President's Report - Alison Radford

Winter is coming and though we have seen a little rain and greening of the ground it is sad to see many shrubs and large trees dying. It looks as though water restrictions are going to be with us until climate changes towards wetter seasons. As Landscape Architects we must ensure our designs encourage water frugality and best practice in use of sustainable materials.

To encourage good design we must both work with our clients and provide an advocacy role to promote the use of Landscape Architects. Recently a group of members put together a response on a number of documents prepared by the State Government on Water Saving Urban Design (WSUD) (see more below). Others have provided input to the Master Plan Precinct Design for the proposed Marjorie-Jackson Nelson Hospital and attended a workshop on ‘Healthy Places and Spaces' (see more below). The South Australian Group is also a member of the Conservation Council of South Australia, a lobby group for the environment (see more below). Please make me or a member of the executive committee aware of issues where a Landscape Architectural response is appropriate. If you have special skills or just an interest in promoting the profession also put your hand up.

Alison Radford

May 2008

Welcome to the second of 4 earthquake editions planned for issue throughout the year. the forthcoming issue dates will be;

Edition 3 - End August
Edition 4 - End October

Keep on sending the info through ...

Email Tim Conybeare

Off the Vine

• Adam Littlefield is heading to China to live. He will be working with Osborne Landscape Art Design. All the best Adam, and stay in touch!

• Bon Voyage to James Hayter, Paul Herzich, Ben Willsmore, Nancy Pollock-Ellwand and Kevin Taylor who are off to Apeldoorn, Netherlands for the IFLA Conference at the end of the month. Don't forget to send us a postcard! For more information, the link is through the IFLA site www.iflaonline.org

CPD Update

Lighting Design in the City of Adelaide

Over 20 people attended the presentation by Phil Keane (Adelaide City Council Lighting Designer) on 28 May. The presentation focused on the development of Adelaide's Lighting Policy and included a slideshow on the 'Northern Lights'. Hopefully everyone was able to see this impressive lighting display of the buildings along North Terrace during the Adelaide Festival.

Healthy Spaces and Places Planning Guidelines

On the 16th May the Planning Institute of Australia SA Division hosted a seminar and workshop on the Healthy Spaces and Places Planning Guidelines project.

This project is a joint initiative between the Planning Institute of Australia, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Australian Local Government Association, and its origin was based on recommendations from the 2005-06 National Speakers Series held by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

The proposed Guidelines (currently in draft format) have been created in a response to emerging research evidence indicating the links between major health issues and the built environment and is based on the document: Healthy By Design: A planners' guide to environments for active living (Heart Foundation of Australia Victoria Division 2004).

The Guidelines will have a national perspective on:

• managing our environments, particularly how the physical characteristics of where we live, work and play can influence our health and well being;

• investing in the country's future health and well being;

• reducing health costs;

• encouraging collaborative partnerships to support preventative measures of disease and injury.

The seminar consisted of a number of speakers including:

• Danny Broderick - Senior Project Officer SA Department of Health
• Anne Moroney - Project Manager Healthy Spaces and Places: National Planning Guide
• Brett Wood-Gush - Associate Urban Designer TPG Planning and Urban Design WA .
• Phil Donaldson - Senior Sustainability Manager LMC
• Kirsten Potoczky - Project Officer Active Living Coalition Heart Foundation

These people spoke broadly about the research undertaken thus far and the importance of the guidelines being adopted and reaching their target audience.

Some interesting facts/ statistics included:

• evidence from the eastern states shows that people are prepared to pay to live in healthier environments, this message needs to be sold to developers;

• health is associated with the society in which we live, social status, upbringing and social and physical environments, generally people living in a poorer society with lower social status are less healthy;

• 54% of adults in Australia don't do enough physical activity per day;

• 10% of all car trips in Australia are less than 1 kilometre;

• 30% of all car trips in Australia are less than 3 kilometres;

• Simple connectivity between destinations is important and promotes more regular physical activity (grid designed suburb versus organic curvilinear designed suburb)

• Australian Road Regulations are inhibitive to the pedestrianization of roads due to increasing traffic and pollution on main roads;

• The death of neighbourhood centres and corner stores continues unabated in all Australian cities.

During discussions a number of issues of relevant to landscape architecture were raised:

• spaces should be designed for a variety of users : areas for child play are inherently different from passive picnic spaces and active sporting users;

• we need to entice people to leave their car behind and walk ;, therefore things such as sight lines to destinations, shade, seating, signage and other amenities are integral to design;

• with the proliferation of courtyard homes and apartments there is a genuine need for people to use their local parks as open space instead of their backyards, therefore heightening the need for investment in appropriate facilities and amenities in local parks;

• designing for all- universal access should be integrated into all designs where possible;

• designing for safety- plug into CPTED principles.

In summary, I see these Guidelines working in a similar way to the CPTED guidelines (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) which we are all familiar with. CPTED is generally well ingrained into the current language of landscape architecture and most of the ideas are (as with Healthy Spaces & Places) common sense in my opinion.

Some might argue that the Healthy Spaces & Places Guidelines are already largely part of the language we use as landscape architects in our duty as designers of public spaces. What it does do however is provide a framework and checklist to reference in order to justify design direction.

What will be interesting is how these Guidelines will be enforced/ policed. As with other guidelines that are not legally binding, there is a genuine risk that all these good ideas simply won't be implemented, particularly if they add substantially to cost and ongoing maintenance.

As designers of open space it is up to us to design to best practice standards and convince our clients that these elements are non negotiable and the long term investment is worthwhile for better health in our society.

Our feedback is currently being collated in order to amend and finalise the Guidelines for publication and release.

If anyone would like to make their own comments on the Guidelines they can contact the Project Officer Ann Moroney at: healthyplaces@planning.org.au

Heath Edwards

AILA CPD YEAR CALENDER

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

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

AILA Quiz Night ...

Date has been set for July 18th ... put in in your diaries. More info soon.

Singapore Garden Festival

The Singapore Garden Festival, the first garden show in the tropics to bring together and showcase creations from the world's top award-winning garden and floral designers under one roof, returns on 25 July to 1 August 2008! www.singaporegardenfestival.com

Conservation Council of South Australia

The Conservation Council of South Australia is an umbrella organisation representing over 50 member groups whose main purpose is conservation and protection of the environment. Combined, these groups represent over 60,000 South Australians. The role of the Conservation Council is to facilitate representation on conservation and environmental issues to all three levels of government on behalf of our member groups and other concerned members of the community. The Council liaises with industry, government departments, unions, community organisations and all political parties. By nominating individuals to sit on government committees, we provide the community with direct input into government decision making.

AILA SA Group is a member of the Conservation Council. Opportunities exist to attend regular meetings of member groups, nominate for government committees and provide input into environmental issues around the State. If anyone is interested in representing the SA Group at the regular meetings or interested in offering services to the Conservation Council please contact Alison Radford for more information.

Have a look at the web site: http://www.ccsa.asn.au/

Directions - PIA 2008 State Conference

- at the Stamford Plaza Hotel on Thursday 28 & Friday 29 August

Registrations now open and the full conference program is available!!!

Go to www.planning.sa.gov.au/directions or look out for the registration brochure in your letter box within the next 2 weeks!

Early bird discount applies for registrations received before 11 July

Upcoming PIA CPD Events

Housing

MJNH Connect

NELA - planning law in the pub

The Code of Practice for Irrigated Public Space (IPOS)

As outlined below the IPOS Code of practice is a good way of maximising water use efficiency for our landscapes and by using the Code it could assist you when applying for new water meters in the future. 

'The Code of Practice for Irrigated Public Space (IPOS) provides a template which can be used by open space managers to ensure the planning, management and reporting of water consumption in the urban environment is based on sound principles applied consistently at all levels.

The Code can be used by providers, practioners, and regulating authorites to set policy, manage resources and regulate water use in the provision of irrigated public space.

The Code provides a management framework for best practice turf and irrigation management for all irrigated public open space, including that managed by local government, the education sector and othe IPOS managers. It forms the basis by which the industry can demonstrate efficient, effective resource management.

A commitment to managing irrigation is the first and most critical step to realising water efficient practices.

While the principles contained within the Code can be applied to all aspects of irrigated public open space, the Code specially addresses irrigated turf rather than trees, landscape and ornamental gardens'.

"Code of Practice for Irrigated Public Space (IPOS) - Executive Summary", 2008, p1

Visit the SA Water link below for further information.

http://www.sawater.com.au/NR/rdonlyres/5D05C0E5-28C8-40F9-B936-4CA1875509AB/0/CoP_IPOS.pdf

BEDP Update

BEDP recently hosted a meeting of committee members, CEOs and Presidents of its constituents in SA. We were privileged to have the National President, Richard Green , in attendance.

BEDP have been working at a national level on a Federally-funded Action Agenda for Building Design Professionals. A first draft has been issued and the SA BEDP committee provided an extensive critique of the document. With the change of Government the Action Agenda process has been terminated, and in it place a certain amount of funding gained to rewrite the research into three priorities for BEDP action. These will be

•  Fair conditions of engagement

•  Information Management, and in particular Building Information Modelling

•  Sustainable cities

BEDP has decided to concentrate its resources on these three areas, as there are many other organizations with expertise and resources dealing with other concerns of the Industry. BEDP SA will meet again shortly to examine how those priorities fit with local concerns.

Skills shortages in the design industry have also been discussed. The Engineering faculties of Universities around Australia have recently commissioned a report on ways to attract more students to engineering degrees.

There have also been discussions regarding problems and issues around the use of NATSPEC. Several BEDP members attended a meeting last year with NATSPEC Director Richard Choy to discuss ways of improving the current setup. Further comments from ACA members would be very welcome.

More recent initiatives include moves to start a demonstration project for Building Information Management and looking at a Green Card type certification which would be better tailored for the Design Professions.

Collaborations Update

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

Mentor Scheme ....

...is up and running .. thanks to all those participating!

Final Year Exhibition Opening Night

The 2008 Adelaide University Architecture / Landscape Architecture Final Year Student Exhibition opening night will be on the evening of the 12th of December 2008 at the Queens Theatre off Currie Street in the city. Please mark the event in your diaries. More information closer to the event.