AILA profiles

PROFILES

The 2008 National Landscape Architecture
FUTURE LEADERS AWARD

Adrian Hill AILA

introduction / images  /  location

Introduction

Vision

My vision is to be involved in the establishment and development of self sustaining and efficient communities driven by strong cultural principles of equity, innovation and foresight.

Summary of Recent Achievements + Leadership

In July 2007 I was promoted to Associate with Terras Landscape Architects, attracting additional responsibility and initiative. Since then I've driven a number of significant public domain and masterplaning projects including; the final stage of Newcastle harbour foreshore (excess of $9mil landscape works), $2mil cycleway over Lake Macquarie, a 1200 lot urban renewal project in the Hunter Valley and a 800 lot masterplan of a sensitive coastal site. I am the consulting landscape architect for the University of Newcastle with over 26,000 students across 3 of their sites in the Hunter, I compiled a 180p Landscape Management Plan to standardise typical landscape works on site. (www.terras.com.au)

I established a temporary public art program called Small Places in 2005 with the exhibition in 2007. Responsibilities consisted of; forming a steering committee, negotiating with council for permissions and licences, sourcing funding ($26k), sourcing an auspice group, commissioning an artist + writing the brief, managing the project, promoting it, building the web page, maintaining the work, commissioning the local TAFE to document it + commissioning a sound-track for the film by a local musician. (http://www.smallplaces.org.au/)

I am currently involved in the Newcastle’s Australian Architecture Association chapter and held a pivotal role in developing the first Newcastle Open (November 2007) which involved amongst many responsibilities; promotion, marketing, graphic design, web page design and implementation, targeting media, organising interviews, programming events and distribution of marketing material. (http://www.architecture.org.au/newcastle/)

I currently hold Chair of the Trees in Newcastle (TIN) committee, a Hunter based NGO and community environmental organisation with an annual income of over $660k, 21 staff, dozens of volunteers and conducts environmental management on numerous sites across the Hunter Valley. TIN contains four focal areas; nursery and native plant propagation (the largest community nursery in Newcastle), revegetation on neglected sites, bush regeneration and environmental education in schools. (http://www.treesinnewcastle.org.au/)

I sit on the Newcastle City Council's Public Art Advisory Committee which is currently reviewing its position on commissioning public art, the use of public art and sourcing funding (particularly regarding the use of developer sourced funding). (www.ncc.nsw.gov.au/discover_newcastle/region_art_gallery/public_art)

I was involved in a temporary public art event, Back to the City, with graphic designer Nicola Xavier which occurred in January + February this year with 16 other installations. We selected an underused and undervalued yet highly exposed site in CBD. The project’s objective was to introduce a colourful, bold and dynamic intervention into the site and encourage its use to be reviewed by the community.  As a result the owner, Energy Australia, is determining if it has a foreseeable use for the site and anticipates transferring management responsibilities of the site to us. We hope to convert it into a community run public garden, a memorial to Australian gardener Judy Cuppaidge. (http://www.backtothecity.com.au/news.html)

introduction / images  /  location

2008