2017 KARL LANGER AWARD
The 2017 Karl Langer Award is the highest honour awarded to a graduate of landscape architecture by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) in Queensland. First awarded in 1972, this annual award is presented to a fourth-year Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Bachelor of Design (Landscape Architecture) student who demonstrates the aptitude to make significant contributions to the profession in the future.
The Karl Langer Award is inspired by architect and town planner, Karl Langer, that introduced the concept of urban design and modernist architecture to many Australian cities and towns. He was always concerned with and outspoken about planning relationships and the breadth of influence of any change to the physical environment ‐ the essential factor in landscape architecture. The legacy of the Karl Langer Award represents the potential in our graduating students, the future visionaries for our profession.
The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) announced Daniel Jones as the winner of the prestigious 2017 Karl Langer Award, at a ceremony in Brisbane
Qfresh caught up with Dan to find out more about his philosophy and what the win means for him.
You are the winner of the Karl Langer 2017 Award, how does it feel to be the winner of such a prestigious Queensland Landscape Architecture award?It feels amazing! To have been selected from such a creative and accomplished group of fellow students is a great honour, it would have been a difficult choice for the judging panel to have made.
What does winning the award mean for you?
I see winning the award as a recognition of the validity of the work I have put forward throughout my studies at QUT. I saw the nomination as an opportunity to crystalize my emergent design philosophy into a coherent narrative. The process of compiling a portfolio centred around an unpinning design approach, and then presenting to a panel of industry leaders, is a once in a lifetime opportunity to further develop and reflect upon how myprofessional values can align with the contributions I seek to make in the world. The winning of the Karl Langer brings with it a recognition of my future potential as a Landscape Architect.
What was your final concept and overall philosophy for your portfolio and presentation?
In a time of increasing complexity and change the challenge of healing the earth requires grounded interrelated solutions that successfully respond to such complexity and uncertainty. Every site is a complex system of socio/economic, environmental and aesthetic assemblages. The success of any changes made to the site is in direct correlation to the level of understanding of the systems in which it exists.
The complexity of landscape is not a deterrent, rather a rich source from which design concepts can emerge. We will never be able to fully understand every aspect of thelandscape, we can however resolve a level of understanding from which to design a successful response. The three projects outlined in the portfolio and presentation were examples of this process, and were influenced by the landscape and ecological forms of urbanism currently emerging in global discourse.
The folio started with the project titled Immersive Landscapeswhich sets forth a potential vision for the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and surrounding landscape. This was followed by the Living Brisbane project which sought to introduce biodiverse green infrastructure into the core of Brisbane’s urban green space network through linking the Queen Street Mall to the City Botanic Gardens via Lower Albert St. Finally, the folio ended with Emergence, a combination of the program of the cemetery and the program of reconstitution of ecological systems, with the aim of introducing a place of meaningful connection to those who have gone before, and our ecological systems.
On a more personal note, my underlying values have their roots in my childhood. Growing up rurally on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, I was afforded the opportunity to develop a deep connection to,and respect for, the land and its natural systems. Now my aim is to design landscapes that afford others the ability tohave contact with the landin a time of increasing urban intensification.
How this body of work provides a basis for your future contribution to the profession of Landscape Architecture?
I see what I have produced so far as the beginnings of what will hopefully be a meaningful contribution to improving the way we live in the landscape. The three projects outlined in the previous question all have the potential to perhaps one day gain the support needed for implementation. However, I understand that any changes made to public space need to be carefully considered and are often the result of years of planning and collaboration.
Even if the concepts outlined do not gain traction, the design philosophy and process I have begun to develop while undertaking them, have given me the confidence to now go out into the workplace with the confidence to put my views and ideas forward. I seelandscape architects as being design coordinators of public space, with the unique capability of being able to work from multiple perspectives to maximise beneficial outcomes. I aim to be able to play my part in the emergence of landscape architecture as the central profession responsible for how humans affect the landscape.
Which issues do you feel are most important for landscape architects to be addressing in Australia?
The most important issues are centred around how we can best live together in a time of urban intensification. By improving the performance of our cities, we can make real inroads into addressing key contemporary issues. The profession of Landscape Architecture is uniquely positioned to shape the social, environmental and aesthetic reality of the future city by responding to the complex urban condition in a wholistic and considered manner. It is our ability to communicate possible future scenarios in a way that is comprehensible not just to the other design disciplines, but also to the wider community, that empowers us to be agents of creative change in a time when creative change is needed.
I believe that it is possible to intensify urbanity while still maintaining, and in some cases introducing,contact with diverse ecologies. It is my hope that the practice of developing viable farmland and areas of high ecological value (both existing and pre-existing) for residential purposes, will reduce as we introduce medium and high-density dwellings into the existing urban footprint that are beneficial to the well-being of residents.
If you could say a few words of advice to others who are about to start final year of their degree of Landscape Architecture what would they be?
The final year is the time to apply the knowledge gained so far in the degree to a concept that aligns with your own personal values. The trick is to identify a contemporary problem or issue that is affecting socio/environmental reality, that is also of particular interest to you personally. Ideally, if you can identify a problem that is not currently being addressed sufficiently, by reading the relevant journals, you can then make a significant contribution to the global discourse surrounding an issue and help to offer possible solutions. If possible, I would also recommend talking to professionals who are working in your area of research, to gain current insight into possible solutions.
For me, the freedom to choose your own project allowed me to further develop my own design philosophy and contributed to a portfolio of work that I hope to continue with. However, this freedom comes with the need to set your own deliverables and then meet them. I would recommend setting final goals for each assessment and then daily or weekly goals as you go along. If you get stuck just remember something is better then nothing, it’s much easier to revise than to look at a blank page. Also, try to avoid going into the metaphorical cave entirely, you will have regular catch ups with your unit coordinators and tutors to bounce ideas, but I would recommend talking to fellow students as much as possible also. Good luck, I look forward to seeing the end results!
What’s your current position now and how did you get to where you are?
I’m currently a Landscape Architect at Brisbane City Council’s City Projects Office (CPO). The office is a great opportunity to develop professionally in a team of experienced landscape architects who work side by side with the complete range of design professionals. The variety and number of projects currently underway at the CPO afford the opportunity to learn best practice skills in a fast paced and challenging workplace, and is the ideal next step in my professional development.
While undertaking the degree at QUT I was working elsewhere in Brisbane City Council as a facilities manager (Historic Cemeteries Manager) and early last year was successful in securing a transfer across to the City Projects Office as a Cadet. The cadetship has now led to securing a position in the team as a Graduate Landscape Architect. Brisbane City Council is an employer of choice and are very supportive of employee’s professional development, it is for this reason that I was able to continue to work full time throughout my time at QUT.
What’s on your desk currently?
It’s early days in my new role but I’m currently working on the design and documentation of two playgrounds, an urban common and a small park and memorial. With around 200 landscape projects currently active, there is a lot of opportunity to work across a wide variety of projects, from design and documentation through to policy documents, so I’m looking forward to what the new year might bring!
What’s your favourite Brisbane landscape?
This is a difficult one! Aside from the hidden gems tucked away in Brisbane Forest Park where I regularly trail run, the designed landscapes I value most are those that work synergistically to bring together social and environmental benefits while still being aesthetically delightful and economically feasible! The big three inner urban green spaces; Southbank and Roma Street Parklands and the City Botanic Gardens, each bring a different aesthetic that plays in counterpoint to the hardscapes of the CBD. I see a lot of potential to connect the big three in a way that extends their biophilic value out into the built landscapein a way that allows users to reimagine the CBD as coherent connected network of urban green spaces.
Which designers, local or international, do you find most inspiring?
Internationally I am inspired by the work James Corner Field Operations is doing as an exemplar of how landscape architects can effect urban planning, I also like how they integrate ecological systems with design.
Locally I am inspired by the work my fellow team members at BCC have done over the years to make Brisbane what it is today. It’s difficult to choose any one project, the team work on a wide variety projects, across the entirety of our public urban fabric. Some of the more recent projects include the Karawatha Visitor Centre, Frew Park, and the new Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens Master Plan.
Ialso like the work Landscapolgy recently did on the Big Plans for Small Creek project, which will see the naturalisation of 1.6km of concrete channelling. It’s a great example of how we can return our landscapes to a more biodiverse and environmentally beneficial state, while still affording access and facilities for local residents to improve their wellbeing.
Which resources, whether they be books or websites, do you most often refer to?
As far as websites I would recommend Landzine,Foreground and of course the AILA website and Landscape Architecture Magazineto keep up to date with the newest projects. Pinterest can be a good way of getting ideas and cataloguing.
Regarding my design philosophy, I have recently been reading Charles Waldheim’s Landscape as Urbanism: A General Theory(2016) and On Landscape, Ecology and other Modifiers to Urbanism (2010). I would also recommend Landscape Urbanism and its Discontents (2013) edited by AdresDuany and Emily Talen for a critical look at the emerging framework. Going deeper I would recommend A Thousand Plateaus by Deleuze and Guattari (1980) and more recently Assemblage Theory by Delanda (2016), as possible way out of the pitfalls of postmodernism. Just a bit of light reading!
If you could go back and give your first year self some advice, what would it be?
Stress less! For me first year was the most challenging. To stand up in front of design boards and present a concept without the benefit of years of academic development to afford some knowledge to fall back on, is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. As you progress through the degree the pieces fall into some sort of semblance of a design philosophy, so don’t feel like you need to know it all straight away, just go with your instincts.
What are you going to be doing in five years’ time?
Hopefully still doing my bit to improve the way we live in the landscape. 5 years is a long time, eventually I would like to continue my academic development if possible also. All I know is that I’m very happy that I took the plunge and decided to undertake the LA degree at QUT, as I progressed through the program I became more certain that the profession of landscape architecture is well poised to make real improvements to the way we do things. Thankyou to all of the staff over the years at QUT for broadening my awareness and for improving my ability to learn. A big thankyou to AILA for continuing to support students as they progress through the degree, and for continuing to support the Karl Langer Award.