Landscape architecture student exhibitions reach a fever pitch
On or off the campus, exhibitions of the mahi being produced by landscape architecture tauira at tertiary education providers Unitec, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington are constantly unveiling new talents, skills and knowledge levels - as testified to by the following examples from the last quarter of 2025.
Student achievements at Unitec
Go to to unitec.ac.nz to read more about the New Lynn War Memorial Library exhibition.
In October Unitec Bachelor of Landscape Architecture ākonga went public with their responses to the risk of flooding in Tāmaki Makaurau through an exhibition at the New Lynn War Memorial Library.
This displayed design work by third-year students Isabelle Cushman, Isaac Denny, Amelia Lawson, Ben Nicklin, and Joy Vo, as supervised by Unitec kaimahi Xinxin Wang and Damian Powley.
Using New Lynn as a case study, students explored community flood resilience solutions in collaboration with the Whau River Catchment Trust, Te Kawerau ā Maki, and Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters.
Senior Lecturer Xinxin Wang:
“Students applied principles of water-sensitive design, community engagement, and Mātauranga Māori to develop flood resilience. They created solutions across three spatial scales: the Upper Rewarewa Catchment, Neighbourhood masterplan, and detailed design. The work displayed in the public exhibition demonstrates the impact of good community engagement and collaboration. It shows by working collectively, we can build a flood-resilient Auckland.”
Most recently Year 1 Diploma in Landscape Design and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students presented their ecologically and culturally-focused wind-break designs for Pourewa Gardens in Orakei. Matua Rob Small attended the presentations and was moved by the many local and indigenous stories woven into the designs, which incorporated Māori tikanga and mātauranga principles to facilitate learning and wellness. This special occasion was featured in Unitec School of Architecture Instagram posts on 12 November.
Student Achievements at Lincoln
Lincoln University’s final-year Landscape Architecture students marked the end of their studies on the weekend of 25-26 October with ‘Wairua’, a public exhibition showcasing their Major Design projects rethinking Aotearoa’s landscapes.
Images above supplied by Mikayla Wright, Lincoln Marketing & Communications | Student Engagement.
This student-led exhibition represented months of mahi addressing challenges across the country, producing comprehensive plans centred on resilience, cultural identity, and connectivity.
When LAA spoke with student Grace Foulkes-Austin, the event’s assigned project manager, she was still feeding off the energy of the exhibition’s opening night buzz at ALTIORA (The Arts Centre). Grace described the experience of staging the event with fellow students as “really beneficial”, adding that a side benefit of exhibiting project work to the public is that it opens up an additional opportunity for “parents and families to understand what we do”.
The live two-day exhibition was backed up with a dedicated website ‘gallery’ and a catalogue (click here for the PDF - 15MB).
Lincoln’s new Head of the School of Landscape Architecture Shannon Davis called the exhibition an annual highlight.
“Our students are tackling some of the biggest environmental and social issues we face at the moment, and we’re super proud of them. There’s been a real focus this year on climate change adaptation issues, like sea-level rise and inundation, flooding, and land use change. Students have had to really get to grips with a lot of technical detail as well as the creative responses to those technical needs.”
Read more here and see more photos on the Wairua exhibition Insta page.
Front row (left to right): Milla Munro, Liv Hawtin, Lucy Carswell, Lisa Babcock, Ruby Williams, Genevieve McCorkindale, Ekai Chiu. Back Row (left to right): Josh Whelan, Josh Vazey, Safiya Hart, Grace Foulkes-Austin, Brittany Smith, Ning Wang, Olga Pashkova. Absent: Cam Coull, Xifan Tao, Miriam Buhler, Braydon Narbey
Student achievements at Te Herenga Waka VUW
Landscape architecture students occupied a solid corner of the end of year exhibition (EOYE) space at the Te Aro campus of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington this month - with work running along an entire wall, as well as being featured via models and videos. The well-attended opening night was held on 31 October.
Due to the main ‘red building’ floorspace off Vivian Street being prioritised as a showcase area to mark this year’s 50 year anniversary of the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation (FADI), the EOYE was curated in the adjoining Wigan building. As overheard on the night, this meant the EOYE was somewhat out of sight, but very much not out of mind and actually an improvement on the usual cavernous venue.
Attendees pictured above are (from left to right): Daniel Coombes (lecturer), Bruno Marques (Associate Dean and Associate Professor), Ralph Johns (President, Tuia Pito Ora NZILA), Anne Keogh (School Manager), Alicia Keating (3rd year-final year of the BAS LAND major), Maria Rodgers (teaching fellow and doctoral student), Manreet Kaur (1st year MLA), Angela Joe (MLA thesis year), and Victoria Chanse (Associate Professor).
Alicia Keating has been well profiled this year by an article on the VUW website that promoted landscape architecture studies.
Lecturer Carles Martinez-Almoyna Gual, pictured below, took LAA on a brief tour of the work on display in the EOYE as an indication of the treasure trove of community-based stories behind each project - all of which, of course, are deserving of further reportage.
On 11 November one of the projects on show - a redesign of Waitohi Picton's Nelson Square - did indeed receive positive Local Democracy Reporting coverage by LDR reporter Kira Carrington for both Te Ao Māori News and Radio New Zealand.
As quoted in Kira’s story, teaching fellow Maria Rodgers said it was exciting for the students to be able to work on a "real world project".
"Some of the designs are ambitious but hopefully there will be elements in them that the public will feel a connection to which could in turn lead to a redesign of Nelson Square.
In addition the Marlborough District Council ran a story on their website titled Reimagining Nelson Square as well as promoting the student project on its Facebook pages and in a media release.
All of which lends weight to the famous line that “a rising tide lifts all boats”.