Harbor Wetland wins National ASLA Honor Award

The National ASLA has awarded the National Aquarium’s Harbor Wetland an Honor Award in the prestigious General Design category. The Harbor Wetland is the result of more than a decade in research, collaboration, and a shared commitment to restoring habitat in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD. The recognition celebrates the project’s innovative approach to integrating ecological performance, habitat creation, and public engagement.

The National ASLA Honors and Awards recognize excellence across projects, people, and lifelong service—celebrating achievement, leadership, and lasting contributions to communities and the built and natural environments. Ayers Saint Gross is one of nine landscape architecture firms honored at the National ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in Los Angeles in September. 

This is not the first time the Harbor Wetland has been honored. It also received the Presidential Award of Excellence from Maryland ASLA, as well as recognition from Architect’s Newspaper, ASCE Maryland, ULI Baltimore Wavemakers, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The project has also been featured in publications around the world, including Architect’s Newspaper, Domus, Urban Land, World-Architects, and Arch Daily. 

“The project not only represents a significant step forward in ecological restoration, it’s also a model for sustainable urban development — especially along historic waterfronts that are well developed,” said Principal Amelle Schultz, PLA, LEED AP. “It creates within the Inner Harbor a viable space for native aquatic wildlife and plants to take hold again, with the explicit purpose of underscoring the vital ecological connections between Baltimore and its storied harbor.”

Learn more about this award-winning project.