GMC wins three Alabama ASLA Design Awards

The Alabama Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently announced the winners of the 2015 Design Awards Program for landscape projects across the state at its annual awards celebration at the Birmingham Museum of Art. With the help of the Tennessee Chapter of ASLA, 12 projects were selected as some of the best in Alabama, demonstrating the quality, diversity and care of work landscape architects strive to achieve.

GMC was recognized for three projects: Auburn University Athletic Precinct (South Donahue Residence Hall, Wellness Kitchen and Parkerson Mill Creek stream restoration), Honor Award; Enon Ridge, Civil Rights and Jones Valley Trails, Merit Award; and Grand National Village Pool and Tennis Complex, Merit Award.

Auburn University’s Athletic Precinct is a series of projects, which includes the South Donahue Residence Hall, Wellness Kitchen, parking deck and Parkerson Mill Creek stream restoration. The project is distinct because it enabled the University to transform an entire 11-acre district of the campus into a more inclusive collegiate experience for athletes and students in a fresh and sustainable setting. The residence hall courtyard is an informal gathering space for students. The Wellness Kitchen dining terrace overlooks the Parkerson Mill Creek stream restoration project. Sustainable strategies in design, construction, natural systems and social settings are interconnected and supportive of each other.

The Civil Rights, Enon Ridge and Jones Valley Trails are the first three segments funded and constructed of the 2013 ASLA Alabama Planning Award winning Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Master Plan. The RRRVTS Master Plan is a visionary, long-term plan spearheaded by the Freshwater Land Trust that is transforming Birmingham from a locality known for obesity, automobile dependency and industrial pollution, into a community that promotes active and healthy lifestyles, supports sustainable modes of transportation and protects its natural surroundings. Each of these segments serves to offer connectivity and facilities to underserved neighborhoods within the core of Birmingham. By providing this connectivity and appropriate ways to walk and ride bicycles, residents in these areas have safe and sustainable modes of transportation to move around the City.

The Grand National Village Pool and Tennis Complex was designed as an added amenity for the Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel & Conference Center and has significantly enhanced Grand National as a hotel and resort destination. The tennis complex includes eight clay tennis courts, making it an ideal location for tourists and tennis tournaments and allowing the City of Opelika to compete with larger cities to host various tennis tournaments.

Auburn University Athletic Precinct

Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System

The Grand National Village Pool and Tennis Complex