- Landscape Institute
The Landscape Institute (LI) is the
United Kingdom professional body for landscape architects. The LI was founded in 1929 as the Institute of Landscape Architects (ILA), and was granted aRoyal Charter in 1997. The institute aims to promote landscape architecture, and to regulate members activities to uphold the standards of the profession. The LI has a Code of Conduct which all members must abide by.Members
Its members are engaged in using, creating and conserving landscapes, and include a range of disciplines, from landscape designers to conservationists, masterplanners to plant scientists, urban designers to environmental managers. These disciplines are divided between the three divisions of the Institute: Landscape Design, Landscape Science, and Landscape Management. Members have a duty under the Code of Conduct to create landscapes which are aesthetically pleasing, functional, economic to create and manage, and which embrace cultural and heritage aspects well as considerations associated with the natural environment and conservation.
Qualifying for membership
Membership of the LI is by examination. Candidates must be associate members of the LI for two years following graduation from an accredited degree course, before sitting the exam. The exam comprises a written paper and an interview with senior members of the profession. These exams were formerly known as 'Part IV' of the Landscape Institute's own design examination. Parts I to III were replaced by the system of accredited degree courses in the mid 1980s.
Only fully qualified members of the LI are permitted to use the protected title 'Chartered Landscape Architect'. Chartered membership of the LI is internationally recognised as a badge of excellence. There were 4,886 members of the LI in 2005 of whom 2986 were full corporate members (MLI) and of these 2847 were design division members, 262 were management and 44 were science. It is therefore a small profession in the United Kingdom compared with say architecture or town planning, but it is a growing profession.
Development of the profession
Post-war, the growth of landscape architecture has been led by government legislation, such as the New Towns Act (1946) which required landscape masterplans to be prepared, and the
European Community Environmental Assessment Directive (1985) which has led to the increase inenvironmental impact assessment s. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the public sector, particularly local authorities, were the largest employers of landscape architects, with a minority working in private practice. Today the private sector is the larger employer, although the largest single employer of landscape architects in the UK are the charitableGroundwork Trust s, which are taking over local authority space management and provision responsibilities.History of the Landscape Institute
Thomas Mawson was the first President of the Institute of Landscape Architects (ILA) in 1929, and was also one of the first professionals in the UK (along withPatrick Geddes ) to use 'landscape architect' as a professional title. Before becoming President of the ILA Mawson had been a President of the Town Planning Institute. His own career had developed from garden design to urban design.The LI publishes the professional journal "Landscape" (formerly "Landscape Design"). The LI is a member of the
International Federation of Landscape Architects [http://www.ifla.net/] .In 2008 the LI launched a nationwide campaign to increase the number of Landscape Architects in the UK. The campaign, entitled I want to be a landscape architect, has a separate website to the LI and is primarily focused on increasing the number of
postgraduate andundergraduate students studying on LIaccredited courses. The campaign is projected to run for 5 years.ee also
*
Landscape architecture
*Landscape planning
*Landscape manager
*Schools of landscape architecture
*Environmental impact assessment
*Garden designer
*History of gardening
*Geoffrey Jellicoe
*Construction Industry Council External links
* [http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/ Landscape Institute website]
* [http://www.iwanttobealandscapearchitect.com/ I want to be a landscape architect website]
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