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The Future of the Public Realm

FRI-FS-06: The Huntington Past, Present, Future: Preserving Legacy Landscapes, Building Climate Resilience

Friday, September 18, 2026
7:30 AM - 4:00 PM PT
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, Field Session Departure Area (South Lobby)
Ticket Purchase Required Meal Included Extensive Walking
4.50 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AICP, FL
Ticket Price: $225 per person

    Field Session Leader(s)

  • Ruth Siegel, ASLA

    Senior Project Manager, Botanical Gardens & Grounds
    The Huntington
    Los Angeles, CA

  • Tom Rau, ASLA, PLA

    Principal, Landscape Architect
    Urban Water Group Inc
    Los Angeles, CA

    • Field Session Presenter(s)

  • Carol Bornstein

    Horticulturist, Educator, Author
    Carol Bornstein Design
    Santa Barbara, California

  • Ray Giang

    Partner
    ProFun
    Tustin, CA


Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden/ Lisa Blackburn | The Huntington, San Marino, California. Huntington.


Explore The Huntington’s past, present, and future—preserving legacy landscapes while adapting to evolving public use and climate change. Enjoy a guided campus tour, including limited-access areas and recent projects highlighting stormwater management, native-plant strategies, and ADA upgrades. Learn how comprehensive planning guides project implementation to support a resilient, welcoming public realm.

Includes transportation, catered lunch. Extensive walking.

Accessibility: This session involves outdoor walking, with uneven surfaces and steep grades in some areas.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Analyze how legacy public landscapes can preserve historic character while implementing climate resilience through stormwater, planting, and circulation upgrades.
  • Identify stormwater and native-plant design strategies that improve site performance, reduce flooding/erosion risk, and support long-term maintenance.
  • Evaluate implementation tradeoffs in an active public campus, including phasing, visitor access, heat/HSW considerations, and operational capacity.
  • Apply a practical framework for translating comprehensive plans into phased projects aligned with climate pressures and evolving visitor expectations.