Suzanne Jean Thomson

Jean Rousseaux, together with Trevor Page, Helen Favelle, David Kerr and Jos Ruhland.

Suzie passed away tragically in her Dubai apartment on Tuesday 7th October 2008.

Together with her husband Ashley and son Casey, Suzie had recently taken up the opportunity to live temporarily in the United Arab Emirates to embrace a different cultural environment. This move was on the cusp of taking on an additional dimension, as Suzie was negotiating an employment contract - the excitement of designing exotic landscapes with an open cheque book! Sadly this and so much more has been lost with Suzie’s passing.

Suzie was a most valued and respected staff member of Brisbane City Council, where she advocated for quality landscape designs, streetscapes and public open space networks in a range of positions since 1994. She was a key professional figure in the Brisbane arena, her adopted home since completing her formative years and education in Canberra.

In her latest role with the Brisbane City Centre Masterplan Team, Suzie contributed to implementing Council’s vision for a well designed subtropical city. Her input was critical in shaping iconic landscape projects, such as Fig Tree island precinct at the intersection of Eagle and Elizabeth Streets, or the redevelopment of the Howard Smith Wharves – a future prime urban and public space underneath the Storey Bridge. Beforehand, Suzie worked for the acquisition and development of district and metropolitan parks for the city, and developed standards for park assets, now included in the Subdivision and Development Guidelines.

Suzie also worked as a Landscape Architect in Development Assessment and in the City Design Landscape Section, following employment in the private sector with practices including DBI Design Corporation, Ross Watson Golf Course Architecture and Media 5 Architects. This varied professional path as well as consummate communication skills enabled Suzie to gather valuable and robust contacts across a broad range of professionals and practices.

As a senior member of the landscape and design community within Council, Suzie always made the time to encourage new members of staff and graduates. Suzie was a great observer and listener, providing gentle words of encouragement and always a reassuring smile.

Those who had the privilege of working with Suzie as fellow landscape and design professionals will have been impressed by her methodical approach and enthusiasm to promote and realise good outcomes in spite of challenges such as bureaucratic hurdles and extended timeframes. Suzie was always able to see and articulate the big vision, and importantly, point to the achievable pathway to reach that vision.  Her passion and determination proved to be contagious for those she worked with and the projects she worked on.

And she did it all with a genuine smile and a contagious laugh!

This and much more will leave cherished memories for all who have been fortunate to meet her on our shared journey through the landscape of life. We will miss her dearly in our disbelief at what has happened, and carry on her message of doing it right for our city and those we deal with. Our sincere sympathy goes to her family and close friends.

  

National Climate Change Project Consultation

As you may already be aware, as part of its 3 year grant for Climate Change adaptation skills for professionals, the AILA is undertaking a series of Climate Change consultations to help guide policy and provide clear direction on Climate Change issues for members.

A call for submissions from all members has just closed and Catherine Neilson has reported that she has received many well considered and thoughtful responses.

One major opportunity for participation was provided by the Brisbane Climate Change Forum, held at the Queensland Art Gallery on 10th November 2008. The forum was a successful series of presentations by

• Catherine Neilsen, (AILA National Project Manager) who presented the status and direction of the project to date

• Matthew Beaty and Michael Doherty (CSIRO) on their on-going research into urban development effects and Climate Change

• Tony Hall (Griffith Adjunct Prof) on his research into the impacts of the growing loss of the back yard

• Alan Chenoweth on the EIANZ and their Climate Change project

Last week, Catherine consulted with the AILA Tasmania in Hobart and the AILA Victoria Environment Committee and others. Rather than a presentation/lecture format, these meetings were in a round table workshop whereby Catherine presented and discussed the project and its directions with a smaller number of people. Other consultations will be held with the other states in the new year.

It appears that much of the current information and advocacy being generated in relation to climate change and the built environment, although sound and well researched, only addresses part of the current issues with an emphasis on buildings, with little consideration for the landscape and the true value of landscape in Climate Change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The outcome for the first year of AILA’s national project process will be presented as National Landscape Principles, to be launched at the National Conference in May.

A key development to follow the establishment of the Landscape Principles will be the use of the Principles to underpin a major review of the Education Policy in 2009, and therefore this process will be reflective of the AILA's strategic change of direction to include more landscape environmental issues as an advocacy platform, as well as those traditionally thought of as relating to landscape design.

With Catherine now working her way through the feedback received from the call for submissions and comments (due by 28th November), we look forward to the next version of the consultation documentation. This will be the penultimate version of the Landscape Principles and will be made available in the new year.

Keep an eye out for notices in the national communiques and the project web pages: www.aila.org.au/climate

Please participate!
Mandy Rounsefell
National First Vice President and National Environment Committee

 

National Council Update

Mark Fuller

Marketing

At the recent National Council meeting we discussed the challenges of marketing the national awards and the related projects.  We are always seeking ways to use these events and stories to raise the profile of our profession. This year, in spite of us using professionals to write copy and to place media releases, feedback is that that the media still has trouble with the complexities of the project work being undertaken by landscape architects.

While it is clearly the case that the general understanding of landscape architecture has improved in recent years, the task of marketing such a complex profession remains a continual challenge. It has to be one that we tackle persistently and from all fronts.

Council encourages all state presidents to write or nominate a spokesperson to take the initiative and write media statements and articles. We all need to be pro-active, not just wait for the issues.
We also took the opportunity while in Canberra to make a presentation to the Department of Environment, using a range of practitioners to outline a selection of the kind of activities and projects our profession gets involved in. The Executive Director is looking at a strategy over the next couple of years to further target the commonwealth departments as well as the ministers.

The web page www.aila.org.au/careers has proven successful. to communicate information about the profession to potential students, being visited on a regular basis.  Other online materials are being regularly accessed and downloaded. Check the website out.

Strategic Planning

We are looking again at our Vision statement within the strategic plan so that it reflects the dual objectives of the AILA being a professional institute (membership organisation) as well as having a priority on advocacy for ‘landscape and the environment’.

We also have adopted a strategy of involving new alliances to pursue our objectives; suggestions being to enhance the links with CSIRO and EIANZ, while still maintaining others such as through BEDP and ASBEC.

State Managers

The recent establishment of the State Managers for Victoria and Queensland has proved successful in raising the level of activity and there has been a much enhanced communication between states and national office. We do want to give this time to settle, and for roles to be fully understood before we fully appraise progress, so we agreed to wait till 2009 to assess how this initiative could translate for similar positions in other states, in particular for WA.

State & National Sponsorship

Council briefly discussed the successful programs being undertaken by most of the state groups in connecting to sponsors. Nationally Petra Wiesner is about to take a leading role in coordinating the sponsorship for national office, the national conference as well as link across the state sponsorship programs.

 

UDAL Representation and Membership of AILA (Qld)

A nomination form calling for committee positions distributed in  September 2008, has prompted the Australian Institute of Landscape  Architects (AILA) to review the status of UDAL representation and membership.

The Urban Design Alliance (UDAL) was formed by means of an informal agreement by representatives of professional bodies and universities/institutions. This included the Qld groups of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) as well as the AILA, to provide a joint advocacy body on urban design issues. This arrangement included a nominated representative for the AILA (Qld), reporting back to the AILA (Qld) State Executive, as well as providing in-kind support through administrative services to support UDAL meetings.

Over time, the UDAL has increased its membership base and has moved from the original joint professional representing body to an issue and community-based organisation with membership open to any person with an interest in urban design and related issues. The UDAL is a separate organisation offering a range of events and professional activities, and further, is independent to the founding organisations.

As membership of UDAL is now open to any individual (non-professional), the AILA (Qld) is no longer in a position to legally join or represent UDAL. Any involvement, contribution and membership of UDAL is therefore at the discretion of AILA members as individuals, representing themselves.

The AILA Qld will continue to support UDAL through promoting urban design forums and activities to members.