ASGCA Secretary John Sanford and Sanford Golf Design have been recognized by the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. FLASLA awarded David Ferris, RLA and Sanford Golf Design its top honor, the Award of Excellence, for their work at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, Bronx, New York.
The Award of Excellence was given to Sanford Golf Design and Ferris for their reclamation and transformation of New York City’s longtime derelict site into a unique Irish links inspired public golf course that utilizes the Whitestone Bridge, the East River, and the Manhattan skyline as its backdrop, while seamlessly integrating innovative details to address methane gas venting, settlement, site monitoring, neighboring storm drainage and water conservation.
“The FLASLA Design Awards program honors projects that blend environmental and artistic principles, emphasizing beauty, function, and the environment. We recognizes projects that demonstrate an inspired use of landscape architectural practices in an imaginative combination that adds to the body of the Landscape Architecture profession by bestowing it the Award of Excellence.” Said Jeff Brophy, FLASLA President. “Recipients are truly exceptional, unique and innovative.”
The design of the golf course at Ferry Point was a collaborative effort with Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA Fellow. This urban landfill design project had special challenges that had to be overcome, such as infrastructure, landfill closure requirements, permit approvals, methane venting and monitoring, differential settlement, erosion control during construction, post grow-in runoff, wetlands creation, and water quality. Changing environmental regulations during the design and construction phases made the process even more complex. In addition, excavation had to be kept to a minimum to reduce the impacts of Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) requirement for all unearthed municipal solid waste to be removed from the site. In order to meet this challenge and create landforms that emulate an Irish links course 2,400,00 CY of fill and sandy topsoil was imported over a 14-year period.
In addition to designing the facility, Sanford Golf Design was also the project manager. Ferris was in the forefront of that effort as the firms only New York Registered Landscape Architect. This did not go unnoticed by design competition jurors who were impressed by the breadth and depth of the projects scope performed by the firm and the Landscape Architect.
“They had over 50 very worthy projects from around the world submitted, ranging from small community service projects to 25,000-acre planning and analysis projects. To receive this year’s prestigious Environmental Sustainability Award from the Chapter is quite an honor.” Ferris said.