School of Landscape Architecture & Planning Student Work

Esmeralda Rubi Carrasco, Class of 2026, is pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at CAPLA after earning her Doctor of Business from Grand Canyon University. Inspired by her family’s garden center, Ponderosa Cactus, she’s passionate about plant-forward, community-rooted design that honors the Sonoran Desert. In addition to serving as COO of Ponderosa Cactus, Esmeralda leads as the Arizona chapter president of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, sits on the Better Business Bureau board for Southern Arizona, and was named to the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2024. At CAPLA, she’s brought real-world experience into the classroom, served as president of the ASLA Student Chapter, and contributed to research as a graduate assistant for Dr. Bo Yang. Her ultimate goal is to open her own landscape architecture firm grounded in sustainability, cultural relevance, and mentorship.

Soleil Lemons, Class of 2026, is studying Sustainable Built Environments after transferring into CAPLA her sophomore year. Drawn to planning and design, she’s passionate about creating spaces that are functional, thoughtful, and community-oriented. This summer, Soleil is interning at Yellowstone Landscape, gaining hands-on experience in project coordination and design operations, an experience that has inspired her to pursue a Master’s in Urban Planning and a career as a project manager.

Architecture student Gene King is helping digitally reconstruct ancient Greek buildings at Mt. Lykaion, Greece, using a mix of classical research and modern tools like AutoCAD. Her work blends design, history, and technology, and has reshaped how she views modern architecture.

Ollie Freshour is graduating with a BS in Sustainable Built Environments with an emphasis in Sustainable Buildings. As an online student, Ollie made the most of their experience traveling from Indiana to Tucson to connect with the CAPLA community and explore the ENR2 Building. From designing a sustainable park in Elkhart to planning a future as a certified arborist, Ollie is ready to make a lasting impact on urban environments.

Annamaria Pongratz is graduating with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a minor in Art History. Reflecting on her time at CAPLA, she shared how the experience shaped her as both a designer and collaborator. This fall, she’ll continue her academic journey as a graduate student at CAPLA. One of her proudest achievements? Designing a sensory garden for a children’s museum in her planting design class—a project that reflects her creativity and care for inclusive, engaging spaces.

As Montse Estrany Bover graduates with a Master of Science in Architecture from CAPLA, she leaves with a prestigious research award for her thesis on Catalunya’s historic agricultural landscapes. Now working at an architecture firm in Spain, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. to continue blending research and practice.

In celebration of World Landscape Architecture Month, CAPLA and the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects student chapter are taking over the Arizona ASLA Instagram account in April.

More than 40 landscape architecture students were recognized for showcasing exceptional talent and innovation during the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Awards Gala & Expo.

An interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) and the College of Humanities has been named a finalist in the international 2024 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition.

In a collaborative effort between students in CAPLA’s Master of Landscape Architecture program and key community organizations, the recent Sonoran Birds + Climate Change studio led by Mackenzie Waller took on the task of reimagining a small neighborhood park in Tucson.

Under the guidance of landscape architecture lecturers Alexandra Stoicof and Nolan Bade, 19 students in a fall 2022 BLA design studio created concepts for a new coffee shop coming soon to South Tucson: Luna y Sol Cafe.

This spring, MS Urban Planning student Glenn Ingram, recent MLA graduate Mattea Wallace and Associate Professor Philip Stoker, working with UArizona East Asian Studies Professor Jiang Wu, created the “Regional Religious Systems in Hangzhou China” story map using GIS. This fall, Ingram's poster from the project won an award.