Event Calendar

MGIA DESIGN SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

 
Join us for a day of design education and inspiration at historic Meadow Brook Hall! This all-day event will take place in the Meadow Brook Ballroom, and includes 3 amazing speakers, continental breakfast and plated lunch, and will culminate with a guided house tour of the mansion, a National Historic Landmark.

APPROVED FOR 4 APLD CEUS 
Must Register by September 19, 2023
Download Printable Design Symposium Schedule (PDF)

8:00 am - 9:00 am 
Registration/Continental Breakfast
Sponsored By: Moose and Squirrel Horticultural Resources

9:00 am - 10:30 am 
Good Bones: Creating a Framework for the Garden
Keynote Speaker: C. Colston Burrell
Sponsored By: Michigan CAT
Many people point to their garden as something isolated and disconnected from the fabric of the landscape. A well-designed garden is more than a collection of planting beds, it is a logical sequence of spaces, enhanced by the plantings, structures and ornaments that define them. These space-defining bones determine how the garden looks through the seasons, especially in winter. Cole Burrell takes you through the process of designing and furnishing the floors, walls and ceiling of the garden as he demonstrates how to refine the garden’s spaces with structures, plants and ornaments.
 
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Detroit Beautification
Speaker: Barry Burton, Project Manager, City of Detroit, Landscape Design Unit
Sponsored By: Rocks 'n' Roots - Go State!
Coming out of bankruptcy Detroit began to embark on new priorities for city residents and one of the most noteworthy has been to renovate and restore public spaces, especially parks. Some of the parks had play equipment which went back to the 1950's if there was any at all. Under Mayor Duggan and the then-head of the General Services Department, Brad Dick (now the COO for the city) a plan to renovate 40 neighborhood parks was implemented and to date, over 150 parks have received renovations and upgraded maintenance program. Not long after the 40-park initiative began, designing and installing gardens in parks became a task that was very welcomed by the public. The "big three" as Barry likes to call them are LaSalle Gardens, Scripps Park and the award-winning Erma Henderson Gardens at Erma Henderson park, which consists of over 6500 perennials, shrubs, trees and annuals. Along with other initiatives such as the daffodil planting program, you will see in Barry's presentation that the City of Detroit is becoming a destination for people wanting to catch a glimpse of more and more renovated public spaces, especially in the city's neighborhoods. Join us as Barry takes you on a visual tour of the inspirational changes taking place in the Detroit landscape!
 
11:45 am - 12:30 pm 
Lunch
Sponsored By: ALTA Equipment Company
 
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Managing the Urban Forest Landscape: Issues in Design
Speaker: Gary Eichen, Assistant Service Line Director for Plant Health Care/ Lawn Care, SavATree
Sponsored By: Stone Depot Landscape Supplies
How do we, as landscape designers and architects, contribute to pest issues and plant decline in the “Urban Forest” landscape? This session will address mono-culture issues, as well as "wrong plant, wrong place” concerns. We will also look at how our over-use and the maintenance care of one species may have contributed to the overwhelming pest issues now associated with it. Finally, we will look at alternatives to this plant. This session will give us a better understanding of the sensitive nature of the Urban Forest and help us design a more sustainable "urban forest" landscape for our clients to enjoy.   
 
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Guided House Tour
A National Historic Landmark, Meadow Brook Hall is a museum, cultural center, and the fourth-largest historic home in the nation. Built in 1929, Meadow Brook represents one of the finest examples of Tudor-revival style architecture in America, and is especially renowned for its superb craftsmanship, architectural detailing, and grand scale.
The guided tour takes visitors on a journey through the three main living levels of the historic mansion with a knowledgeable docent guide. Learn the incredible story of the pioneering Dodge and Wilson families and marvel at the grand spaces and beautiful details that make Meadow Brook unique.