TEHRAN, Aug. 5 (Mehr News Agency) -- Two Iranian students from Shahid Beheshti University won the 2006 Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for a joint plan on restoration of damaged buildings.

Students of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning Mehdi Khalesi and Morteza Adabi received the award in Student Collaboration, one of the eight categories in the competition.

Their plan surveys restoration of a building damaged in the December 2003 earthquake that struck Bam in Kerman, southern Iran.

It was the first time students from the Middle East have won an award in the competition.

Founded in 1899, ASLA annually gives the awards to the best in landscape architecture from around the globe, while the ASLA Student Awards program gives us a glimpse into the future of the profession.

Landscape architecture encompasses the analysis, planning, design, management, and stewardship of the natural and built environments.