Alison Galbraith CMLI, Director of The terra firma Consultancy Ltd (an LI Registered Practice) reflects on the company’s 40 years of practice and history.
By Alison Galbraith CMLI, Director at terra firma
Reflecting on 40 years of practice and celebrating in style with many of the people involved in our history has been a humbling and heart-warming experience.
Set up by John Wigham in May 1985, the original terra firma team was based in Portsmouth with project work focused on business parks including Hampshire Corporate Park, Cheadle, Chineham and Bracknell, as well as projects in housing and leisure. Following a temporary blip due to the financial crash in the late 1980s, terra firm re-emerged and grew through the 1990s, and has been based in Petersfield, Hampshire ever since.
Current director, Robyn Butcher FLI (then Holland), joined in 1995 and recently retired director Lionel Fanshawe FLI as partner in 1996. John Wigham retired in 2000 leaving Lionel leading the company until his recent retirement in April 2025.
Always keen to branch out, Lionel set up Alshamsi terra firma (ASTF) in Dubai in January 2006, and in 2013 created tfLAB London; a collaborative practice formed with a small group of highly experienced landscape architects with diverse skills brought together to take on new types of projects. In 2014, terra firma LT in Vilnius was set up in partnership with ex- terra firma employee and Lithuanian native Ramune Baniuliene.
By the end of 2005, the practice had 10 employees which included current director Alison Galbraith and later grew to a stable number of around 15.
Over its 40 years terra firma’s project portfolio has widened from its early focus on design and delivery of a wide range of traditional landscape projects to now encompass landscape assessment, landscape character and sensitivity work, design and build, and expert witness, all in addition to the strong design ethos. Workload continues across all sectors with a noticeable amount in education, healthcare and housing, at all stages of design for clients large and small in public, private and contexts. All of us at terra firma love the rich variety of work we are involved in and feel we are a great advertisement for the landscape architectural profession!
Moving into the future life at terra firma will undoubtedly be different without Lionel, but the underlying framework of integrity, passion and genuine endeavour to achieve better and best will continue. Within this framework an exciting chapter will now take us into and through terra firma’s fifth decade under Robyn and Alison‘s continued leadership.
New business strategies and visions developed in the past year by the whole team will continue to evolve and be shaped by us all. New challenges will arise; some predicted and others no doubt unforeseen. We are a strong team and no challenge will be too great for us!