Anchorage Design Week 2026: Reflections for the ASLA Community

Written by Jonny Hayes, Trustee

Anchorage Design Week 2026, held February 25–March 1, brought together landscape architects, planners, community development practitioners, designers, and public-sector partners to explore how design shapes life in the North. Organized by the Anchorage Museum in collaboration with the Alaska Chapter ASLA, ASID Alaska, and a wide range of civic and academic partners, the week offered workshops, tours, discussions, and creative programs centered on place-based design, landscape, and community well-being.

For ASLA members, the program provided a valuable platform to expand professional knowledge, strengthen connections, and engage with design issues rooted in northern landscapes and communities.

---

February 25 — Opening Day at SEED Lab & Kickoff at the Anchorage Museum

Design Week opened with INFORM 2026, the joint ASLA–ASID Alaska professional mini-conference hosted at the Anchorage Museum’s SEED Lab. The full-day program offered CEU-aligned sessions and keynotes that explored the intersections of ecology, community, identity, and the built environment.

ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen delivered the opening keynote, outlining national priorities in climate action, equity, design leadership, and support for sustainable professional practice.

Highlights from the day’s professional development sessions included:

• Mining Recreation: Panelists Bill Evans, Kevin Doneire, and Taylor Keegan—moderated by Kikkan Randall—discussed land use, recreation infrastructure, and the economic potential of recreation-driven development.

• Healthy Human Habitats: Panelists Nate Boltz, Elise Huggins, Eduardo Piqueiras, and Julia Sadowski—moderated by Alaska Chapter ASLA President Peter Briggs—examined how landscape and site design can support community wellness through ecological and human-centered approaches.

• Midday Keynote with Naomi Ratte: The Indigenous landscape architect and CSLA leader shared practices that promote inclusion and cultural responsiveness in design.

• Outdoor Lighting + Accessibility (presented by BEGA): A session focused on public-realm design strategies that improve safety and civic accessibility.

Anchorage Design Week and the Alaska Chapter ASLA would like to recognize Casey Kee (ASID Alaska, Explore Design) and all of the ASID Alaska members and partners who made the event possible. A special thanks to ASLA members Peter Briggs and Lucy Baranko for collaborating with organizers of the INFORM Conference, and to Elise Huggins and Steven Callahan for their volunteer assistance. Thanks to the Anchorage Museum for serving as venue and host.

That evening, attendees gathered at the Anchorage Museum for a Kickoff Happy Hour and vendor showcase, followed by the Anchorage premiere of Sitting Still, a documentary about a Alaska-raised landscape architect Laurie Olin. The film offered a reflective look at identity, memory, and the influence of northern landscapes—setting an introspective tone for the week ahead. Special thanks to Maglin Site Furniture for sponsoring the Kickoff Happy Hour.

---

February 26 — Urban Wellness, Emerging Professionals, and City Nerd Nite

Day two expanded the conversation around public health through the Public Health x Urban Wellness Workshop, led by Eduardo Piqueiras. Participants used a vibrant array of materials to propose design improvements for Anchorage’s urban spaces, with their work displayed throughout Design Week. The workshop’s success led to a follow-up program scheduled for Public Health Week in April.

Later that afternoon, the Anchorage Museum hosted a gallery opening and tour with visiting designer and artist Jérémie McGowan, leading into the Emerging Professionals Happy Hour, co-presented by Alaska Chapter ASLA and the Museum, with sponsorship from mmcite. Recent graduates and early-career designers connected with visiting professionals, with short talks by Jérémie and Naomi Ratte on their work and career paths. Special thanks to mmcite and Muse x Crush for their partnership.

Anchorage then launched into one of the week’s liveliest traditions: City Nerd Nite. Before the main event, longtime ASLA partner Sarah Kwan and the team at Victor Stanley co-hosted the City Nerd Nite Happy Hour at SEED Lab, catered by Dirty Apron. The gathering welcomed creatives, residents, and design professionals to connect in a relaxed setting.

Presented by the Anchorage Assembly Communications Team, the main City Nerd Nite program featured rapid-fire seven-minute presentations exploring the theme “Our Winter City.” Assembly Member Erin Baldwin-Day opened the night with a reflective journey through Anchorage’s winter trail system and its ties to functional urban governance. Additional presenters explored spatial challenges, planning curiosities, and the realities of winter-city living. The event’s informal format fostered new connections among policymakers, practitioners, and community members, and was livestreamed for later viewing on YouTube.

---

February 27 — Creative Workshops and Youth Engagement

February 27 featured a participatory Tattoo Design Workshop with graphic designer and tattoo artist Winter Osborne, who guided participants through the ways bodies can shape and express personal narratives.

Meanwhile, Alaska Chapter members hosted ASLA Executive Director Torey Carter-Conneen for a tour of Anchorage, offering a firsthand look at design opportunities and challenges across the city.

---

February 28 — Illustration Workshop and Fur Rendezvous Integration

Local comic artist Tadd Galusha led the day’s Illustration Workshop, introducing designers to visual storytelling techniques, spatial representation methods, and narrative framing tools useful for communicating design intent.

As in past years, Design Week intentionally overlapped with Fur Rendezvous, creating a unique opportunity for visitors to experience Anchorage’s winter-city culture, observe seasonal urban design strategies, and see how public spaces come alive during large community events.

---

March 1 — City Design Bus Tour & Closing Activities

Design Week concluded with a City Design Bus Tour, presented by the Anchorage Museum in partnership with the Alaska Design Forum. The tour highlighted collaborations across landscape, architecture, and community development while visiting project sites across the city:

• Wildbirch Hotel development (4th Avenue) — hosted by Mark Begich and the MASH development team

• Loussac-Sogn Building (D Street) — with a presentation by Lindsey Hajduk of NeighborWorks Alaska

• Young Hermit Park (Spenard) — featuring a community discussion led by artist and neighborhood leader Jimmy Riordan

• Microunits for Recovery Residences (Fairview) — toured with Project Lead Thea Agnew-Bemben from the Mayor’s Office

The tour emphasized what becomes possible when design, planning, development, and community work in alignment to improve Anchorage’s built environment.

---

Summary: Value to the ASLA Community

Anchorage Design Week 2026 offered ASLA members a rich, place-based professional experience rooted in the landscapes, culture, and communities of Alaska. From CEU sessions to civic-minded gatherings like City Nerd Nite, from youth engagement activities to reflective film screenings, the week showcased how thoughtful design can create healthier, more resilient, and more inclusive northern communities.

For landscape architects committed to ecological stewardship, community well-being, and culturally grounded practice, ADW 2026 served as a powerful space to reflect, connect, and imagine the future of design in the North.

Those interested in participating or helping develop programming for Anchorage Design Week 2027 are invited to connect with Jonny Hayes, Alaska Chapter ASLA Trustee and ADW Organizer, at: Design@AnchorageMuseum.org