OPEN STUDIO
journalist Maggie Philbin who works to
encourage young people into careers in
construction, applied sciences, technology
and engineering in her role as CEO of
TeenTech. She spoke passionately about
the vital, but generally unappreciated,
work of civil engineers. Ex- ICE president,
Jean Venables, gave the keynote speech
and described the civil engineering
profession whose work people neither
understand nor realise the importance of,
so that as a profession they, like landscape
architecture, are struggling to attract
young people. It was somewhat heartening
to know that landscape architecture isn’t
the only profession struggling in this
respect, particularly as other professions
in the industry, like architecture, garden
design, interior design seem to be easily
recognised and understood.
Lack of appreciation and lack of
understanding are issues which are partly
down to the tremendous variety in the
work both professions are involved in.
The lack of clarity over the identity of
landscape architecture has long been
an issue, in the past even resulting
in discussions around whether the
profession’s name should change. The
variety of our work, though, is surely
fundamental to its importance: the breadth
of various threads; the way landscape
architecture creates connections between
natural and man-made systems, the
holistic approach the profession takes and
enables. The variety is also what makes
landscape architecture an incredibly rich
and interesting career to be involved in; as
I tell young people in schools and colleges,
‘it is the best job in the world’.
We recently welcomed graduate
landscape architect Rhys Jones to our
studio to talk to us about his research into
the potential role of landscape architects in
the humanitarian sector (see Rhys’s blog:
http://www.terrafirmaconsultancy.com/
landscape-architect-blog/humanitarian-
role-landscape-architectures-new-
direction/ ). Rhys did this in reciprocation
of our sponsorship of his trip to Nicaragua
and he started by asking us all what
attracted us to landscape architecture.
Responses ranged from a desire to change
the world, to bringing together diferent
skill sets, interests and experience. Only
one person out of the dozen members
of our team had known that landscape
architecture was what they wanted to
do since childhood, in the same way you
might want to be a doctor, a teacher or an
actor. My colleague, Martin, grew up in
Yorkshire and saw the work of landscape
architects irst hand in the reclamation of
coal mines. The huge diference made to
the area and to the lives of people in the
community inspired Martin to become a
landscape architect. He hadn’t identiied
his future role by seeing somebody on
television or by knowing them in his
own life; he had seen, appreciated and
understood the impact that someone had
made. Now he had to ind out who that
someone was. None of my colleagues,
even the recent graduates, came across
the profession during careers talks,
interviews or fairs, and several of us only
stumbled upon it by serendipitous accident
IDENTITY CRISIS
and, through subsequent investigation,
became convinced of dramatic career
changes. Hopefully, eforts made by the
Landscape Institute and all of us who are
active ambassadors for landscaping will
show how landscape architecture, as a
career option, is becoming more widely
publicised.
Unlike architecture, interior design or
garden design, we are not speciic, focused,
conined or limited. Perhaps we are so
disparate, so varied, so omnipresent; so
totally integral to the environment people
inhabit that we just don’t stand out. Our
lack of focus is our weakness as well as
our strength. Perhaps it is also the modest
collective ego we have as a profession
where we don’t feel the need to make
a statement, to stand out, to leave our
personal mark. We are content to leave a
site functioning perfectly and robustly and
sustainably and yet with a simplicity which
belies the complexity of the issues which
needed to be resolved. We recognise that
our genius is best exhibited in subtle ways,
giving the impression of natural evolution
rather than self-conscious design.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison Galbraith is associate director of The Terra Firma Consultancy, a professional landscape architecture practice specialising in
all aspects of landscape planning, assessment and design; at all scales, in all sectors, throughout the UK and overseas. Launched by
ex-Portsmouth City Chief Landscape Architect John Wigham in May 1985 and since 2000 under the leadership of ex equity partner
Lionel Fanshawe, Terra Firma has worked in 30 countries, currently employing over 30 directors and staf across 4 oices in Hampshire,
London, Vilnius and Dubai.
CONTACT: 01730 262040 | www.terrairmaconsultancy.com
December 2017 | Landscape Insight
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