Rural Abundance & Vitality: The Chaobai River Basin – Honor Award in Analysis and Planning

For centuries, the Chaobai River Basin in Tianjin thrived as a living mosaic of seasonal floods, rice paddies, and riverborne traditions. The river was both sustenance and stage—its ebb and flow guiding the rhythms of daily life. In the 20th century, however, concrete embankments imposed rigidity on this once-fluid landscape, eroding ecological connections and impacting cultural expression.

Sasaki’s regeneration plan seeks to restore that lost vitality. The project envisions the river not as a boundary, but as a vibrant thread weaving ecological health, cultural pride, and economic opportunity throughout the basin. Riverbanks are reimagined as adaptive typologies—quiet conservation zones, nature-rich edges, and lively gathering spaces. Seasonal floodplains return as multifunctional landscapes that nourish biodiversity, shelter migratory birds along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and invite communities to rediscover the seasonal rhythm of the river.

More than 600 kilometers of irrigation canals are reconceived as ecological corridors, their wetlands and native vegetation cleansing water and replenishing groundwater. Fields shift from monocultures to agroecological abundance: rice paddies alive with fish and crabs, orchards paired with aquaculture, and a lotus demonstration zone blending cultivation with celebration.

The plan also rekindles cultural memory. Floating markets drift along the riverbanks, harvest festivals animate village squares, and outdoor classrooms carry forward ancestral farming wisdom. These shared rituals transform renewal into lived experience.

Shaped through a 16-month participatory process with 28 villages and five government agencies, the Chaobai River Basin Regeneration Plan embodies a rare harmony of design, ecology, and community.

The ASLA Honor Award in Analysis and Planning recognizes this visionary approach, celebrating a resilient, poetic landscape where abundance and vitality once again flow with the river.

Charles River Floating Wetland Pilot Project: Multi-Year Findings – Honor Award in Research 

Urbanization severely impacts waterways, leading to nutrient pollution, biodiversity loss, and degraded ecosystems. This collaborative investigation, conducted by the Charles River Conservancy, Dr. McNamara Rome at Northeastern University, the Hideo Sasaki Foundation, and Sasaki, explored Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) as an innovative solution to improve degraded urban waters. This research addresses the linked challenges of missing habitat, degraded water quality, and impoverished public perception of urban waters. By combining scientific research, design experimentation, and public outreach, the project demonstrates how FTWs can enhance water quality, support biodiversity, and provide educational opportunities. The findings offer a defensible method for sizing FTWs and highlight their potential as an effective tool for landscape architects to address urban water quality challenges and foster environmental stewardship.

The multi-year monitoring results show that one acre of FTW can offset nutrient loading from 7 to 15 acres of dense urban development, comparable to infiltration-based green infrastructure and more effective than biofiltration methods and green roofs. Ecologically, they also enhanced aquatic habitat, attracting native fish, improving macroinvertebrate diversity, and supporting zooplankton dynamics that suppress algal blooms.

Community engagement was central: students built mini-FTWs using STEAM kits, kayak tours introduced residents to the project, and a solar-powered underwater camera connected the public to river life. These efforts boosted environmental awareness and participation.

The award recognizes not just the project’s excellence in research and environmental impact, but its creative blend of science, design, engineering, and public engagement. Floating wetlands are now being celebrated as a powerful, scalable solution for making cities healthier, more beautiful, and more resilient.

Congratulations to the design teams for their hard work and recognition! Learn more about the 2025 ASLA National Awards and recipients here.