Arid Lands Institute's Drylands Resilience Initiative wins $100K 2015 Latrobe Prize

The Woodbury University Arid Lands Institute's "Drylands Resilience Initiative" was honored with the AIA College of Fellows 2015 Latrobe Prize. Named after architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the biennial prize is awarded for a two-year research program that can lead to significant advances in the architecture profession.

The US$100,000 prize would support further development of ALI's digital design tool called “Hazel”, which intends to enable arid communities anywhere to design and build necessary infrastructure to capture, retain, and distribute stormwater runoff. With Los Angeles as the initial testing ground, the tool's development couldn't have been timelier as the California drought continues to leach more into mainstream media.

More details below.

Arid Lands Institute co-directors Peter Arnold and Hadley Arnold lead a team that includes: Rowan Roderick-Jones, CSci, ENV SP, Associate, Water Systems Group, ARUP, San Francisco; Deborah Weintraub, AIA, LEED AP, Chief Deputy City Engineer, Bureau of Engineering, Department of Public Works, City of Los Angeles; Leigh Christy, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Associate Principal, Perkins+Will, Los Angeles; and John Haymaker, AIA, Ph.D., LEED AP, Director of Research, Perkins+Will, Atlanta.

“Latrobe Prize funding comes at a crucial stage in the tool’s development, as we continue to build it out and test it.  Ultimately, the Drylands Resilience Initiative will result in a fully automated tool that supports communities and design teams developing distributed infrastructures, absorptive landscapes, innovative building systems and water-smart public policy for drylands urbanism,” said Peter Arnold, Principal Investigator and Director of Research for the Arid Lands Institute, affiliated with Woodbury University’s School of Architecture. “The tools and systems developed and tested in Los Angeles will have potential applications in drylands globally.”

""The $100,000 award will enable the Arid Lands Institute (ALI) and its cross-disciplinary partners to further develop and test a proprietary digital design tool, known as 'Hazel,' that eventually will enable arid communities anywhere to design and build the infrastructure needed to capture, retain and distribute stormwater runoff. The technology builds on previous public- and private sector-funded research to maximize low-carbon localized water supply; shape water-smart urban planning, zoning and building policy; identify key sites for public and private investment; develop pilot projects that are scalable and replicable; build water-conversant design professions and support water-sensitive design education."

"'The Drylands Resilience Initiative will test a tool which should enable engineers and architects to make more thoughtful decisions on the integration of stormwater capture and reuse in their projects. This aligns perfectly with the Bureau of Engineering’s goal of making Los Angeles the most livable city in the world through the use of sustainable design practices,' said Deborah Weintraub, AIA, City of Los Angeles Chief Deputy City Engineer [and ALI team member]." 

The 2015 Latrobe Prize jury included: David Conrath, AIA, Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland (chair); Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, Architect of the Capitol; Angela Brooks, FAIA, Brooks+Scarpa; Albert W. Rubeling, FAIA, Chancellor, AIA College of Fellows; Roger Schluntz, FAIA, University of New Mexico; Katherine Schwennsen, FAIA, Clemson University; John R. Sorrenti, FAIA, Vice Chancellor, AIA College of Fellows; and Lawrence Speck, FAIA, University of Texas.