Conference and CPD day take place in Sheffield on 3 and 4 March
Booking is now open for the LI’s two-day event on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 March, which offers members across the UK an opportunity to debate, network, train and socialise. The LI’s partnership with the university provides an opportunity to build the relationship between practice and academia and to look at some of the key issues facing the profession.
Keynote speakers on day one include Professor James Hitchmough, Professor Brian Evans, Andrew Grant and Caroline Julian from ResPublica. This will be followed by a conference dinner, included in the cost of the ticket.
At the end of last year, Jellicoe lecturer James Corner tackled beauty and function in showcasing his work from the High Line in New York to the masterplan for a new district in China. In November, the LI Awards host Fiona Reynolds issued a passionate call for beauty as a driving force in the creation of new landscapes and this year, the LI is launching the Capability Brown Festival celebrating the work of a landscape architect who combined massive infrastructure change with the creation of beautiful places.
All these concerns contribute to the theme of the conference which has as its subject ‘Beauty, function and sustainability in the age of austerity’.
You can now book your ticket for the conference. Early bird tickets are at a reduced rate of £350 (Pathway early bird rate: £250 and student early bird rate: £25) and can be purchased until 12 February. Please note, volunteer vouchers can be redeemed for this event.
Sessions for day one include:
- What is beauty? – history, evolution and theory
- Is the pursuit of beauty relevant or does it trivialise the work of the profession?
- Does the focus on function lead to an interest only in the bottom line?
- Do we all have a right to beauty in an age of austerity?
- What role does beauty play in planning, designing and reviewing landscape?
The CPD Day will take place on day two and includes site visits in and around Sheffield’s city centre. Site visits will be conducted by Sheffield City Council, the Botanical Gardens, lecturers from the Department of Landscape among others. Delegates can choose to attend up to five CPD sessions in the day and select from over 30 topics on offer, such as BIM, inclusive design, green bridges, the benefits of trees in urban futures and public health.
The conference will close with a drinks reception hosted by the university’s Department of Landscape and is due to take place in the Arts Tower at the University of Sheffield.
