The Leeds School of Architecture Yearbook 2023

Overview
The focus in Level 6 is to enable landscape students to demonstrate their acquired
design skills through a culminating double module specialist design project. This
requires high levels of critical awareness and reflection, attributes that are also
fundamental to the Project Report. In addition to these, two modules focus on
the professional nature of the discipline through a live community-based project.
A Professional Context module prepares students for professional practice by
enhancing their critical awareness of landscape architecture through a reflective
portfolio and opportunities to focus on the students’ individual strengths and
interests and/or learning needs.
The accredited undergraduate landscape course at Leeds Beckett provides the
foundation for perceptive, creative, confident and effective landscape architects
who display initiative, enterprise and independence of mind. Collaboration with
other disciplines such as Architecture, Interior Architecture and Planning students,
work on live community-based projects, external speakers from the profession build
diverse knowledge exploring the breadth of our subject.
The final year get involved in a ‘live’ Design and Community project which examines
the concepts of communities in landscape design. This year we have had a distinct
project, our Landscape Resource Centre in the Headingley Campus. The client was
the university Estate, who defined the main aims as: a) to improve the access to
the main entrance; b) to revise and propose better access and pathways within
the garden, and c) to propose new ideas for a sensory/edible garden that could
serve local staff and students. Through the module, students practiced community
consultation and questionnaire surveying. The students presented their final design
at the garden for their client, and local residents and staff.
In the first semester, students wrote a dissertation within two research strands:
a) Climate change, and b) Urbanism, Health, and Resilience. The research topics
ranged from heat mitigation to biophilic ideas for Leeds. With this research, the
students chose a site for their major design studio in semester 2 (LA604-5) and
implemented their research into design solutions in different sites in Leeds.
Regarding LA606 (Professional Practice), this module is focused on the culmination
and professional presentation stage of the specialist design project LA604/5 and in
developing a professional profile in readiness for employment. It prepares students
for professional practice by enhancing their critical awareness of landscape
architecture. This academic year, we had Speed Mentoring event for the first time.
We invited landscape practices to introduce themselves, and our students visited
their offices for three days to gain work experience before graduation.
Students
Timothy Baldwin Houtzager
Richard Chipperfield
Hollie Clare
Victoria Davies
Nathan Farmar
Georgia Motson
Jordan Mountain
Bethany Pouncey
Frances Turner
Masters of Planning
Luci Birtwhistle
Amy Mullins
Junaid Nadeem
Eoin Ritchie