FRI-FS-05: Ecology at Work: Designing Urban Habitat in Exposition Park

Field Session Leader(s)

• 

  Dawn Dyer, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP

  Principal
  Studio-MLA
  Los Angeles, CA
• 

  Michael Hee, ASLA, PLA

  Technical Director
  Studio-MLA
  PASADENA, CA

Field Session Presenter(s)

• 

  Evan Mather, FASLA

  Principal, Director of Landscape Architecture and Los Angeles Operations
  MIG, Inc.
  Los Angeles, California
• 

  Daniel J. Feldman

  Senior Manager, Horticulture
  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
  Los Angeles, California
• 

  Kush Parekh, PLA, ASLA

  Principal
  Studio-MLA
  Los Angeles, California
• 

  Mia Lehrer, FASLA

  President
  Studio-MLA
  Los Angeles, California

Natural History Museum/ Studio MLA

Discover how Exposition Park is transforming acres of parking into active spaces for learning, respite, enjoyment, and urban biodiversity. This session explores the Natural History Museum Nature Gardens and Commons, the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and looks ahead to how future planning supports the park’s role in major world events.

Includes transportation, entrance fees. Moderate walking.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand how interdisciplinary collaboration—across landscape architecture, planning, cultural institutions, and park stewardship—shapes inclusive public‑realm strategies for Exposition Park.
• Identify design and planning approaches that transform parking‑dominated urban districts into active, habitat‑rich landscapes supporting learning, respite, biodiversity, and community access.
• Evaluate how master‑planning and climate‑responsive strategies at Exposition Park prepare the district for future environmental demands, major civic events, and year‑round community use.
• Assess how climate‑responsive landscape strategies—such as heat‑island reduction, native planting, and access to nature—promote health, wellness, and environmental equity for the urban communities and youth served by Exposition Park.