LAA 148 preview

Landscape Architecture Australia 148.

The centrepiece of this issue of Landscape Architecture Australia is the presentation of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ state awards from Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Congratulations to all the practices and people recognized in 2015. The jury from each state has penned a concise overview as an engaging backdrop to the results. All three address the future of landscape architecture. Every awards cohort is a statement about the future – a portent of longevity, popularity or relevance. The results can also be a manifesto. In Queensland the jury observes that landscape architects are engaged “in city-making moves and regional planning of significant value in assisting the community’s preparedness for the future.” The social aspect is addressed in South Australia, with the jury asserting that the way the landscape architects engage with clients, consultants and the community “bodes well for evolving the profession to help with the ever-shifting socio-environmental problems that we tackle.” The breadth of the profession’s work (from strategy to detail) is used by the Victorian jury to speak of a “deepening engagement and growing influence in the questions shaping our environment.” When read together these jury overviews provide a collective position – they record the challenges faced by the profession, the broad scope of its role in shaping the nation’s built environment and the collaborative nature of success.

Projects and articles in this issue:

• A Psychological Perspective on Landscape. Examining the complex relationship between humans and nature through analytical psychology. (Article: Sophie Wilkinson)
• Profile: Chris Reed. An interview with the founding principal of Boston-based design firm Stoss. (Interview: Bridget Keane)
• Seeds of Change. RMIT University’s Office of Urban Transformations Research sows thousands of sunflowers on vacant sites throughout the Latrobe Valley. (Review: David Bullpitt)
• AILA State Awards: Queensland. Full coverage of the 2015 Queensland awards.
• AILA State Awards: South Australia. Full coverage of the 2015 South Australia awards.
• AILA State Awards: Victoria. Full coverage of the 2015 Victoria awards.
• Garland Garden. Landscapology’s interpretation of a new-century rural garden in Brisbane. (Review: Margie Fraser)
• Oudolf Hummelo. A review of Oudolf Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantman’s Life, by Piet Oudulf and Noel Kingsbury. (Review: Claire Martin)
• Sydney: A Landscape Articulated. An exhibition and symposium reflecting on the past fifteen years of landscape architectural practice in Sydney. (Article: Simon Kilbane and Rhys Williams)
• Demapping Waters by Design. Exploring the emerging landscapes and hotly contested borders of the South China Sea. (Article: Lukas Pauer)

Cameron Bruhn, editorial director, Landscape Architecture Australia

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