Xiongxin Xiao, MLA (Best Student Award), Zhuojun Jian, MLA (Best Portfolio Award), Michael Watts, MLA (Peter Daniel Prize for Best Site Analysis)

Xiongxin Xiao, MLA – Best Student

Upon graduating in 2022, Xiongxin secured a coveted position in the landscape architecture team at John McAslan + Partners (London) as an Assistant Landscape Designer.

Laurisilva! Ecological Landscape Design

Laurel forest, also called laurisilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as “laurophyll” or “lauroid”. Laurisilva is an important landscape identity of the Azores located in the Macanonisian ecoregion.

The Azores was once protected by laurisilva, which provided rich biological diversity and carried out various important ecological functions. Not only did the laurisilva help increase the rainfall, which replenishes the aquifers, but they also protected against soil erosion. However, after the 1800s, much of the original native vegetation has been displaced because of human activity, including felling forests for timber and firewood, clearing vegetation for grazing and agriculture, and introducing foreign plants and animals onto the islands.

In the future, due to climate change and booming tourism of the Azores, sea level rise will increase the intrusion of seawater into the groundwater to salinize the drinking water, and more groundwater will be overdrawn to meet development needs. Compared with monoculture invasive forests, the complex vertical plant structure of laurel forest can trap more precipitation, moderate surface runoff, inhibit evaporation, improve water quality, and replenish groundwater. Therefore, restoring the laurel forest can reduce the negative impact caused by seawater intrusion to a certain extent.

This project is a plan to restore the ancient native habitat of laurisilva for endemic species, recover the ecological functions of laurisilva for landslide mitigation and seawater intrusion adaptation, reuse after-cutting invasive plants for their rich economic values, and introduce a network of community engagement spaces that reclaim the laurisilva as a place for people.

Michael Watts, MLA – Peter Daniel Prize for Best Site Analysis

Since completing his studies in May 2022 Michael has been practicing as an Assistant Landscape Architect at Ranking Fraser in Edinburgh.

Islands in Islands

Islands in Islands is a project which reimagines the vulnerable, vernacular landscape of the Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo on the north coast of the island of São Jorge in the Azores. 

The fajã is a small piece of land formed over two centuries ago when a violent earthquake caused the land to slip into the ocean. It is constantly changing, both physically, due to erosion, and culturally – recently the inhabitants of the small village have started to abandon their pastures, and production on the fajã’s once fertile soils has been in decline. 

Islands in Islands introduces a bold programme for protecting the landscape, testing new agricultural techniques and construction materials, reusing waste materials, and creating habitat and connections, which promises to stimulate a new phase of economic and ecological progress. Its emphasis on adding nutrition back into the soil ensures that the fajã’s historical role as a place to plant, sow, and harvest, and the seasonal congregation of families and wildlife which this supports, can continue and thrive for as long as the land itself does. New paths, some making use of waste materials, improve connectivity along the coast and across the unique ecosystem of the lagoon, itself monitored by new testing equipment which will improve understanding of the effects of sea level rise, acidification, contamination, and temperature change. The ocean further supports and connects to the land through a marine permaculture site which produces natural fertiliser, animal feed, biofuel, jobs, and habitat.

Further details and project work can be found in links below:

MLA Students 2022

MA Students 2022

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LUC supported the consenting of a 450 MW wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.

LUC was appointed by Mainstream Renewable Power in 2012 to undertake a Seascape, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (SLVIA) of the proposed Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm. The name means ‘strength of the wind’ and the project will be located 15 km from the easternmost point of Fife, between the Firths of Forth and Tay.

To agree common approaches and baselines, LUC’s landscape planners took part in early discussions with the developers of two nearby proposed offshore wind farms, and with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and local authorities. We agreed a common set of viewpoints and undertook a regional coastal character assessment, as well as a review of design approaches, seeking to limit the potential for cumulative effects.

The SLVIA examined the effects of the wind farm on coastal character and views, from St Abb’s Head in the south to St Cyrus in the north, with a particular focus on the closer coasts of Fife and East Lothian. Field work included a trip out to the Isle of May in the Forth, and viewpoint photography from atop the Arbroath Signal Tower.

LUC completed the SLVIA for the original application, and the resubmission in 2018, both of which were consented. We also prepared a Design Statement to satisfy a planning condition, illustrating the finalised project design. LUC continues to be involved in Neart na Gaoithe, now being developed by EDF Renewables, and we are currently working towards the discharge of planning conditions for the onshore grid connection works.

LUC’s work supports the ongoing expansion of Scotland’s offshore wind energy generation, which will continue with the upcoming ScotWind leasing round.

View all Year of Coasts and Waters case studies here

Make sure to keep up with our posts on Twitter and Facebook under the hashtag #LIS_YCW as well as following the main Year of Coasts and Waters hashtag at #YCW2021

The post Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm: Seascape, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment – A Year of Coasts and Waters Case Study first appeared on Landscape Institute.

The post Beyond COP26 : LIS Reflections Event first appeared on Landscape Institute.

The LIS is proud to announce our Beyond COP26 event in which our exhibition on Ian McHarg’s influence and legacy that continues with the current work of landscape professionals in tackling climate change and creating resilient communities has moved to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.

The exhibition will run from the 12th to the 23rd of October. Make sure to see it while you can

The post Ian McHarg Exhibition – A Celebration of Influence and Legacy first appeared on Landscape Institute.

The three keynote speakers are:

• Italian architect Francesca Cesa Bianchi of Stefano Boeri Architects, who will be discussing Bosco Verticale, a vertical forest on two residential towers in Milan – the equivalent of 7,000 sq m of forest
• Wendy Langham, programme manager from Eastside Partnership in Belfast, who will look at the Connswater Community Greenway, a 9km linear park following three rivers in East Belfast
• Niels Jensen, a traffic planner with the City of Copenhagen, who will discuss the Danish city’s cycle network and 60km of green routes

Keith Geddes, chair of the CSGN Trust, said: ‘Our international speakers will present inspiring city projects that are creating more liveable places, which are better for health, well-being and urban biodiversity and which contribute to local culture and identity and help with climate change resilience.’

Presentations will be complemented by walks, workshops and debates.

The conference will take place in the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh’s Pollock Halls. Tickets are free but places are limited. Book at www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org.

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