American Society of Landscape Architects Honors UK Professor and Alumnus
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Nov. 30, 2017) — Ned Crankshaw, chair of the University of Kentucky Department of Landscape Architecture within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, was recognized for his exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the field, when the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently named him to their Council of Fellows. UK landscape architecture alumnus Christopher H. Manning also received the distinction.
From 16,000 active members, the ASLA inducted only 23 members into its class of fellows for 2017. The recognition is one of the highest honors the society bestows on its members.
The ASLA’s Kentucky Chapter nominated Crankshaw in the Knowledge category. The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment professor is a noted expert on historic landscape management and preservation, and author of "Creating Vibrant Public Space: Streetscape Design in Commercial Historic Districts." He was recognized for advancing the profession’s collective knowledge of cultural landscapes, especially in rural settings, and also for elevating preservationists’ understanding of historic landscapes.
Through his work with public agencies and organizations on the local through the national levels, Crankshaw’s vision spans transportation, landscape architecture and preservation. He has generated vital funding for land acquisition, public access and preservation of such venues as pioneer sites, historic cemeteries and historic commercial districts. His preservation master plan for the Lower Howard’s Creek State Nature and Heritage Preserve in Clark County received a national design award from ASLA. The plan has helped manage this significant example of Kentucky’s pioneer economy. Crankshaw’s Kentucky Streetscape Design Guidelines helped channel federal transportation funding into the preservation of historic commercial districts that benefited community vitality throughout the state.
Manning, who graduated from the department in 1987, is a partner at Human Nature Inc. in Cincinnati. The Ohio Chapter ASLA nominated him in the Leadership/Management category. The nomination stated, “As a public servant, Christopher leads by listening. His inspired ideas for park design and sustainable community improvement have dramatically influenced Greater Cincinnati’s urban renaissance and the connectivity of the entire region.”
Manning’s firm has designed some of the most important public spaces in Cincinnati in recent decades. Human Nature’s rehabilitation of Washington Park provided a key project in the economic resurgence of the Over the Rhine neighborhood. Their Theodore Berry International Friendship Park transformed an awkward linear site into a park that is symbolic of the landscapes of the five continents.
Manning has motivated hundreds of aspiring young designers as a teacher and through his firm’s outreach programs. His sanitation district plan for Northern Kentucky is now a stormwater laboratory and public park that incorporates a green roof, rain harvesting, porous pavements, bioswales, wetlands, retention basins and step pools. His master plans include one LEED Platinum and two Gold campuses. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building rating system that is globally recognized as a symbol of achievement in sustainability.