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State President's Report
Hello and a belated welcome to the new year. I begin my term as the AILA NSW State President by acknowledging the dedication and successes of Sacha Coles and the Executive Committee over the last two years. They have helped to raise the profile of the Institute within the profession, with workshops and salons that were engaging and educative, and that really fostered a spirit of professional cooperation. Links forged with government and industry has helped to broaden the public profile of landscape architecture.
In my role as State President, I hope to build on that solid foundation by adding layers that reflect the maturity and sophistication of landscape architecture both within a multi-disciplinary design culture, and as a key profession affecting the relationship between environment and society.
Key initiatives in the pipeline are:
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Advocacy – landscape architects have the opportunity to take an active role in shaping the life of our cities, suburbs and towns, by having a voice on issues affecting urban design, infrastructure and sustainability. We will rejoin the Coalition for Planning Reform to add our voice to other institutes to take advantage of a potential change of government to influence future planning systems.
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Build our profile in a multi-disciplinary design culture – include landscape architecture in CPD workshops run by architects and planners.
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Extending our support – going beyond the inner city with workshops, talks and salons to involve our members in northern, western and southern Sydney and key regional areas. We hope to build on initiatives instigated in the last presidential term.
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Public/private dialogue – build engagement with landscape architects working in local government and government agencies. Foster dialogue between public and private practice, toward a common goal of quality urban environments, and real solutions for our environmental and social future.
Activities so far have included:
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published letter to the editor in the Sydney Morning Herald in response to an article “Green light for urban sprawl”;
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participation in the Our Cities workshop, a federal government initiative to develop national urban design policies for 18 of our major cities;
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presentation at UNSW to introduce landscape architecture students to AILA, and to encourage student participation – with a special membership offer.
As a practitioner, I am most involved in, and passionate about, the public domain. I see that we have an expanded role and responsibility in the life of our cities and towns beyond design as an aesthetic. Public domain is a social asset, and the physical representation of democracy in our collective living space.
Landscape architects are the primary shapers of the physical public domain, and can engage at all levels – political, professional and social, to shape our future environments. I would like to encourage a greater understanding of our role, through workshops and ongoing dialogue with other professions, and through the media.
I have been offered ideas and input from architects, planners, landscape architects and urban designers for the direction of the institute in the next two years, and welcome feedback from all.
With great sorrow, I attended the funeral of our colleague Nick Murcutt on Monday. Nick was a passionate and talented architect who would be known to many of you as a professional colleague, a friend, and as an advocate for architecture, landscape and urban design. On behalf of Landscape Architects in NSW, I offer condolences to Rachel, his children Alice and Otto, and to their families and wish them well for the future.
Jane Irwin |
