Representative: Bo Zhang, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Oklahoma State University?
LAF Representative: Signe Nielsen, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C.?