President's Report - Alison Radford

Welcome to the first edition of Earthquake for 2008.  

Last week I accompanied my daughter to her new residence in Shepparton, Victoria.   We spent a pleasant morning in the Barmah Forest, near Echuca , amongst the river red gums and picnicking by the ‘mighty' Murray. The water was flowing near the top of the banks at quite a fast rate but is still not expected to provide much benefit to the lower reaches in South Australia.   This summer has seen a mixture of very hot dry days before the New Year, a coolish January and now hot again in mid February. Plants, particularly trees, are suffering and this shows how critical is our job of plant selection.   I hope we will not be providing the next generation of bushland weeds.   I have watched the increase of Gazanias creeping along road side verges over the last 10 –15 years.   The fires in Kangaroo Island must also add to the caution of those working on projects close to the edge of urban areas and adjacent to native bush, both on plant selection and fire suppressant management.

Meanwhile the east and north of our country are experiencing heavy summer rains …. and worrying more about floods than fires.

We are developing a programme of events over the coming months ranging from the practical to theoretical.   Please support the hard work of your executive and remember that registered landscape architects will have to report on their Continuing Professional Development ( cpd ) from the middle of this year.

Please contact me (or other executive members) with any ideas of ‘must do' and good luck in your landscape architecture endeavours for the coming year.

Alison Radford

State President

The beginning of the year is kicking off to a good start ... we've had a fun few events including, hot off the press, the 1st year student's orinetation bash down at Grange Jetty. Check out the pics and a write-up from the illustrious P Harding below.

We're looking forward to a great year ahead, and to an ever expanding edition of earthquake. Of course, to make this happen we need to know what's going on and when ... remember it's your newsletter. This is the first of 4 editions planned for issue throughout the year. the forthcoming issue dates will be;

Edition 2 - End May
Edition 3 - End August
Edition 4 - End October

Please send any items you want included by the 20th of each month before issue.

Email Tim and Adam with you news.

Off the Vine

• The Landscape team at HASSELL has had an expansion with a total of 11 Landscape Architecture staff within the Adelaide studio, including 4 recent Adelaide Uni graduate Landscape Architects, who are now all fully occupied and working hard!  They are:

  • Frank Smith
  • Aleck Whitham
  • Josh Palmer
  • Ed Mitchell

  HASSELL's current Landscape projects include the Adelaide Zoo (new entrance, Giant Panda exhibit and boundary treatment), South Road/ANZAC Highway Underpass (under construction), Cheltenham Racecourse development, SA Water/VS1 building Forecourt, Western Stands at Adelaide Oval, Northern Expressway tender, and several other multidisciplinary projects with our Planners and Architects.  Our AILASA VP Sharon MacKay has also been kept extremely busy with a recent tour of Giant Panda exhibits at 7 zoos across the world, to create a new benchmark, world class facility at the Adelaide Zoo.

• Congratulations to Simon Lee and Helen, for the birth of their beautiful boy Cormac Lee, born on the 28th Jan at 3.25pm weighing 3.29kg and measuring 51cm. See pic attached. ..and here and here

CPD YEAR CALENDER

Keep these preliminary dates and topics in mind for the upcoming year ahead in the AILASA CPD Calendar

50th Anniversary Lecture Series No.1

Professor Robert D. Brown, University of Guelph, Canada will hold a lecture on:
Urban Microclimates: from Roan-Ji temple to the New York Towers

Professor Makoto Yokohari, University of Tokyo, Japan will hold a lecture on:
Contemporary Urban Agriculture: Tokyo

For more information........ see flyer attached

Barrossa Quarries Day Trip - postponed due to lack of interest, any takers for 2008?

Habitat for Humanity Construction Challenge

Attached is a brochure for Habitat for Humanity's Construction Challenge on the Anzac Day holiday weekend at the Wayville Pavilion

Habitat is a not-for-profit organisation that provides affordable home ownership opportunities for low income families. Until recently most of their work has been overseas but the quote below in red is what this challenge is all about.

The weblink www.habitat.org.au is useful background information about the organisation

‘Habitat also has a building program in Adelaide .  We are currently building 2 houses in Playford North and have another on the drawing board.   Our goal is to generate additional money to use as seeding capital to enable the ‘revolving fund' (whereby Habitat provides low interest loans to low income families) to work more effectively. 

We have already secured a fantastic venue and TV / radio support for the event … now we just need people to participate!  That's where you come in!  We need your ideas about recruiting teams from schools, the community (uni students, youth clubs, churches, friends / neighbours etc) and corporates (‘rival' professional groups – eg planners, architects, social workers, engineers, real estate agents, environmentalists, lawyers, teachers, accountants, politicians, etc!)  Who really does have the best building skills?! 

What the organisers are after are any ways you may be able to support the event including some or all of:

Plenty of teams to register
Corporate sponsorship
Suggestions of further ways to raise money
Any other creative ways you or your organisation might be able to support the event (donations of skills, materials etc.)
Ideas about future challenges

Regards

Hilary Hamnett

Adelaide Fringe

Designing Designers ... the evolution of an architect. University of Adelaide, North Terrace, till 14th March

The Adelaide Prize 2008

The Adelaide City Council and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects are working together to recognise and promote excellence and innovation in the public realm of South Australia's Capital City.

Nominations must be physically located within the City of Adelaide and been substantially completed in the last two years. Individual stages or components of projects are also eligible for nomination, as are projects undertaken by, or for, the Adelaide City Council and/or State Government agencies.

The Adelaide Prize Jury for 2008 is:

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison, Convener

Simon Wilkinson The Advertiser, Guest Juror
Peter Dungey FRAIA
Neroli Hutchison (Joint President, DIA SA)
Peter Jensen LFPIA
David Johnson EA
Alison Radford (President, AILA SA)

Entries open on Monday, March 3. Information on how to submit a nomination will be available shortly.

Collaborations Update

The Collaborations Forum wound up 2007 with a Xmas retrospective of the events of the last few years that have arisen from this successful partnership of South Australian design professions. A small gathering shared memories and laughs over some wine and nibbles as a digital slideshow reminded us of the crazy antics of ‘Match' and the innovative outcomes of ‘Xpress'.

Initiated by members of the DIA and the RAIA, the Collaboration Forum has been a good example of a successful, home grown partnership which has built on, and contributed to the bi annual event, ‘Xperiment', convened by the DIA.

In a world where collaborative partnership has become something of a catchphrase along with sustainability and climate change , it is too easy to forget to past achievements in the rush to address the next global catastrophe. It is too easy to forget how good it feels just to laugh and have fun.

As 2007 faded to a close, our little band of Collaborators pondered the next challenge and the possibility that the Collaborations Forum may simply fade from our collective memories. After all, as in nature, nothing lasts forever. There is a proposal for ‘Challenge 2008' gestating but fresh Collaborators and ideas are sorely needed. The team is weary.

To register interest, please contact Elizabeth Stevens: ehstevens@internode.on.net

For further information on Match or Xpress please check the websites:

www.match.org.au

www.xpressproject.com.au

The Palmer Sculptural Biennial 2008

Official Opening:

Sunday 2 nd March, 2008, 12 noon.

Music event 5 pm to 8 pm

We now have 24 artists as we are pleased to advise the inclusion of international sculptor, Art Brenner. Art was born in New York but has been living and working in Paris since 1964. He has exhibited widely in Europe and America and has a large number of public sculptures there. Whilst it had been a possibility, we had been unable to confirm his ability to participate until recently. Art is now in the process of moving to Adelaide so we welcome him to both Adelaide and the Biennial.

Opening times:

Sunday March 2 nd , 11 am to 8 pm

Sunday March 2 nd , 9 th 11 am to 8 pm

Tuesday 4 th , 11 th 10 am to 2 pm

Thursday 6 th , 13 th 1 pm to 5 pm

Saturday 8 th , 15 th 11 am to 6 pm

The 2008 Biennial is being auspiced by BMG Art, Adelaide. Click here for more details

The Palmer Forum

Beyond Generations - Beyond Landscapes

A discussion on Contemporary Art, Landscapes, Indigeneity,

Ecology, Place and Sustainability

Palmer Community Hall, Monday, 10th March, 2008, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm

Presented in conjunction with the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery.

Speakers include Dr Philip Jones, Senior Curator, South Australian Museum, Dr Christine Nicholls, Writer, Curator and Academic, Dr Kurt Bereton Adjunct Professor, Creative Arts, UTS, Andrew Allanson, Bush for Life, Anton Hart, Artist, Greg Johns, Sculptor.

(Instead of going to the Adelaide Cup, come to Palmer.

We can always run a sweepstake.)

Contacts - Greg: gjoh4899@bigpond.net.au Gavin: gavin.malone@flinders.edu.au

The Palmer Ecological Program

Click here for more info.

AILA MENTOR SCHEME

Hi all

We are beginning the process of organising the Mentor Scheme for 2008 and need to know which offices/practitioners are interested in participating in the scheme this year. If you are unfamiliar with the requirements of the scheme, please have a look at last years guidelines (attached).

If you, or your office/department are able to participate as a mentor, please let me know by Wed 12 March if possible. Also, please pass this on to anyone I may have missed (apologies!) who might be interested.

Thanks

Simon Lee

For more information........ see flyer attached

Orientation Day

On Thursday last I had the opportunity, at the invitation of Adelaide University, to enjoy a day at the beach, along with representatives of the RAIA to address a group of first year architecture & landscape architecture students on the benefits of belonging to the AILA, and to welcome them to the heady world of the design profession.

A group of approximately 70 students had gathered at the Grange Jetty in blustery but fine conditions as part of an orientation exercise and to engage in a sand castle competition and enjoy a barby luch provided by Fielders.

I was honored to be invited to be part of the jury and encouraged by the high level of design and construction skills evident and by the entertaining presentation of the work by a number of the groups. The focus on providing partying and entertainment facilities as part of some of the fortified communities reminded the jury and university staff present that these were, indeed, the heady days of the participants first year uni experience.

Congratulations to the staff of the University of Adelaide Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Department (UAALAUDD?), particularly Kathy Bartsch for organising a great fun day out and providing an excellent opportunity for students to meet members of the profession early I their academic lives.

I look forward to following the activities of Egnarg and Sandilands in the following year, I reckon some of those presentations and crits are going to e a hoot!

Paul Harding

Check out the pics ... 1, 2, 3 and 4