25 Years of Awards
As we look back on the work we’ve done since our early days in 1993, we find projects that have been recognized again and again for their creativity and innovation in planning and design. Below is a list of 25 awards given to some of our favorite projects. North Center Senior Campus City of Chicago... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Awards + Accolades
Chicago River Green Ribbon Award
The Lakota Group’s Calumet & Southeast Chicago Lakefront Region Wayfinding Concept was awarded the Friends of the Chicago River Green Ribbon Award at the 2017 Annual Big Fish Ball. The Lakota team, in partnership with the Calumet Collaborative, Bluestone + Associates and sparc, inc., created this wayfinding concept to bring people together to experience the... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades
Two IL – ASLA Awards
Lakota is happy to announce it just received two awards from the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for two very different projects. Lakota’s work at Hubbard Woods Park received a Merit award in the General Design-Constructed Projects category. This project examined an under-utilized open space and provided improvements to help reinvigorate... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Lakota in the Tribune: Niles Arts+Culture Plan
On February 16, the Lakota Group led a Community Workshop for the Niles Arts + Culture Master Plan. The event drew a huge crowd and was covered by the Chicago Tribune. Check it out! Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
In the (Partner) Spotlight with the Millennium Reserve
The Lakota Group has been featured as a Partner Spotlight on the Millennium Reserve Website. President Scott Freres explains how Lakota embodies an “ally” mentality, while VP Sarah White emphasizes the importance of public engagement in Lakota’s process, which, Sarah says, is all about “trying to find common ground between people with different perspectives. Our work... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
Movin’ On Up!
The Lakota Group celebrates its hard-working team members and their new titles. Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades
CNU-IL and AIA-Chicago Host “Tactical Urbanism Slam”
On Thursday May 7th at the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), Kyle Smith of CNT and Ian Sisson of The Lakota Group co-hosted a “Tactical Urbanism Slam” with their respective organizations, the Congress for New Urbanism – Illinois Chapter (CNU-IL), and the American Institute of Architects Chicago Chapter (AIA Chicago). The event featured eight speakers with... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
It’s Award Season at Lakota
Lakota Wins Merit Award for St. Cloud Placemaking The Lakota Group was recently presented with a Merit Award by the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) for its innovative work in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Engaged to help identify placemaking strategies and opportunities to enhance quality of life, Lakota worked to educate St.... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News, Project Stories
MedQuarter Master Development Plan Wins 2014 APA-Iowa Award for Urban Design; Lakota visits Mason City, rewatches The Music Man
Each year, the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-Iowa) asks its members to nominate plans, projects, and individuals deserving recognition for achievements in planning work. This year, the MedQuarter Master Development Plan was honored by the organization as an exemplary urban design project – one of ten outstanding plans, projects, and individuals recognized. The APA... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Moline Centred Plan Receives Best Strategic Plan Award
Over the years, the Lakota Group has had a fruitful working relationship with the communities that comprise the Quad Cities metropolitan region. In 1998, Lakota, in collaboration with 18 Quad City communities and various other local non-profit groups and agencies, created the Mississippi River Corridor Land Use Plan and Design Principles, a comprehensive planning document... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
Density in the Suburbs | APA 2014 Conference
Lakota is a sponsor of this week’s APA-IL conference in Evanston, and we hope to see you there! Come see Scott participate in a panel discussion titled “Density in the Suburbs” on Wednesday at 1:00. The topic will be how to retrofit obsolete single use, suburban development into high density, sustainable development. As the program... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
CANstruction: The Lakota Group Gorilla Wins the People’s Choice Award!
Did you happen to notice an 8-foot tall silverback gorilla tromping through the Merchandise Mart recently? Then you may have seen the CANstruction Chicago 2014 entry designed and built by The Lakota Group and its teammates Valenti Builders and Myefski Architects. “CANsanova Knuckle-Crushes Hunger,” took home the People’s Choice Award as well as the ribbon... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades
Lakota Bullish about Downtown Kenosha
Scott was the keynote speaker at the annual State of Downtown Kenosha this week, where he told the audience of more than 100 people that the city had a unique asset to build on: its streetcar infrastructure. The event was reported in the Kenosha News under the headline “Boosters bullish about state of downtown Kenosha”... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Lakota, LAbash and the Future of Landscape Architecture
Each year, landscape architecture students host an event called LAbash and for three days industry professionals are welcomed to host design workshops and give presentations on topics relevant to the industry. Since 1970, the networking event has been hosted by a different university in North America and since this year it was being held Scott... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating “Green” into Ordinances
As the desire to incorporate sustainable initiatives into homes, businesses and developments grows, local governments often find that their ordinances did not anticipate these new practices. While certain practices require completely new language, others—such as rain barrels and light shelves—may be restricted by unintentional barriers within existing ordinances. Daniel Grove, Lakota associate principal, will present... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
Reinvigorating Oak Park through Public Investment
What is the long-term value of investing in high-quality public spaces? And what impact do public infrastructure improvements have on private investment and placemaking? Daniel Grove, associate principal at The Lakota Group, and Scott Freres, principal/president, will be giving a tour of historic Marion Street in Oak Park for the National American Planning Association Conference... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Frank Lloyd Wright and Survey Serendipity
I’ve spent most of my adult life living in Oak Park, Illinois, that well-known Chicago suburb celebrated for being the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and the home of that other distinguished gentleman, Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed a number of his Prairie School homes and buildings in the community during the first couple of decades... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
A Revitalized Marion Street in Oak Park, IL
The project to revitalize downtown Oak Park, Illinois was completed in fall of 2007, when plans to reopen a former pedestrian mall to two-way traffic were carried out. Marion Street, in the heart of the central business district, was transformed into a welcoming streetscape reminiscent of its early 20th century look. The new Marion Street... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Pullman 20 years later – Lakota Participates in ULI Technical Assistance Panel for the Pullman State Historic Site
In April 1991, under former Governor James R. Thompson, the State of Illinois purchased the Pullman Palace Car Company Factory Complex and the adjacent Florence Hotel as part of a newly established state historic site. Those of you may recall from your college history or urban planning classes that Pullman was one of the country’s first... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, Project Stories
Naperville recognized for its historic preservation efforts
The Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized the City of Naperville’s historic preservation program with a 2011 Chapter “Best Practice” Award during the Illinois Chapter’s annual conference last week in Evanston. Naperville undertook a two-year community engagement process to strengthen its local historic preservation program by revising its historic preservation ordinance, reconstituting the... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories