News

Name Change Move for Landscape Institute

12th October 2006

Controversy will reign at the Landscape Institute AGM this month as members meet to debate the Institute’s name.

A motion has been proposed to change the name to the Royal Institute of British Landscape Architects (RIBLA) to acknowledge the Institute’s Royal Charter, granted nine years ago.

But a counter-motion has been proposed asking AGM attendees to consult more widely before taking such a far-reaching decision.

“The current name is inclusive of all those working in the profession from landscape designers and managers to ecologists, planners and scientists,” said Nigel Thorne, president of the LI. ‘It acknowledges the diversity of the professional members it represents but, equally attracts a great deal of debate across all quarters a great deal of debate across all quarters.”

The Institute’s 5000 plus membership continues to grow, attracting an increasingly diverse range of specialists. Its 550 registered practices also undertake a broad range of work, including master-planning, strategic management, environmental impact assessments, research and public consultation as well as design and construction.

Thorne continued: “The name can cause confusion in certain circumstances. People sometimes assume that our members only work in rural or green environments and don’t see that landscape is the context for all development, including urban settlements and regional conurbations on the largest scale. Others immediately think members only work on private gardens which is far from the case – shared public space of all shapes and sizes is the core of the profession. And as the environment and design profession we have a vast range of professional skills to offer when it comes to core concerns such as climate change and creating sustainable communities.

“Striking the right balance between all these disparate and diverse elements of our members’ work in reviewing the title of the Institute could make for a long and heated AGM.”

The AGM takes place on 30 October at The Building Centre, Store Street, London. After the meeting, Jason Prior, the landscape architect leading the Olympic Delivery Authority’s work to develop the 2012 Olympic site, will be in conversation with Dominic Cole, the landscape architect who led the design work for the Eden Project.

Source: LI