Landscape Design Contest Reimagines Shuttered Angels Knoll in Downtown Los Angeles

The American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) has unveiled the winning concepts from its second annual Emerging Professional’s Design Competition, which centered on reactivating Angels Knoll in Downtown Los Angeles. Located at the northwest corner of 4th and Hill Streets on Bunker Hill, the plot has sat unused since its closure to the public in 2013 following state budget cuts.

The prominent site was originally intended as the location for a third California Plaza tower before becoming a temporary park. Later plans for Angels Landing, a major mixed-use development by the Peebles Corporation and MacFarlane Partners featuring residential, hotel, and commercial space, also failed to materialize.

ASLA awarded first place to "Folding Angel's Knoll" by Yuehui Gong, which presented a multi-phase narrative spanning two decades grounded in geological adaptation. Tied for second place were "Action! Thermal Justice in Motion" and "SOIL HOLDS: MATTER, MEMORY, COMMONS." For urban planners and developers, the competition highlights persistent civic pressure to convert stalled high-density development sites into functional public green space.