Waihanga Horanuku, Tohu PaeruaPostgraduate Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architecture is a critical discipline. There are tremendous environmental and climatic changes that we need to solve internationally and globally, and Landscape Architecture is one of the fastest-growing design fields.

My name is Vikki Chanse, and I am a Senior Lecturer in the Landscape Architecture programme.

There are many common misconceptions about Landscape Architecture. One is that we only work on street plantings. Another is that we only do garden design. If that were the case, I would not be doing Landscape Architecture.

What makes Landscape Architecture so compelling is the many different scales at which we work: regional, neighbourhood, and site scales. We think about entire river catchments, making connections from upstream to downstream ecology. We look at habitat enhancement and many other approaches that help shape resilient environments.

Landscape Architecture has contributed to our society in so many ways, and that contribution continues to grow as Landscape Architects work alongside other disciplines. Landscape Architects evaluate landscape performance by considering the social, economic, and ecological benefits of landscape design. They contribute significantly to sustainability goals, sustainable forms, sustainable landscapes, and sustainable cities.

The Master of Landscape Architecture degree is a professional qualification in Landscape Architecture. What makes it different from an undergraduate degree is that it is a thesis-based design programme. Students still undertake graduate-level courses in design studios and technology, but they also spend a full year developing a design thesis.

This is where it becomes important to focus on what you are passionate about. The project behind me is from a student who is passionate about sea-level rise and exploring how exposed parts of Wellington’s south coast can adapt to climate change, sea-level rise, and storm surge. I see Landscape Architecture as being absolutely critical to solving those challenges.

With the climate crisis, there is a growing demand for Landscape Architecture. We need creative thinkers who can also think holistically about plant ecology, hydrology, and soil science, and bring that knowledge into meaningful design solutions that create better places and address critical, ongoing, and increasingly complex problems.

That's what we are looking for in the programme: people who are interested in sustainability, climate change, addressing environmental challenges, and creating better environments.

Those are the kinds of people we are looking for in the Master of Landscape Architecture programme.

If you're interested in the Master of Landscape Architecture, please get in touch.

When the people have gone, the land remains.

The New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) is the professional body that represents us as Landscape Architects.

Climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and sustainability are all such pressing issues in today's world. Increasingly, in our urban environments, the need for spaces to be enduring, sustainable, and have a low carbon footprint is absolutely central.

We are of service to our whenua, our land, our environment, to te taiao. By being of service to that, we are also of service to the communities that live there.

The NZILA promotes continuous professional development by providing events, guest speakers, and conferences.

You can sign up as a student member, which gives you access to resources, working professionals, events, branch activities, and opportunities to build your network.

My advice to junior landscape architects is to try as much as you can and get exposure to as many corners of Landscape Architecture as possible.