Louisa Kennett, a third-year student in the Daniels Faculty's Master of Landscape Architecture program, has been named the 2020 recipient of the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation University of Toronto Scholarship, a $1,000 award that recognizes students who exemplify landscape architecture scholarship.

The award was endowed in 2017, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. Candidates are selected by Daniels Faculty instructors and approved the LACF.

In a letter announcing the award, the LACF praised Louisa for her "excellence in communication and demonstrated strength in leadership, character, and participation."

For Louisa, receiving the LACF scholarship was a pleasant surprise. "I'm very grateful for the support of the MLA faculty," she says. "This award really encourages me to continue developing my skills and knowledge in this exciting field."

Before coming to the Daniels Faculty, Louisa graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor of Science in biology. She had no previous background in design. "Landscape architecture excited me because it's able to address both social and environmental issues," she says. "One of the great things about this field is that it draws people from so many different backgrounds."

After overcoming some early difficulties with acclimating to design software and design culture, Louisa began to distinguish herself in the MLA program. For the past year, she has worked as a research assistant to assistant professor Fadi Masoud, director of the Centre for Landscape Research. Her work at the CLR has focused on developing revitalization strategies for Toronto's suburban green spaces.

"Louisa is a stellar student who demonstrates extraordinary capacity for design as well as history and theory," says Liat Margolis, director of the Daniels Faculty's Master of Landscape Architecture program. "I congratulate her on this well-deserved national recognition."

A rendering from moveTO.

Her recent coursework includes "moveTO," an imaginative design for an extension of the West Toronto Railpath. The project, which Kennett co-created with fellow student Allison Smith, employs a long, continuous tube of steel called "the spine," which twists into various useful shapes — like benches and basketball hoops — as it traverses the Railpath corridor.

For more information on the LACF University of Toronto scholarship, visit the LACF website.