ASLA's celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month kicked off on Wednesday, May 3 with a continue-the-conversation event on Chinatowns with Chinatown Futures: Cultivating Urban, Cultural Landscapes. Discussions began in 2020 with ASLA's AAPI Heritage Month Webinar Series that explored how landscape architects are shaping the culture and future of a changing community.

Held at National ASLA headquarters located in Washington, DC, this year's event was a conversation about the intersections of community, identity, and stewardship of cultural landscapes with three creative leaders committed to place-based interventions, programs, and leadership across Chicago, New York City, Calgary, and Boston Chinatowns.

Panelists included:
Ernie Wong, FASLA, Founding Principal and President, site design group llc
Yin Kong, Director and Co-Founder, Think!Chinatown
Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong, Artist

The discussion was moderated by Jenn Low, ASLA whose 2020 presentation Dear Chinatown DC, a making and sharing station project, examined the mechanics of community engagement to foster more meaningful forms of exchange and learning and how to fill the gaps where we are deficient.

 About the Panelists

Ernie Wong, Founding Principal, site design group
As the founding Principal and President of site, Ernest C. Wong has been instrumental in the evolution of the firm as a multi-cultural cutting-edge design entity and fostering the landscape architecture profession in the City of Chicago. In managing the firm for over 31 years, site has established a reputation for creative design solutions, and developing thoughtful, community-oriented urban spaces. Ernie serves on the board of numerous public service organizations and professional juries including the Driehaus Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design, Chinese American Service League, Near South Planning Board, and as the Chair of the Chicago Landmarks Commission. In 2013, Ernie was elevated to the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows for his exceptional leadership, extensive community service, and outreach work.

Yin Kong, Co-Founder, Think!Chinatown
Yin is a community-based designer and curator living and working in Manhattan's Chinatown. Think!Chinatown is the culmination of her work in urban design, museum, culinary & cultural instruction, and community engagement. Previously an Urban Curator of the Dashilar Project, she consulted a municipal agency of Beijing on urban revitalization strategies in the city's historic hutong core. She also spent time teaching at the Black Sesame Kitchen in Beijing and onboard Semester at Sea. Yin holds a Masters of Architecture, Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London and a Bachelors of Arts, Urban Studies from Columbia University. Her work has been presented at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2016 and the Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture 2007 & 2009. In 2019 she was a fellow of both the New Museum's IdeasCity and Coro's Neighborhood Leadership programs.

Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong, Artist and Architect
Cheryl is a New York-based artist and trained architect working at the intersection of art, architecture and the public realm. Wong’s work investigates the transformation of space over time. Through sculpture, installation and site-specific architectural interventions that activate underused public spaces, she explores how we can negotiate and share space together. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cheryl received her B.A. in Art and Italian at UC Berkeley, studied sculpture at Brera Academy in Milan, Italy and earned her Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP. She has completed public art commissions with the NY State Thruway Authority, NYC Parks, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, City of Calgary, City of Inglewood and Washington DC Public Schools, amongst others.

Using the Art of Origami, ASLA Celebrates Japanese Design in Landscape Architecture 

  
Image by Olga Kurbatova 

Origami has inspired the work of landscape architects for years and has become the anchor of community-wide activities honoring Japanese culture. This year, ASLA invited chapters to join National headquarters in its ongoing celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month highlighting Japanese art form, origami, in landscape architecture.

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices. “Oru” in Japanese means ‘to fold’ and “Kami” in Japanese means ‘Paper’, so it translates as ‘To fold paper‘. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. (Source Wikipedia). 

Members were invited to participate by decorating office or outdoor spaces with a landscape architecture themed origami project.  

Two origami-inspired projects designed by landscape architects included: 

• Origami Landscape, Jane Berger, Landscape Architecture Magazine 
• Unfolding Terrace, ASLA Residential Design Honor Award Recipient 

Other fun uses of origami in landscape architecture: 

• Origami Landscape, Urban Design with Design Studio, University of Trento 
• Origami Stories, dezeen 
• Origami Wall, LANDEZINE Landscape Architecture Platform
• Riverside Origami, Garten Studio