An attempt to define landscape architecture in Sydney in one hour seems almost impossible and would definitely encroach onto the realms of plagiarism. The definition of Landscape Architecture by Wikipedia is as such:

” Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, and/or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions that will produce the desired outcome.”

In order to achieve a better outcome, I will definite landscape architecture in the context of private outdoor design purely because of the context of the business which focuses on servicing clients for their development application. Designing for the sake of getting the application over line seems quite limited, but offers opportunities to express and push for a sustainable approach to design.

Often residential clients ask for “Contemporary style” which is often backed with comments like “maintenance-free”, fact that persuade me to believe that they are very much illusioned by the projected image of design homes that sets the scene for practical but not really helping at creating a sense of place; a maintenance-free garden which often projects a visual minimalist image.

As a Landscape Architect, I would seldom suggest a Minimalist approach. Minimalist design as its name suggests provide the bare minimum. Identifying their personal needs and projecting that in the design and creating opportunities for the clients to appropriating the space is most critical to achieving something sustainable, something that they would take ownership of.

At the end of the day, the garden is one of place at home where you retreat. Garden of fresh air or garden of peace it is the one place where you would seek refuge from the everyday buzz.