The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (WI ASLA) announced recently its juried selection of 2024 Professional Award winners. The City of Madison and MSA Professional Services, Inc. (MSA) were together selected to receive an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning category for the Vilas Park Master Plan.

WI ASLA Honor Awards recognize one project or plan per category that exemplify top-tier development, visioning, and design through the lens of the landscape architect. Winners are chosen by a juried panel of professionals from the ASLA Upstate New York Chapter. Projects are appraised and rated on a variety of achievements including quality of planning and design; relationship to context and environmental responsibility; effective use, presentation, or programming of landscape architectural techniques; impact on the environment or environmental decision-making; and significance to the profession.

Vilas Park Master Plan, developed for the City of Madison, is a vision for the future of Henry Vilas Park, a 45.67-acre property originally designed in 1905. The plan focuses on traditional uses, inclusionary principles, and current needs, and will serve as a guide toward future park improvements pertaining to appropriate amenity location, resource protection, environmental awareness, and safe public spaces for all. The document emphasizes the importance of inclusion; all pedestrian connectivity meets or exceeds guidelines and safe access for alternative transportation such as bicycles, foot traffic, and school buses. The planning process included a comprehensive public engagement strategy informed by the City of Madison’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative (RESJI) Comprehensive Tool. Involving RESJI in the process provided the opportunity for a full spectrum of citizen input to help guide the next 100 years of Vilas Park.

“MSA and the City of Madison are proud to receive an Honor Award for the Vilas Park Master Plan,” comments John Langhans, PE, vice president of the Land service line at MSA. “This plan illustrates great ideas and uncharted opportunities for the future of one of Madison’s oldest and most beloved parks. Not only will it serve as a guide toward implementation of park improvements, but will remain a living, breathing document that represents the true voices of the city and park visitors.”

This year’s WI ASLA Professional Awards recognized 11 projects across the state of Wisconsin. All award winners were celebrated at the University of Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture’s Jensen-Longenecker Awards Banquet on April 19, 2024.