LI London Branch Newsletter July – August 2009
Hello All,
In the last two months the financial problems centred on the Landscape Institute have continued to be a main topic of conversation for many in the industry. At LI London we recognise these concerns and want to assure all of our regional members that we are still active and we share your concerns about the Institute. We want to reassure you that we are financially secure as a regional body of the Landscape Institute and act to provide support to chartered and aspiring Landscape Architects in London.
Since the last newsletter was published we held our AGM, which was attended by a good cross section of the region’s practices and individuals. It was a chance for us to reflect as a committee what we have achieved over the last year and consider where we want to position ourselves in the future. A good number of new volunteers stepped forward to help in the running of the committee which will help generate new ideas and provide a wider voice for the committee.
We plan to make our monthly socials more accessible, relevant and more focussed on new landscape schemes. To that end, we would like to invite you to show off your work as a chance to profile your projects in a monthly selection of practices. We will showcase new landscape schemes on our website and hold events for members where we can meet and take a closer look at landscape design in London. If you have a recently completed scheme in London that you would like to put forward please contact us at: mail.london@landscapeinstitute.org
London has lots to offer this summer for Landscape Architects. Check out our extra curricular section which lists a number of exhibitions and events taking place. Hopefully you can join us at one of them. We are excited about our new ideas which we will be sharing with you in the next newsletter. We hope that you continue to enjoy the summer and make the most of what the capital has to offer.
Regional News
Landscape Institute’s launch of the Green Infrastructure
To mark the publication of the LI’s position statement on green infrastructure, the LI and WRAP are inviting members to a free breakfast seminar on the subject.
The seminar takes place at the Institution of Chemical Engineers on 16 July. It is an opportunity to discuss some of the key issues in delivering GI projects from a range of perspectives, including masterplanning, regional development, use of recycled materials planning and landscape design.
Further details here.
Public Piano Sing-a-longs
A new initiative by the Mayor of London hopes to see us all singing along in ‘harmony’ with others as part of scheme that sees pianos being placed in prominent open spaces around London for the public to enjoy.
Further details at here.
Opening of new rooftop gardens in Hammersmith
A new community rooftop garden has been opened at the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith overlooking Lyric Square.
Further details at here.
Events
All LI London and Local LI events will now be listed on the 'News and Events' page, click the link on the sidebar (left) or follow this link.
Following on from AGM in May Ben Hamilton-Bailie and Lindsey Whitelaw delivered a very successful and inspirational presentation on ‘shared space’ and the benefits that it can bring to the public realm. We are very grateful to both of them for their time and passion in sharing their own experiences with us.
As already mentioned we have a number of new ideas for the forthcoming year, but we still have some great events that we hope you can join us in before the end of the summer.
Pathway 2 Chartership
Following the oral exam in May we would like to congratulate all the candidates, and their mentors, in London that passed:
Candidate name |
Mentor |
Katrina Davies |
Gordon Bell |
Duncan Goodwin |
Peter Armstrong |
Sylvia Graf |
Peter Sheard |
Ai Hishii |
Martin Page |
Elizabeth Jackson |
Andrew Tempany |
Marion Jones |
Martin Page |
Clive Kershaw |
Glen Macfarlane |
Meaghan Kombol |
Sibylla Hartel |
Eleanor Pudwell |
Peter Armsrong |
Chris Stanton |
Andrew Tindsley |
Tom Stroud |
Jeremy Wills |
Stephen Suen |
Mark Blackwell |
Claire Symons |
Richard Broome |
Christopher Veres |
Stephen Nice |
In the last newsletter we asked for details of P2C revision groups in the region or whether candidates would be interested in attending a revision group organised by LI London. We are in discussion with the LI about holding monthly revision groups / meetings at the LI head office, 33 Great Portland Street. Once we are able to confirm a location we will email details and dates separately.
If you have any further questions or comments on how LI London can support you as a mentor or candidate, or how you can get started on the P2C process please contact us at: mail.london@landscapeinstitute.org.
Committee Snapshot
LI London is as concerned as everyone else about the status of the LI and we encourage as many of you as possible to attend the EGM, which includes a Vote of No Confidence on 15th July. It’s your opportunity to find out what has been happening over the last several months, and to influence how the Institute is run in the future. If you don’t know what the issues are, take a look here:
London members are at an advantage as it’s much easier for us to get to the meeting than others. However vital it is that the financial and organisational situation is resolved, we really want to reassure London members that we are still fully operational. We see this as an opportunity for a re-think about how we approach branch services.
The new committee members, who we are delighted to welcome on board, have lots of ideas about how to reach out to more members and make our activities relevant. These include:
- Practice ‘show and tell’
- Practice principal interviews
- Also interviews with developers, clients, architects
- Go to our universities - Greenwich and Kingston, and talk to students – we are planning on giving a travel bursary prize
- More CPD and P2C events (see above)
- Debates on contentious issues – we want to engage our members to give us their views
- Socials, informal and another great Xmas do
We know we can’t achieve all this at once, especially with limited funds, but that’s just going to make us more creative - we’ll take small steps and see where they take us.
I can do no better than to finish with some quotes about these strange times from our fab Finance Officer, Wing Lai, whose inspirational approach should inspire us all:
"There is no doubt that this will be the resurrection and evolution of the perception of the landscape profession. The pathway to success and high achievements often comes with challenges and responding to our ever changing environment.
Everyone in the region and beyond can help make this positive change. This year will be about giving our region confidence and helping to build a stronger future for all our members and the profession”
Extra Curricular
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, 7-12th July 2009. Gardening’s best gets down to earth at this year's show, so be ready to make the most of your garden. There’ll be ideas on how you can grow your own, enjoy healthy outdoor living and much, much more. With something for everyone this summer, join us for a day of home-grown fun the whole family can get stuck into – and don’t forget kids go free! Further details here.
Greenway tour by the architecture Centre Network. Discover the Greenway: A fun afternoon celebrating the historical, contemporary and natural environment of the Greenway, adjacent to the Olympic Park. Saturday 25 July on the Greenway (5mins from the Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station). The free event is open to all and will run from 12pm to 16pm. Activities will include historic tours, architecture talks, music inspired by the Shropshire Hills, drawing, film screenings, and much more – including activities delivered by and showcasing the work of architecture centres. Further details here
Radical Nature at the Barbican 19 June–18 Oct/09. The beauty and wonder of nature have provided inspiration for artists and architects for centuries. Since the 1960s, the increasingly evident degradation of the natural world and the effects of climate change have brought a new urgency to their responses. Radical Nature is the first exhibition to bring together key figures across different generations who have created utopian works and inspiring solutions for our ever-changing planet. Further details here
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009 Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA 12 July – 18 October. The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009 has been designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of leading Japanese architecture practice SANAA. It is sponsored by NetJets Europe. Describing their structure the architects say: ‘The Pavilion is floating aluminium, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing uninterrupted view across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.’ Further details here.
Richard Long at Tate Britain 3rd June – 6th September 2009
This major exhibition is Richard Long's first survey in London for eighteen years and is a unique opportunity to understand afresh the artist's radical rethinking of the relationship between art and landscape.
Further details at here.
Futurism at the Tate Modern 12th June – 20th Sept 2009.
Tate Modern celebrates the centenary of this dramatic art movement with a ground-breaking exhibition. Futurism was launched by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909 with the publication of the Manifesto of Futurism on the front page of Paris newspaper Le Figaro. Drawing upon elements of Divisionism and Cubism, the Futurists created a new style that broke with old traditions and expressed the dynamism, energy and movement of their modern life.
Further details here.