Architecture & Urban Design leader Heath Gledhill from Aurecon has been appointed Victorian state chapter president for the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA).

“While our state is currently amid an intense infrastructure boom, community needs, and expectations are evolving to demand better liveability and future-proofed design. Our government is responding and, in many instances, is changing the way infrastructure is planned and delivered to integrate infrastructure and land use holistically,” says Gledhill.

“The integration of all elements of strategy, planning, design and implementation is essential to realise successful outcomes. Landscape architects are trained in big-picture thinking and future-proofed design and can play a significant role in facilitating a connected response with engineers and wider project teams.”

“We are now, more than ever, acutely aware of the need for places to give back to the community as the community gives them their reason for being. And any form of working in silos is going to hinder this vision. As much as any other discipline, landscape architecture has an important role to play in realising a more liveable future for our communities,” Gledhill say.

“As a profession, landscape architecture has a responsibility to shape and guide the future of our cities and places, ensuring positive impacts for people, the climate and ultimately our planet and for generations to come to enjoy.” 

“Key to our success will be the recognition of the need to continually adapt and focus the way in which we respond to our projects, and moreover the need to advocate for our profession and stress the importance of our involvement and integration from the outset,” says Gledhill.