Page 19 - Landscape-Issue155

Peter Mokaba Stadium

Ellis Park Precinct Ridgeside Precinct

the Bushkoppies Sewerage treatment Q: Please list a few of your key Q: Do you think the profession is
plant and IBM’s head office in Sandton. projects promoted enough at matric level?
For Bushkoppies, the organically shaped • Kempton Park Civic Centre (undertaken No, I don’t think so. We should all be pushing
maturation ponds I drew pleased the with DDV Design) our boundaries every day to ensure that more
client but upset the engineers, and for IBM • Moroka/Thokoza Park 1998 – 2002 school leavers join us. As there is no longer an
we transplanted 65 mature trees, twice • Pecanwood Estate 1999-2014 undergraduate degree in South Africa, our
– once from original position to their • Freedom Park 1998 – 2012 focus should not be on school leavers, but
holding area and then 18months later, • Riverside Government Buildings 1999 – fellow marginal professionals. In our office we
into their final positions. I also designed 2014 employ a variety of “non-landscape” young
several landscapes for the old Lebowa • Ridgeside 2001 – 2016 people, who each became part of landscape
government, which took me travelling • Mapetla Wetland Park 2002-2010 architecture and then forged their own future
all over the old Transvaal. This was a • Leeupan Multipurpose Centre 2002 – when they left the company.
wonderful lesson on how to respond to 2012
many faxed site queries, long before the • East London Industrial Development Q: Please describe your current
advent of WhatsApp and drone photos! Zone 2004 – 2012 situation in Dubai? Has it been
Ridgeside in Umhlanga stands out as • Peter Mokaba Stadium 2007 – 2011 beneficial so far?
one of my most enjoyable projects. Not • Greater Ellis Park Development 2006 – Well, it’s very different to South Africa, and
only did we work on it for 16 years, but I 2010 landscape architects are very sought after
shared the journey with many of my staff, • Gautrain 2006 – 2012 here in Dubai. Every project has to have
who are now leaders in the profession • Woolworths Midrand Distribution Centre one, but we operate in a much clearer
– Dr Ida Breedt, Andrew Kerrin, Christa 2006 – present band in terms of our scope of work. We are
Otto, Nadia Moolenaar, Stephani Halden, • Germiston Urban Renewal 2013-2018 automatically responsible for the exteriors
Dr Dayle Shand, to name but a few. • Limpopo Central Hospital 2012 - present of buildings – including hardscaping, pools,
We designed a public landscape which water features and of course, the softscaping.
is both ecological and urban, working Q: What are your hobbies and Our budgets and fees are therefore higher
with Albonico Sack who supported the interests outside of work? too, and we are better paid than architects.
vision that landscape can be the driver for I love hiking, travelling thoughout South However, there are challenges, not least
good urban environments. Each private Africa for work and pleasure, and recently of which is the limited supply of irrigation
development followed this ethos, and our started swimming again. I hope to travel water. As there is little to no rain, it isn’t
designs were carefully implemented by more with my wife over the next few years. possible to harvest water but we do collect
Countryline Horticulture. run-off from planter boxes. We also need to
I am most proud of the irrigation Q: How do you see the future of the balance green with hardscape as much as
system which uses 100% recycled water landscape architecture profession? possible.
- blended from local storm water run-off I believe it has a bright future and I’ve seen Design is also taken to a new level, as
and the Umgeni outfall works. this in how our young people have made landscapes are designed in Revit and
new niches for themselves. NLA has ex-staff coordinated with structures, façades and
Q: What are the pros and cons of members working for practices all over the the mechanical engineers. In Dubai we are
working for someone, and the world, in various capacities from planning responsible for certain work that in South
pros and cons of running your and urban design to landscape design, Africa is the responsibility of civil engineers,
own business? social integration and ecology. Our skills are for example access road build-up, tarred
I’ve never had a problem working for needed by the built environment in terms of vehicle drop-off areas and site water
someone, but obviously working for green fields, sensitive environments, urban drainage.
yourself is a lot more stressful as you are renewal and redevelopment of brown field
responsible for everything. Graham was sites; landscape architects can play a key Q: If you could start over again,
both a mentor and a partner to me in role in fusing the various professionals’ would you still choose landscape
those early years, but we complemented input into a sustainable plan. As a collective, architecture as a profession?
each other as he focused on the overall we can fill many of the gaps in the built Yes!
planning and design, while I did the environment in terms of environmental,
costings, detail drawings and tenders, mitigation and rehabilitation matters, as Information and photos supplied by Johan
and then supervised the implementation. well as planning and end-use master plans. Barnard, Newtown Landscape Architects n

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