A Major Milestone For Landscape Architecture Profession

What’s possibly one of the most misunderstood professions in the country is preparing to mark a major milestone as it finds itself increasingly at the forefront of a number of key issues facing Aotearoa New Zealand.

Tuia Pito Ora New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) celebrates its 50th anniversary next week and President Henry Crothers says its members are finding themselves in more demand than ever as practitioners are increasingly employed to mitigate the effects of climate change, lead strong urban planning, guide large scale infrastructure projects as well as undertake landscape assessment, transport projects, and parks and open space development.

Crothers says it’s a standing joke within the profession that members are constantly asked about plants or retaining walls, but what many kiwis don’t realise is the huge impact the profession has on place making in New Zealand.

“And it doesn’t stop there,” he says. “Landscape Architects are increasingly working with mana whenua and developing a collaborative approach to urban design to bring about a design ethos that is truly reflective of Aotearoa and its people."

The 2022 NZILA Firth Conference will be held at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland from October 11-13 and will reflect the Institute’s first five decades. On the evening of October 13, the Resene New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture awards will be presented at a gala dinner also at the Cordis Hotel. This includes three supreme award presentations.

Henry Crothers says the NZILA awards programme is about celebrating the creativity, technical capability and diversity of skills that Landscape Architects provide as integrators of landscape, people and place in Aotearoa.

Conference speakers will include landscape architects who were directly involved with the establishment of NZILA in 1972 along with international leaders presenting both virtually and in person.

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