Campaigning to CONNECT PEOPLE, PLACE AND NATURE

In October 2022, the Landscape Institute (LI) launched Campaigning to Connect People, Place and Nature. The campaign aims to engage with LI members, non-members, partners and stakeholders in a programme of activity across the UK, developing the vision for the new corporate plan, celebrating best practice and collaborating through a series of inclusive learning events.

The theme is based upon bringing together a multidisciplinary, inclusive community of stakeholders to harness knowledge and thinking to develop solutions to the current challenges we face. The vision of the initiative is to promote the landscape profession as well as build a progressive and inclusive professional body for the future.

At the end of the campaign, the outcomes are designed to build confidence amongst members, elevate the landscape profession's relevance and signpost case studies that support solutions to current and future challenges. It is also hoped to highlight clear priorities for the corporate plan and programmes of work that are important to our members, partners and external stakeholders.

A key element was a series of site visits that were open to all. Brief information on each is given here.

Bristol

No site too small

Glassfields in Bristol brings nature and beauty to the centre of a wider development area in a busy city, that required a flexible design that can be moved and adapted as the scheme progresses. B|D Landscape Architects showed their approach to meanwhile space, from focusing on a strong brand and identity with bespoke furniture and even hoarding – thus creating a sense of place – to incorporating planting that delivers biodiversity in an area lacking in greenery.

Manchester

Transforming a cherished civic space

Albert Square is the setting for Manchester’s Grade I listed Town Hall, a landmark of international significance, known for its exceptional craftsmanship and architectural quality. Both the building and civic space are being restored as part of a seven-year programme, and Planit-IE undertook wide-ranging and intense engagement to understand which challenges needed a design response. Connectivity is a key principle driving the design, with the landscape architects securing approval to remove all traffic from Albert Square, which realises the team’s strong ambition to create an inspiring space that is defined by its building edges and not by the highway that currently dominates it.

Manchester

A new city centre park

Mayfield Park is Manchester’s first city centre park in nearly 100 years which uses as its inspiration the existing state of post-industrial deterioration with planting having taken over the site. Studio Egret West interpreted this state through the retention of existing structures and through their material choices, detailing and approach to planting design. Water management is fundamental to the design, with the de-culverting of the River Medlock resulting in softened edges forming a ‘wildscape area’ that can accommodate flood water should the river burst its banks.

Manchester

Planting for the future

At Kampus, a new urban quarter in Manchester, the design from Exterior Architecture, creates new communal spaces within lush greenery. The brief asked for a tropical oasis and the planting was specified to give a woodland feel while also being resilient to climate change. The landscape architect tested growing ferns in their own garden to ensure this resilience (in the winter they will be wrapped for protection). The Listed buildings on site were referenced and given expression externally by using some beams from the interior for benches.

Manchester

A place for peace and contemplation

As the world’s first industrial city, Manchester is renowned for promoting peace and social justice through progressive movements and individuals who played important roles for the good of the city. Planit-IE’s approach to the redevelopment of Lincoln Square is informed by this history and theme of peace. This included relocating a Grade II listed statue of Abraham Lincoln, giving the Peace Gardens a new home here in the form of a softer space within the square, and honouring with an artwork (showing threads of cotton) the integrity and self-sacrifice of Manchester’s cotton workers who made a stand to support Abraham Lincoln’s fight to abolish slavery.

Manchester

Creating a green viaduct

Part of the National Trust’s Urban Places programme, Castlefield Viaduct is the temporary creation of a green space on a viaduct that has not been in use since 1969. Described as a ‘sky park’, the project has converted a Victorian cast iron and steel railway structure into three distinct spaces while celebrating Castlefield’s industrial heritage. The project is a 12-month pilot to test what this place could become in the future, with a project that includes rigorous trialling, testing, feedback and evaluation.

Leeds

The UK’s largest sustainable project

The Leeds Climate Innovation District turns a central brownfield site into a resilient, green, mixed-use neighbourhood of 516 low energy homes with integrated amenities for everyday life.

The developer, Citu, is driven by a passionate desire to help cities become genuinely zero carbon while also creating places that support people to live zero-carbon lives and engaged Civic Engineers and Layer Studio to deliver this vision. From day one the development was structured as a Community Interest Company, which also owns data and power on site. Data is bought in bulk for £6/home and the excess sold for £20, creating a £100K profit for the CIC. In addition, the landscape contributes to a reduced flood risk, surface water is managed at source through a combination of tree planting, permeable paving, rain gardens and ponds.

Glasgow

The landscape comes first: Dundashill

Dundashill is a residential scheme creating a mix of 600 new apartments and terraced houses on 27 acres of land, 17 of which are developable. The scheme is part of a wider drive from Scottish Canals to deliver development on brownfield sites under the organisation's ownership. Dundashill is of relatively high density, making the green space a vital element of the scheme. In recognition of this, and as a departure from the norm for Scottish built environment projects, the landscape framework by rankinfraser was developed as the first phase. This meant the landscape was not delivered within a high-pressure environment when project timescales are inevitably overrun.

Glasgow

Where landscape and health and wellbeing meet:

The Claypits, by LUC, is a transformational scheme in the northwest of Glasgow that turns a disused claypit into a nature reserve, addressing issues of connectivity from the city centre to this area. The 1 km route along the Glasgow Canal branch of the Firth of Clyde provides people access to green and blue infrastructure from which they were previously disconnected. The Claypits project has contributed to creating a “20-minute neighbourhood” for local residents.

Birmingham

Learning from Birmingham’s trees

In Birmingham, field trip attendees were treated to a tour of the city centre, including Centenary Square, Paradise Forum, Colmore Row and everything in between. Mathew Haslam of Hardscape gave context to Centenary Square’s deceptively simple design. Howard Gray of Green Blue Urban then provided insight into supporting healthy tree growth across the city. A key piece of advice was that where there is green infrastructure, there needs to be blue infrastructure and it is easier to make a case for the latter when designing projects.

Cardiff

Transforming Grangetown

Grangetown is one of the most densely populated parts of Cardiff that has historically been subject to flooding and was characterised by a scarcity of greenery. The Greener Grangetown project - designed by Arup with City of Cardiff Council, Dŵr Cymru Welsh/ Water and Natural Resources Wales/ Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru as client –aimed to deal with rainwater in the area. It has transformed Grangetown into a place that is more attractive; supports cycling, walking and connectivity to the wider city; and enhances health and wellbeing – all while still achieving the original intent by removing more than 40,000m3 from the public sewer annually.

Bristol

Reimagining a popular destination:

King Street is one of Bristol’s most attractive and favoured areas. While there had long been a desire from businesses along the street to pedestrianise, LDA Design identified the opportunities for permanent benefits from doing so and led the plans, establishing the King Street Collective in July 2020, to make them a reality. LDA Design delivered the results of their work to the Council, which used emergency powers to pedestrianise the street within two weeks. To preserve the historic character of the street, LDA Design is identifying and maintaining key views and sightlines for this ongoing project.

Newcastle

The world’s first high-tide floating ecosystem:

Newcastle Quayside Floating Ecosystem is Groundwork North East’s new floating nature island and part of its Revitalising our Estuaries (RoE) programme. It is a world first and a pilot scheme, developed by Biomatrix Water specifically for this site, and will be a vital hub for wildlife such as invertebrates, pollinators, birds, molluscs and fish in an area where natural habitat has been lost. RoE has created new green jobs, including employing 38 young people as part of the programme. Within this five River Estuary Ranger Trainees will gain qualifications in landscape and outdoor environment management.

Birmingham

Growing in the sky:

The Library of Birmingham has two outdoor terraces. While both are open to members of the public, one is more formal in character and can support events and exhibitions while the other has a more natural character, includes 5,500 plants, and supports quiet reading and individual enjoyment. The spaces, designed by Applied Landscape Design and Frosts Landscapes, had a brief that included an edible planting area. The produce is used by the library kitchens while also providing educational value, as school and local groups can learn about planting, especially at roof level.

Newcastle

Newcastle’s Future Places:

Across Newcastle, igloo Regeneration is implementing its ‘footprint’ methodology as a model for development. The approach has six dimensions: circular, climate, community, place, wellbeing and nature. The city’s upcoming developments, Stephenson Quarter in the city centre and Malmo Quay and Spillers Quay in Ouseburn, focus on these as priorities to not just deliver best practice but also to track these projects across their lifespan. Stephenson Quarter, is prioritising the site’s heritage and working with BBUK on the landscape, which aims to reference Victorian pleasure gardens in the planting scheme. In Ouseburn, the project’s previous phases comprise of The Malings and Steenberg’s Yard developments.

Leeds

Where landscape is the cornerstone for regeneration:

Due to adverse weather, the field trip did not include this site, but its significance in the city’s key regeneration project meant Wellington Place in Leeds is an important project to include in this list of sites. A new mixed-use community and business quarter in the heart of Leeds City Centre, Gillespies drew inspiration from the site’s history, taking into account changes on site from the 17th century to a Brian Clouston and Partners design in the 1970s. As part of this, a Grade I listed lifting tower is a focal point of masterplan.

London

Restoring the heart of London - Bloomsbury Squares

Prior to its restoration, Russell Square was a lacklustre garden square in poor condition that was attracting serious anti-social behaviour, especially after dark. Set in the heart of Bloomsbury, the square was originally designed by Humphry Repton in 1801 for the 5th Duke of Bedford. Today, it is Grade II listed and included on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks & Gardens. The Square, with its refurbished café, has become an extremely popular destination for visitors and residents alike, providing an important refuge and green oasis within this dense urban setting. Gordon and Woburn Square Gardens form part of the extensive network of largely Georgian garden squares in Bloomsbury, although they were some of the later squares to be developed in the district. Improving access and safety were primary concerns for the redesign of the squares.

London

Creating new public space - Aldwych Strand

Strand has been an important east/ west route in London since AD190, when it was called Strond, meaning edge of the river. Today, it remains a key processional route between Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral. Aldwych, on the other hand, is much younger. Completed in 1905, the street was inspired by Parisian boulevards.

Working with Westminster City Council, LDA Design has reimagined Aldwych Strand to become a fantastic new civic space which better meets the needs of visitors, workers and residents. Pedestrianisation of a large section of the Strand has created, for the first time, a place where people can stop and pause, and space for nature. It also creates an exciting, flexible and democratic outdoor space that the institutions along Strand can use and share for fashion parades to exhibitions to performances, supporting a new type of activation where art is made not just displayed, where knowledge is exchanged.

London

Housing and green infrastructure at Elephant Park

Elephant Park is a mixed-use development by Lendlease and Southwark Council, just a short walk from Elephant & Castle’s train stations. It is built on the site of the former Heygate Estate and is designed to open up the area, creating new, accessible, throughways for pedestrians and cyclists, over 3,000 new homes and over 50 new retail spaces, including affordable retail provision. The project is over halfway through its timeline, with an estimated completion date of 2026. Green infrastructure plays an important role in helping to mitigate the climate emergency and for its positive contribution to biodiversity. 128 mature plane trees were retained from the original Heygate Estate, with a further 1,300 being planted in and around Elephant Park.

The Jellicoe event was recorded by a live scriber who outlined some of the key themes of the discussion.

© Smart UP Visuals

Jellicoe Lecture

Campaigning to Connect People, Place and Nature culminated with the Jellicoe Lecture, back again as a live event after two years of being held online. The event took place in London at Brixton’s Department Store building, home to architects Squire and Partners, and a hub for creative, retail and community uses.

Ben Brown, former Head of Policy and Insight at the Landscape Institute, presented the results of the industry-wide Landscape Skills and Workforce Survey.

– The annual Gross Value Added (GVA) of the landscape sector is £24.6bn – Biodiversity and nature recovery came out on top (82%) for the top five reported outcomes that the landscape industry believes will drive growth in the sector

– More than 50% of businesses have a hard-to-fill vacancy

– The landscape workforce is significantly older and whiter than the average UK workforce – 40 years of age and 51.3% is female

This launch was followed by a discussion with guest speakers about the current state of the landscape profession.

Guest speakers were:

Peter Freeman

Chair of Homes England and co-founder of the property developer Argent.

Siraaj Mitha

Architect and Head of Accelerate at Open City, a programme that encourages young people from underrepresented backgrounds to explore careers in the built environment.

Charlotte Glazier CMLI,

Programme Manager – Greening the Public Realm, Islington Council.

Binki Taylor

GLA commissioner for diversity in the public realm and founding partner of the Brixton Project, a community placemaking organisation.

Victoria Thornton OBE, Chair

Founder of Open House/Open City, Founder of the Thornton Educational Trust and former President of the Architectural Association Panel.

A key theme was how to attract a new generation of landscape architects to the profession.

Binki Taylor suggested one approach would be to identify simple steps that will help people connect to the profession.

Jellicoe Lecture.

© Ron Gilmour

Peter Freeman identified playgrounds as an ideal entry point for this discussion with young children, especially as it is a designed space that a majority of children have access to from a very young age.

Charlotte Glazier talked about the Islington Greening Together programme, which engages residents by asking them to submit their ideas for greening their neighbourhoods. The Greener Together Champions scheme trains and supports residents to manage and maintain spaces and act as local community organisers.

Siraaj Mitha commented on the relevance of the skills survey statistic that the landscape sector is worth almost £25 billion – should some of that funding not be channelled towards promoting the profession? If there is value to this work, then it should be paid for.

Victoria Thornton talked about the Thornton Education Trust’s Inspire Future Generations awards scheme. The awards aim to ‘recognise people and initiatives that have been working with children and young people –helping them to engage in and advocate for a better built environment.’

While understanding and identifying with local places was clearly important, audience member and incoming Landscape Institute independent trustee Deborah Nagan, pointed out the importance of showcasing iconic projects, such as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (London) and Gardens by the Bay (Singapore). These projects are not just glamorous and exciting but tangibly address the climate crisis.

Jellicoe Lecture.

© Ron Gilmour

Audience member Richard Goldthorpe brought up the importance of an integrated ecosystem of landscape architects, local authorities and community groups working together within a designed and managed system, rather than a fragmented one. Charlotte Glazier supported this recommendation and further emphasised the role that good project management can play in making this a reality.

The panel discussion moved on to focus more specifically on attracting people from underrepresented backgrounds, particularly important given the ethnic diversity statistics revealed by the sector skills survey.

In terms of client-side advocacy, Peter Freeman pointed out the value of landscape to developers, demonstrated by Argent’s redevelopment of King’s Cross. He said the project could have saved approximately £100m by delivering a mundane hard and soft landscape but made a deliberate decision to make this investment, in recognition of the value it brings to the place.

Binki Taylor talked about the importance of a strategic approach to communications campaigns. Pinning down answers to questions about a campaign’s ambition, vision, what it aims to change and where shared purposes can be identified are all critical to creating change from local level to creating connections at global level. This approach could, and should, intersect with the clear way in which young people are incentivised to save the planet and mapping that desire to a career in landscape architecture.

Find out more and join the conversation

The campaign is ongoing and LI member participation is welcome and encouraged. Members can find out more at www.landscapeinstitute.org and share their thoughts at campaigns@landscapeinstitute.org

The Landscape Institute thanks its sponsors Hardscape, Hillier and Wildflower for their sponsorship of the events. We also thank Arup and Design Commission for Wales for hosting us at their offices in Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff respectively.