I am an honours graduate of the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney (http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/). I have experience across the disciplines of landscape architecture and urban design. I am particularly interested in exploring design as a ‘social act’, where the needs of the end user are placed at the fore throughout the design process. I believe it is critical that this aim is maintained throughout the documentation phase, so projects remain faithful to their original design objectives.
Professional Project Experience: I was employed as a Landscape Architect at OCULUS Landscape Architecture and Urban Design from 2007-2010, where I also worked as a Student Landsape Architect from 2005 to 2006. OCULUS is a cross disciplinary design studio that focuses on creating projects in the public domain that aspire to be challenging, contemporary & multi-dimensional places. The studio has a commitment to projects that bolster social interaction, that are based on achieving public amenity, ecological sustainability & that contribute to the public life of cities. I remain faithful to these principles - check them out at: http://www.oculus.com.au/
Professional Academic Experience: In addition to my project experience, I have been engaged as a tutor of environmental sociology (2009) within the Landscape Architecture Program at UNSW, where I also tutored technical drawing (2010), using the AutoCAD 2010 platform.
Professional Practical Experience: I have a significant amount of on-site practical experience, having worked as a horticultural labourer at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and as a retail horticulturalist and a horticultural labourer with a local nursery on Sydney's lower north shore.
During my time at OCULUS I was heavily involved in a number of projects in Malaysia and New Zealand. I travelled (fairly regularly) between Sydney and Auckland to work on a project called 'Anselmi Ridge', which I still consider a seminal project in my career development - you can view the sales website at the following link: http://www.anselmiridge.co.nz/
Anselmi Ridge is located south of Auckland in Pukekohe, New Zealand, on land that has been used for grazing stock by the Anselmi Family for the last few generations. The land is typically pasture, with some native trees scattered across the site. In the north-west, a knoll provides a natural highpoint and a second order stream, Whangapouri Stream, traverses the centre of the site from east to west, effectively dissecting the site in two.
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The landscape design intent at Anselmi Ridge is driven by: a strong rhythm of street tree planting; maximising opportunities for tight tree spacing (species dependant); maintaining a simple and bold planting palette; utilising existing significant vegetation as highlight trees; and encouraging the use of native vegetation. The master plan considers, at a lot-specific scale, the impact of building form and landscape treatments on the overall quality of the public domain.
Anselmi Ridge promises to provide a model for ecologically sustainable, high-quality residential development in New Zealand and the broader region, which embraces the local context and site-specific qualities of its semi-rural location, distinguishing it from other competing developments.
It also helped that our Client, McConnell Property, were fantastic to work with! I must also recognise here that my role on the project was only one small part of a fantastic design team that included OCULUS, the Architects, and the Engineers. Unfortulately, New Zealand was hit rather hard by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008 and the project stalled for a time. I am looking forward to seeing it completed soon (I hope!).
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If you've read this far, you've done well - gratulerer!
Paul - what an extensive introduction! it is great to hear how diverse background of experiences you have had before coming here. Can you post one more image of your project? It is intersting to see how your passion with sociological aspects in landscape design are reflected in the quality of the spaces imagined for this project, but then we have to go to the developer's site.. :-)
ReplyDeleteI made it allt he way through you text too:)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that you have so much experience with landscaping and that you manage all the programs for drawing.
One thing: Dealing with native species, is it a common concern to use native vegetation in you project? Here in Oslo we never stress that, but it's coming more and more.
Like Alice, I look forward to see more of your "social act"-interest.
Thea
Cheers, Al and Thea, for the comments!
ReplyDeleteI have now added a couple more images - a site image and a model image - to give you a better idea of the project.
As for your comment, Thea, regarding native species selection - this is something that is pushed very hard in Australia and New Zealand at the moment, and has been for a while now.
The Australian continent separated from Gondwanaland relatively early on in the piece (as far as geological time goes). As a result of this geographical isolation, Australia now has an incredibly diverse and unique ecology. This is similarly the case in New Zealand.
The important thing to note here is that Australia and New Zealand have only been exposed to European settlement for little more than 200 years.
Before European settlement, the indigenous populations of both countries - 40,000 to 60,000 years of Aboriginal settlement in Australia (depending on who you talk to), and approx. 4,000 years in the case of the Maori in New Zealand - managed to inhabit the land in harmony with the native flora and fauna.
Since European settlement, both countries have experienced massive deforestation and land clearing for agriculture and urban development, which has lead to the loss of much of the native flora and fauna (though, Australia still remains the most bio-diverse place on Earth!).
So... In reaction to this, Landscape Architects in Australia and New Zealand have been fairly committed to using indigenous species for a number of years now.
It is also important to note the constraints of climate, in Australia especially where there is very little annual rainfall (being the driest continent on Earth!). When you couple this with the ancient soils, which are very thin and of poor quality, we're really arn't left with much of a choice but to go 'native'. It is often the native species that perform the best anyway!
Australians are also in the midst of a new-found love affair their native landscapes! We are quickly coming to realise that it has a way of getting under our skin and becoming part of our national (and personal!) identity.
Cheers,
Paul