A reflection from Dr Maria Ignatieva

Thirty years ago, landscape architecture was established at the University of Western Australia. This is the only Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) accredited program in Western Australia.

Landscape architecture is based on three “pillars” – design, planning, and management, and works with natural and built landscapes to improve the quality and our experience of the environment and community. In a collaborative environment and by using real-world scenarios of varying scales, landscape architecture students gain the knowledge, critical thinking, and skills to respond to, complex issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, urban ecology, ecological sustainability, quality and health of landscapes, heritage conservation and restoration and water sensitive design by applying systems thinking and creative practice to develop long-term, multi-scale solutions.

In 30 years the UWA landscape architecture program has educated a cohort of practitioners and academics who contributed to the development of landscape architecture in WA, Australia and internationally. Many of our alumni work for government agencies and local governments, nature conservation agencies, heritage conservation, planning consultancies, horticulture and the landscape architecture industry.

Landscape architecture at UWA addresses the unique opportunities of the west coast of Australia and regional positioning in one of the 35 world’s biodiversity hotspots. Landscape architecture studio and research work at UWA clearly highlights the leading role of landscape architects in dealing with the interactions between natural and cultural ecosystems, expanding working together with First Nation Peoples' on connection to Country, and responding to the rise of the environmental movement and increasing recognition of landscape architecture as a profession in Australia.

During its history, the landscape architecture program has offered a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, a Major in Landscape Architecture, a Master of Landscape Architecture and PhD program. The program is also very international with staff having experience working in the USA, Sweden, New Zealand and England.

The landscape architecture program at UWA offers a research pathway – Master’s dissertation by design and PhD dissertations. During the last 6 years, 5 PhD students have successfully finished their these. One of the students was included in the Dean’s List of the Dean of the Graduate Research School, in recognition of the excellent standard of PhD candidate’s work. There was a wide range of research themes from sustainable landscape design, green corridors to green-blue infrastructure to nostalgia and memory, water-sensitive design, planning and management practices, biodiversity-friendly botanical gardens and spontaneous urban plants and natures that are an authentic part of urban landscapes.

During the last six years, three landscape architecture staff members have received faculty awards for excellence in teaching. Our landscape architecture staff was also successful in receiving national and international research grants (in Australia, Europe and China) and publishing books, peer-reviewed book chapters and articles in highly recognized scientific journals including publication in Science.

Our staff is also actively involved in writing scientific popular articles in national and international journals such as Landscape Australia, KERB and the Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture. Our landscape architecture staff is very active in participating in conferences and delivering keynotes at international and national congresses, conferences and symposiums. In 2021, landscape architecture staff and students were the organsiers of the AILA Festival of Landscape Architecture, held in Perth. Our Master of Landscape Architecture students have received numerous prestigious awards for their work.

The UWA landscape architecture team critically evaluates the existing curriculum and introduces new courses (e.g. Urban Ecology, Design through Landscape Management) that address new challenges. Applied learning is an impoartant part of this, with landscape architecture staff introducing the concept of “Living Labs”, implementing three experimental sites, “Shifting Sands”, “Lawns as Ecological and Cultural Phenomenon” and “Urban Biodiversity and Design” at the Nedlands and Crawley UWA campuses. Students contributed to the design and maintenance of these living labs.

Over the lasy six years, the landscape architecture program at UWA has become truly international. Students from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden and Finland entered the Master’s program. The Landscape Architecture program has agreements on exchange students and teachers with Nanjing Forest Technical University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and developed cooperation with the University of Arizona, USA. Landscape Architecture program at UWA has a good international and national reputation.

Dr Maria Ignatieva
Professor of Landscape Architecture
Discipline Chair Landscape Architecture
UWA, 2023

Dr Maria Ignatieva is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and the discipline chair of the landscape architecture programme at the School of Design, University of Western Australia. She has been dedicated to working in academia in five countries (Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, USA, and Russia), teaching as a full-time tenured academic in landscape architecture programs. Maria’s main research interests are urban ecology (urban biodiversity and design), ecological design, history of landscape architecture, and historical garden restoration. She is a member of the AILA, IFLA, and the President of URBIO (Urban Biodiversity and Design International Network). Results of Maria’s research projects “Low Impact Design” and “Lawn as Ecological and Cultural Phenomenon” were implemented in practice in New Zealand and Sweden. Prof. Ignatieva published books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals such as Science, Landscape and Urban Planning, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, Landscape Research, Urban Ecosystems, and Journal of Landscape Architecture.