The public has voted and named Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co. the winner of the waterSmart Landscape Design Challenge and a $35,000 contract with the city of Savannah to install its garden design in Bryan Square.

Thomas & Hutton was among 13 landscape architects and designers from around Georgia that initially submitted designs for a sustainable, water-efficient garden for Bryan Square. A panel of judges including staff of the Chatham County Metropolitan Planning Commission, UGA Cooperative Extension, and the City of Savannah, as well as members of the Savannah Tree Foundation and Friends of Oatland Island narrowed the pool down to the three finalists. In order to maximize public awareness of the waterSmart program, the city of Savannah allowed the general public to vote online and select the final design.

Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co., led by designers Timothy Gay and Dan Gay, created a sustainable, cost effective and educational solution. The design also invigorated the Square with a renewed sense of place that was both visually intriguing and fully integrated with the existing beauty of the surrounding site.

"Our design not only captures the character of the surrounding uses, but it also educates the public through a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant waterSmart landscape filled with exciting new concepts in sustainable design that can be applied in backyards across the state," said Timothy Gay, landscape designer.

Bryan Square is located on Hutchinson Island, between the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center and the Westin Savannah Harbor hotel, where thousands of visitors arrive each year. The Square is uniquely positioned on top of a parking deck, where it serves as a roof garden.

Senior Landscape Designer Dan Gay said the final design was born out of the hope that Bryan Square would, "act as a model of the waterSmart gardening principles for the public to follow."

The Bryan Square waterSmart garden installation will occur in the next few weeks and will be installed by Turf Services Unlimited, Inc.

WaterSmart is an education program designed to give Georgians the information they need to successfully conserve water. Developed by the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority in 2000 for residents in its service area, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division began using the waterSmart brand in communications and education activities in 2006 to help residents statewide understand how to maintain their landscapes while using less water. The state waterSmart program was piloted in six communities in 2007 and went statewide through a partnership with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in 2008.