Hilary Hamnett FAILA
Hilary’s first tertiary studies were in Urban and Regional Planning at Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University) in the UK. Not knowing what to do with Maths, Geography and Art ‘A’ levels, it seemed to be the only course of study at the time that accommodated this unusual combination.
While enjoying the wide range of studies that town planning encompassed, a compulsory unit of Landscape Architecture in the third year, taught by the inspirational Roy Preece, convinced her that this was to be her profession.
Hilary went on to gain a Master of Arts in Landscape Design from the University of Sheffield. She undertook work experience in the office of Colvin and Moggridge, housed in a converted stone barn in Brenda Colvin’s delightful garden in the depths the Costwolds. Although Brenda Colvin, an influential and founding member of the UK’s Landscape Institute and it’s first female president, had by then retired, the practice was run by the equally influential Hal Moggridge OBE VMH.
Within a packed couple of months she had helped document a graveyard converted into a public garden, learned why there were different pot sizes on plant schedules (hitherto a mystery) and conducted site and user surveys on the top of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales, for a proposed visitor centre. A memorable part of the experience was the occasional garden lunch accompanied by a glass of Pimms. If this was what landscape architecture was all about it seemed a pretty good profession to be working in.
After graduation she worked for two years with the Rijnmond Authority in The Netherlands, designing a 350 hectare water-based recreation park as part of the major urban and regional development of the River Rijn industrial and port zone around Rotterdam. Two land artists were employed as an integral part of the design team and, on one memorable occasion, a site visit was carried out using wooden ice skates, strapped over work boots, to navigate the frozen canals or ‘sloten’.
On returning to the UK she worked on small scale projects, domestic gardens, community projects, graphic design and some teaching at Aston University while raising her young family.
In 1982, Hilary migrated with her family to Brisbane where she again did private garden design, graphic design and some further study and teaching at QIT (now QUT) before moving to Adelaide in 1984.
After two years with Wallace Planning Consultants Hilary worked for a while with Ian Barwick (the first time since graduation in a dedicated landscape practice). Then, during 10 years at Cielens and Wark Landscape Architects, later Cielens and Partners, as a senior landscape architect, she worked on large and small scale projects including the redevelopment of the Noarlunga Centre with Mitchell/Giurgola &Thorpe, UniSA’s City West precinct, several projects for the Enfield Memorial Park and the University of Adelaide’s Maths and Engineering buildings, amongst many other projects.
In 1998 Hilary established her own practice, Hilary Hamnett & Associates and has continued to work either as sole practitioner or in collaboration with former colleagues and peers in related professions on recreational, institutional and planning projects, heritage conservation and management plans and, from time to time, as an expert witness in the Environment, Resources and Development Court. She has also worked with a number of Aboriginal communities in urban and remote South Australia and WA.
During her time in practice, Hilary’s work has been recognised by awards from organisations including AILA, the Civic Trust, the Landscape Construction Industry and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International. She has been an active member of AILA and has served as a National Councillor, as a member of the state Education Committee and as AILA State President in South Australia during which time she initiated the AILA SA State Awards programme. She is currently a member of AILA’s National Education Panel. Hilary has also taught as a sessional staff member at the University of Adelaide and at UniSA, and is a former member of the University of Adelaide’s SALUD School Board.
For most of her professional life, Hilary has worked in small, individual, even idiosyncratic practices and holds the possibly unique position in South Australia of never having worked for Hassell.
Garden lunches, Pimms and site inspections on ice skates don’t happen very often but landscape architecture still, after nearly 40 years of practice, seems a pretty good profession in which to work.
March 2010