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ESF Alum Honored with ASLA Design Medal
Thomas Balsley, (LA, '68) will be honored with the ASLA Design Medal for his exceptional design. The honor is given by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
Awarded annually, the ASLA Design Medal is bestowed upon a landscape architect who has produced a body of exceptional design work at a sustained level for at least 10 years.
Balsley, the principal designer of New York City-based firm Thomas Balsley Associates, has created numerous public spaces that enrich the lives of people and their communities. His work often exists in the margins of the city, the industrial edges, the waterfronts and the scraps of land left over from the urban grid. His designs include Hunter's Point South Waterfront Park and Riverside Park South in New York City.
His firm has been a major player in an effort to enhance the many small, open plazas that dot New York City. In 2000, a park on Manhattan's Ninth Avenue was named Balsley Park in his honor.
His design influence can be found in urban parks, plazas and waterfronts throughout New York City, the United States and abroad including Japan, Korea, China, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Closer to his alma mater, Balsley left his mark on downtown Syracuse. The fountains in both Clinton and Hanover squares are examples of his early work. Both were done after Balsley's graduation by his newly established NYC firm.
The honor will be presented at the president's dinner on Nov. 9, held during the 2015 ASLA Annual Meeting & EXPO, in Chicago.