Southview Design Wins Gold & Silver at the 2026 NALP Awards of Excellence

Southview Design, a St. Paul-based landscape design-build-maintain company, has won a Gold Award and a Silver Award in the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ (NALP) 2026 Awards of Excellence, a national program recognizing standout landscape design, construction, and maintenance work from firms across the country. The two award-winning projects: a backyard sauna retreat in St. Paul and a lakeside garden on Lake Minnetonka.

Gold Award: Backyard Sauna Design-Build in St. Paul, MN

Our Gold Award came in the Design/Build category for Sauna Sanctuary, a St. Paul backyard transformation built around a custom cedar barrel sauna.

When we started this project, the backyard was an underused city lot with a compact footprint and a sloped rear property line. Our landscape design-build team laid out distinct dining and lounge areas, added a new patio, and built a boulder retaining wall to level the site for the sauna. Mature trees were preserved throughout construction, and the walkway to the detached garage stayed clear and usable the whole time.

The result nearly tripled the property’s usable outdoor living space. The app-controlled sauna now lets the homeowner start warming it up on the drive home from work, a small detail that makes a big difference in how the space gets used every day.

This project was designed by Angela Cesar, Landscape Designer at Southview Design.

See the full Sauna Sanctuary project gallery →

Silver Award: Lake Minnetonka Landscape Management

Our Silver Award came in the Landscape Management category for Lush Lakeside Garden, a Lake Minnetonka-area property Southview has maintained since May 2022.

The property was headed toward a family wedding, so our team focused on getting the garden into peak shape for the big day: a manicured, entertainment-ready landscape anchored by more than 430 square feet of vibrant seasonal displays surrounding the pool, layered perennial beds, and a restored natural shoreline. A relocated dock opened up sightlines to the lake, and a 3,840-square-foot paver driveway rounds out a dramatic entry.

Keeping a landscape like this looking sharp takes ongoing attention: irrigation monitoring, seasonal color rotations, and wildlife management across the property’s varied terrain and exposures.

See the full Lush Lakeside Garden project gallery →

A Reflection of Our Team

“Awards like this are really a reflection of our team. I’m proud of the designers, crews, and account managers who show up every day and pour real care into every detail. Winning Gold and Silver in the same year means a lot to all of us, and it’s a great reminder of the caliber of work happening across Southview,” says Ryan Slipka, President of Southview Design.

Each year, NALP’s Awards of Excellence honor the nation’s most exceptional commercial and residential landscape design, construction, and maintenance projects.

Ready to start your own outdoor transformation? Get in touch with our team today.

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FAQ

What is the NALP Awards of Excellence? The Awards of Excellence is a national recognition program run by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), honoring the best commercial and residential landscape design, construction, and maintenance projects in the country each year.

What categories did Southview Design win? Southview Design won a Gold Award in the Design/Build category for “Sauna Sanctuary,” a St. Paul backyard project, and a Silver Award in the Landscape Management category for “Lush Lakeside Garden,” a Lake Minnetonka property.

Where is Southview Design located? Southview Design is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and serves residential and commercial clients across the Twin Cities metro area.

How long has Southview Design been in business? Southview Design was founded in 1978 and has completed more than 10,000 landscape projects across the Twin Cities.