Five Texas A&M University College of Architecture former students received Merit Awards on the behalf of their companies at the annual American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Texas State Conference held last April in Houston.
Aan Coleman, BLA ‘81, president of Coleman and Associates, an Austin-based landscape architecture firm, accepted an award for the BMX Ranch design, a weekend retreat for bicycle motocross enthusiasts. The ellipse-based plan, which includes a ranch house, entertainment pavilion, barn and large swimming pool equipped with a Schlitterbahn-style water slide, is located on a 30-acre pecan orchard. The owner plans to eventually donate the complex for use as a children’s camp.
Bobby Eichholz, BLA ’94, an associate with Rialto Studio in San Antonio, accepted an award for the firm’s work on the Pearl Brewery Site redevelopment. Rialto worked collaboratively with the owner and other specialists, seamlessly melding the physical and functional aspects of the project while honoring the many historic structures around the near downtown San Antonio location.
David Hocker, BLA ’01, principal for the Hocker Design Group, received a Merit Award for a historic preservation and urban renewal project on the Belmont Hotel in Dallas. The project has promoted revitalization and renewal for the region linking west Dallas to the Trinity River corridor and downtown.
Jonathan McMillian, BLA ‘96, senior associate with Clark Condon Associates, accepted an award for the East Shore Project in The Woodlands, Texas. The project links the more traditional single family home developments to The Woodlands Town Center with a blend of housing types and densities in an Olmsteadian park tradition. The goal was to create a community knit together with parks and open space that promote walkability.
Philip Wanke BLA ’88 and MSLD ’91, principal with the BWM Group of Round Rock, Texas, accepted a Merit Award for his firm’s Garey Park project. The park will be built on the 525-acre Garey Ranch, after the deaths of owners Jack and Cammy Garey, who have willed the land to the city of Georgetown, Texas. When complete, it will be one of the largest municipal parks in Texas. Designed with a great deal of community input, the park’s master plan calls for a blend of passive and active recreational uses which complement the other parks in the surrounding community.
