The 2026 ASLA Emerging Professionals Design Competition is Now Open

Reimagining Angel's Knoll in Los Angeles

The ASLA Associate Advisory Committee is pleased to launch the second ASLA Emerging Professionals Design Competition, inviting early-career landscape architects and designers to take on a timely urban design challenge in downtown Los Angeles.

Inspired by the 2026 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture theme, "Action! Design in Motion. Work in Progress.", this year's competition asks entrants to reimagine Angel's Knoll, a small but highly visible and currently inaccessible open space on Bunker Hill. Located beside the historic Angels Flight Railway and across from Grand Central Market, the site offers sweeping views, steep topography, and strong transit access-while also presenting urgent questions around accessibility, climate resilience, equity, and public space.

Rather than proposing a fixed end state, participants are encouraged to see Angel's Knoll as a landscape in transition. The competition calls for bold, conceptually strong ideas that respond to the site's present condition and uncertain future, exploring how design can support adaptation, public reconnection, and ecological performance in the heart of the city.

The competition is open to emerging professional ASLA members with fewer than 10 years of experience, as well as student ASLA members entering their final year in Fall 2026. Entries may be submitted individually or in teams of up to three, and participation is free.

Key dates:

• Launch: Tuesday, June 2
• Submission deadline: Thursday, July 16, 11:59 p.m. ET
• Winners notified: Wednesday, August 12

The First Prize winner or team will receive full registration to either the ASLA 2026 Conference in Los Angeles or ASLA 2027 in Chicago, along with publication on ASLA channels. Second and Third Prize entries will also be published through ASLA media.

This competition offers emerging professionals a valuable opportunity to test ideas, engage a compelling real-world site, and contribute to an important conversation about the future of the public realm.

Start Your Application Today!