The Oasis Symposium 2025

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company mentioned within. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.

Note: For those looking for the Oasis Design Competition results only, skip to the last section. Otherwise, we hope you enjoy this post!

Intro

As many of you may already know, well, at least the five of you - including my Mom - that have read my previous posts, that for the last decade, I have been promoting a dialogue between Albuquerque/American Southwest and Mendoza, Argentina based on the many climatic, cultural, and geographic parallels we share. More specifically, this work has been focused on exploring the exemplary “Tree-Acequia” planning model of Mendoza, which was recently recognized as a “Tree City of the World” by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO ) and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Touted as the ‘Desert Oasis’, Mendoza, Argentina is one of the few arid cities in the world where historic traditions of city planning are maintained that leverage the bioclimatic benefits of natural systems to respond to the harsh environment – it sustains a robust urban tree canopy supported by a network urban acequias and is a coveted cultural heritage of the people of Mendoza. In contrast, Albuquerque, New Mexico - originally founded utilizing similar practices to Mendoza - has marginalized its acequias, trees, and natural systems for inhospitable impervious surfaces.

*The "Oasis Model" from Mendoza, Argentina*

Sharing many geographical, historical, cultural, and environmental parallels/similarities, this timely discussion seeks to provide valuable insights that could influence the consideration of more adaptive and sustainable strategies for city planning and development in Albuquerque and other arid cities around the world. In return, planners and citizens in Mendoza may glean lessons that can help avoid compromising their historic practices and the integrity of the natural systems within their city as development pressures increase.

Check out my previous posts for more details - A Tale of Two Cities: Albuquerque-Mendoza, #abq-mdz

The Oasis Symposium

To foster the sharing of knowledge and mutual understanding between these two cities and cultures, I thought it was imperative to bring people from Mendoza to Albuquerque to participate in this discussion and to provide their perspectives on our city and culture as well. It had been my dream to bring this dialogue to my alma mater, UNM SAAP. So, in February of 2025, Place Integrated hosted our friend and colleague from Mendoza, Martín Balasch - Agronomic Engineer, Landscape Designer, and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design at the University of Mendoza (AR), amongst many other related roles. Having Martin here in New Mexico precipitated the need to create a platform for us to share these perspectives and include our community in this dialogue. So, we organized the Oasis Symposium, an all-day event, which included presentations, lunch, a field trip, and a student design competition based on the principles gleaned from the presentations.

The Oasis Symposium, held on February 22, 2025 at the UNM SAAP George Pearl Hall Auditorium, was born out of the idea that sharing knowledge across boundaries, disciplines, and cultures is key to developing successful strategies for planning and development in our uncertain future. To facilitate this, we focused on the intersections of water, tree canopy, culture, and urban planning, in the arid urban context. Our hope with hosting the symposium was to bring together various perspectives and ideas related to these themes with the intention of elevating the importance and timeliness of interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and systemic management and planning of our urban ecological systems. We also wanted to see what was being practiced here in Albuquerque compared to what was being practiced in Mendoza.

We gathered a small cross-section of dedicated professionals that have been working in roles related to tree canopy, green infrastructure, sustainability planning, and design, to hear about the work they are doing and how it might incorporate the principles of the “oasis” model. Our seven presenters shared excellent material and truly engaged the 60+ participants in attendance, sharing with them the state of Albuquerque’s urban canopy and forestry planning/initiatives, tree irrigation design and installation best practices, heat island mitigation, acequia and water management, and urban planning, followed by a panel discussion and a campus tree canopy tour and a catered lunch, featuring Argentinian and New Mexican cuisine.

Presentations

We were so incredibly fortunate to have the willingness and availability of our seven speakers. They did an amazing job and we will be forever grateful for their participation. In addition to seeing their presentations in the links below, we wanted to highlight their contributions and bios in case you’d like to learn more about them. Also, please note that though we recorded the entire symposium, we had some technical difficulties which left us with only half of the actual presentations. You can see it here. You can also review the full slideshow below.

Andrew Bernard - “Looking to the Past for Solutions for the Future: Thinking Systemically & Strategically about Green Infrastructure in Semi-Arid Regions”

Organizer and the initiator of the symposium. Having roots in environmental science, he made his way to landscape architecture following “the water” and has been interested in exploring green infrastructure practices in arid regions. He is a cofounder of the Arid LID Coalition, former sustainability manager for Central New Mexico COmmunity College, Landscape Architect/Owner at Place Integrated LLC, where he tries to practice what he preaches. This amalgamation of interests and experience eventually led him to receive a Fulbright Scholarship presenting the opportunity to immerse himself in the culture and city of Mendoza Argentina for a year and a half while also in lockdown throughout the pandemic. He has made a lot of friends, mentors, and colleagues who share this enthusiasm and none of this would have been possible without them.

Martín Balasch - “Urban Oasis and Biophilic Architecture”

Martín E. Balasch is an Agricultural and Landscape Engineer from Mendoza, Argentina. Martin graduated from the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina and has more than 25 years of experience in which he has designed and built more than 1,000 parks and gardens. His work has been recognized with national and international awards, perhaps highlighted by the receiving a “Gold in Architecture and Landscape 2023” from Great Wine Capitals for his work on the now world-famous Anaia winery in the Valle de Uco.

In addition to his professional practice, he is a founding partner and president of the NGO “Red Argentina del Paisaje Nodo Mendoza” a network of landscape professionals promoting more sustainable planning of green spaces. He is also a co-founder of JardinYa, an innovative online design platform available in 12 countries. Today he joins us to share his vision on landscape design, integrating sustainability, innovation and harmony with the environment.

Sandra West - “City-to-City Partnership - The Value of Knowledge Sharing: An International Example”

Sandra’s presentation brings our focus to local government. As a systems thinker, she works to create regenerative systems in her professional life and personal life and believes that when working in collaboration, we can do more than we could alone. Sandra serves as the Sustainable Waste Specialist in the City of Albuquerque's Sustainability Office. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and a master's in biology, and applies a circular systems approach to sustainability challenges. Over the years, she has had the opportunity to work for municipalities, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and contractors, always bringing her systems-based perspective and facilitating collaborative networks. Since joining the City in 2022, Sandra has expanded the City’s sustainable waste work and has worked to strengthen collaborations within the municipality, the metropolitan area, our state, and internationally.

Bonnie Strange - City of Albuquerque Forestry - " Data-Driven Decision Making"

Bonnie is a Senior Planner with the City of Albuquerque’s Urban Forestry section in the Parks and Recreation Department. Without a doubt, her work exemplifies a fusion of landscape architecture, urban planning, and forestry. Bonnie's professional journey began dedicated to outdoor guiding and trail restoration followed by eight years working in private practice landscape architecture, which laid the foundation for her current role. With over a decade of hands-on experience in outdoor environments, she has transitioned seamlessly into urban forestry, where she applies her creative and technical skills to enhance public spaces. Her work involves integrating sustainable design practices into urban planning and contributing to the development of urban landscapes. Bonnie’s career reflects a commitment to blending creativity with practical solutions to create functional and aesthetically pleasing public spaces, driven by a deep-rooted passion for the natural world.

Sean O'Neill - City of Albuquerque Forestry - " Data-Driven Decision Making"

Sean is the City of Albuquerque's Former City Forester with the Parks and Recreation Department. Native to New Mexico, Sean was born and raised in Albuquerque, where he pursued his undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry and graduated with a graduate degree in Water Resources at the University of New Mexico. Sean's passion for the outdoors and natural resources was sparked early by opportunities to participate in and conduct environmental research, predominantly in the bosque, the riparian forest along the Rio, at a very early age. With over five years as a full-time field research Biologist and Ecologist, Sean had the opportunity to take his experiences into the world of Municipal Forestry, serving in the City Forester role for about three years. Sean has enjoyed the work, challenges, problem-solving opportunities, and constant learning created by managing such a unique natural resource as the city's urban canopy.

Richard Perce - "UNM Arboretum Update: Reinvigorating a Community Asset"

Richard has 20 years’ experience in the landscape industry, specializing in low water and adaptive landscapes and irrigation efficiency. As the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority’s Irrigation Efficiency Specialist, Richard was the project lead on the ABCWUA Irrigation Efficiency Guide, ABCWUA WaterSense Smart Irrigation Controller Study, and contributed to the development of educational materials that aligned with Water 2120 and the 2037 Water Conservation Plan. His research for his planning degree has included the cultural and psychological impact of lawns. Richard brings a diverse set of skills in irrigation design, installation, and maintenance, community engagement, data collection

and analysis, and technical writing.

Thea Swift - "A Hydrosocial Approach to GSI to Strengthen Urban Resilience"

Upon receiving her B.A. from Earlham College in 2011, Thea worked on economic and social policy issues in Washington D.C. and then later at a local nonprofit Colorado. In 2017, she transitioned to work as the Lead Estimator for a commercial subcontractor in Colorado. Following her love of art, engineering, and being outside in nature, she decided to make the transition into the field of landscape architecture. In May 2024, she received a Master of Landscape Architecture at UNM, graduating with distinction as a 2024 Olmsted Scholar. She now works as a landscape designer at Pland Collaborative. Her focus of landscape architecture emphasizes social equity and engagement related to the advancement of green stormwater infrastructure design in the arid environments of the southwest.

Additional Contributors

Solange Serquis - Principal Landscape Architect, Serquis & Associates/Owner of Cafecito Restaurant

Thank you to Solange, also formally from Argentina, for sharing these beautiful and inspiring examples of your work demonstrating how it connects people with place, driven by a building philosophy rooted in bibliophilia and fostering interconnections within the urban fabric through landscape architecture. Her design philosophy revolves around the idea of endless possibilities. Today, she champions the belief that "there’s nothing that cannot be solved through design."

We are also grateful for her help in securing some delicious authentic Argentinian empanadas for our lunch. Please make sure to check out her firm’s video below, and Cafecito if you’re ever in Santa Fe.

We also had an audience member feel so inspired by the topics of discussion that they wrote a poem -

Andrew Stone - President, NM People's Energy Cooperative - "Ode To Elm"

Mano Vicente posed me the question

"¿Sabes porqué se llama el Olmo Chino?"

Because the roots go down to China...

Oh you pervasive weed tree

Called an invasive species and unwelcome guest

Joining the Diné, Conquistadores, US Army, Nuclear Laboratories and Social Media

Cursed by many for sprouting everywhere

Yet have you tasted those delicious sprouts?

Or munched on their cornucopia of seeds?

And boards made of elm reveal a most luscious & colorful grain especially the planks from where the tree branches vase-like.

But most important is the elm's shade in the hot unforgiving desert sun. If it's 95 degrees in the sun, it's a cool 75 under the elm.

The elms form natural hedges along our irrigated fields providing windbreaks and wildlife corridors.

So don't curse the Elm, embrace her and she will embrace you.

A few pics from the day

Oasis Design Competition

Design Brief

Following the symposium lectures and field trip, we wanted to bring the knowledge gleaned from the sessions into practice in a local context. To do so, we worked with the the CIty Forestry Planner, Bonnie Strange, and with the Chair of the UNM Landscape Architecture Program, Catherine Harris, to develop a design competition with a cash prize of $1,000 intended to challenge students to apply what they have learned rom the symposium to a site in downtown Albuquerque. We chose the site surrounding our city’s convention center as it is an amenity that draws many visitors to the area and is located in a Climate and Economic Justice zone as designated area by the EPA. The site is highly complex given it is a complex amalgamation of roads, railways, buildings, and an assortment of surfaces and terrain, which has left it relatively ignored in the past. But the highlight of this site is that a historic waterway or “acequia” once ran through it and has been buried to make way for development.

Students were challenged to create a scalable design approach that calls attention to this historical connection to the land and water and create a design that could help connect visitors to the Albuquerque Convention Center to the intersections of tree canopy, stormwater, and the urban environment and reflect ancestral irrigation and arid water farming of the Rio Grande Valley, but made contemporary in a holistic street design and surrounding urban fabric design. Their teams were required to be interdisciplinary, with at least one landscape architecture student and one architecture student.

The teams were tasked with the following criteria:

Design systems that work together including irrigation upgrades, flood mitigation, and safety.
Design a gateway out of downtown.
Design a strategy for integrating water, built environment, and trees.
Design a contemporary implementation of Albuquerque’s cultural water history.
Design the right tree for the right place.

Competition Entries

Though six teams were registered, only two entries were submitted. Below are the submitted entries:

"Camino del Arbol" - Winning Entry

Team: Holly Hearn & John Gonzalez

"Flowing with Tradition"

Team: Maria Valentina Romo Rodriguez & Kailani Gorman

Winning Entry

The jury, composed of four members from the Oasis Symposium, selected the entry titled “Camino del Arbol” as the winner. The jury provided the following feedback:

“The jury felt that each of the two projects submitted were impressive, responded well to the brief, and each brought a unique approach to address the challenges of the competition and the site. Both entries clearly represented the design approaches through compelling graphics and met all required visual representation requirements and considered the entire area of the site. The jury found that water was well addressed in both entries and each team found a creative way of integrating it into a dynamic element on site.

Though both entries were excellent, the jury was charged with selecting one. To select a winner, we felt we needed to select the entry that best addressed the essence of the competition - calling attention to historical connections with water in the Rio Grande Valley, integrating the functions and elements of the built environment, water, and trees, and creating a model that is clearly scalable and adaptable to various sites.

With this lens, the jury selected the entry titled "Camino del Arbol", meaning "The Tree Road" in English. It demonstrated a clear integration of elements and processes as depicted in the cross section along the first page and it was instantly understood how the site was intended to function. The team also created architectural water collection devices that were placed throughout the site and were supported by diagrams showing how the whole site functioned as one. It was also noted that this entry considered how to reflect modern local culture by creating a LowRider park under the overpasses.

To all of the teams that registered, the jury recognizes that a competition in any context is a very challenging endeavour, especially given only two weeks. We thought that the entries both demonstrated so much talent and investment and we hope that you will continue to bring this great thought leadership into your practice, wherever you go”

Sponsors and Thank Yous

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event and to those who helped make it happen! We are grateful to you all. Thank as to UNM SAAP for hosting us and for your support throughout the process. We'd like to especially thank our speakers and for the financial support from Place Integrated, the UNM SAAP Department of Landscape Architecture /The Climate Change Leadership Institute (Catherine Harris), and UNM SAAP Community and Regional Planning Program (Renia Ehrenfeucht and Moises Gonzales).