This page contains all stories ever published on Landscape Architecture Aotearoa in date order from newest. Click OLDER to continue loading the archive.
Six trees have their branches extended ready to receive the honour of being named the 2026 Tree of the year / Rākau o te tau. Which will it be? Ancient Pūriri, Mighty Old Mataī, Kissing Tree, The Bucket Tree, The Sango Survivor or Old Goff?
Read MoreThis year’s theme of Matariki herenga waka is all about inclusion and encouraging all people to celebrate Matariki together. ‘Matariki herenga waka’ is an adaptation of the proverb ‘Tāmaki herenga waka’ which means ‘Tāmaki the gathering place of many canoes’.
Read MoreEnoch Shi, now on the Arcadia team in Auckland, has achieved the feat of completing two Master degrees between 2020-26. His latest thesis project spans architecture and landscape architecture to position and contextualise memories of Chinese gold miners in Central Otago.
Read MoreThanks to NZILA Fellow Steve Dunn, the plantings that conceal the mammoth Omāroro reservoir were given a thorough revisit in June. This article couples the emergent beauty of this ‘well kept secret’ with Crystal Olin’s critique of the Wellington Town Belt’s contradictions.
Read MoreThis reproduction of an article by botanist Dr Philip Simpson - from 42 years ago - presents another look back to the NZILA’s original journal, The Landscape. He advocates for planting extensive populations of trees throughout city streets, bringing urban streams back to life and ‘greening’ the surfaces of our buildings.
Read MoreInfluential landscape architect Rachel de Lambert has been presented with the Garvey Cup by the Auckland branch of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects for elevating design outcomes and enriching the discourse and practice of architecture in Aotearoa.
Read MoreGaining a Spatial Design degree at Massey University set Joe Norman on a path that has seen him land in New York City. It’s a field of study that branches into territory with a strong adjacency to landscape architecture, without being hard-wired to it.
Read MorePlants and animal species, other than humans, can’t speak up for themselves about the Sixth Extinction. What could a physical memorial express on their behalf before we reach a tipping point? This is the idea behind this compelling and wide-open competition.
Read MoreWhat a difference six years can make. From completing his PhD in 2021 to working as an Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture in the School of Design at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, Shaun Rosier has been diligently quarrying success as a teacher and scholar.
Read MoreOne month out from celebrating Matariki, we share Boffa Miskell landscape architect Yoko Tanaka’s reflections on weaving tikanga-based approaches into the design process: grounded in place, shaped by people, and strengthened through collaboration.
Read MoreHannah Merrett-Kaufman’s path to becoming a Graduate Landscape Architect has been paved with hard work. Her advice to undergraduates is twofold: Stay resilient through setbacks and “stay open to different paths because your goals at the start of university will probably change over time, and that’s okay”.
Read MoreRalph Johns celebrates the “elated excitement” that has accompanied the opening of the coastal edge along Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington's great harbour, to the public. This photo, by Manea Sweeney, Pou Arahi of Planning, Engagement and Partnerships at Tonkin & Taylor, shows her son and friend on the opening day “marvelling at the small stuff”.
Read MoreThe 4.5km Te Ara Tupua path between Ngauranga and Petone was opened on 15 May. This essay by Isthmus principal Sean Burke focuses on the place of landscape architecture in coastal projects and first appeared in Lincoln University’s Landscape Review journal in 2025.
Read MoreArchitecture NZ has reached the end of a 40+ year run. The talented team members at AGM, their dedicated contributors and all their supporters deserve a huge collective thank you for keeping the kaupapa of architectural publicity, writing and reporting so vibrantly alive.
Read MoreEvery decade brings new technological advances that provoke changes to everyday work practices. Courtesy of looking back on the NZILA’s founding journal, The Landscape, this article fast forwards us from the 1980s to the 2020s. (The thumbnail image above is excerpted from a 1987 cover illustration by Tony Jackman).
Read MoreSince ‘retiring’ Mike Barthelmeh has never stopped giving back to the profession. His latest initiative was to unselfishly de-stock his home library of relevant books for donation to an emerging masters programme in landscape architecture in Bangladesh.
Read MoreIn early May, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) announced the 12 recipients of its 2026 Awards of Excellence. A Landscape Carbon Benchmarking Study commissioned by the City of Toronto took out the Jury's Award. Take a peek.
Read MoreWith the progress of RMA replacement legislation fast approaching the end of its Select Committee stage, Matthew Prasad of Harrison Grierson offers a timely independent thinkpiece on the shift to regional spatial plans, and away from 'masterplans'.
Read MoreRecreation Aotearoa’s Green Pavlova conference highlights the overlapping and intersecting fields of parks, play, and open spaces. This year it took place on 13-14 May at Claudelands Park, Kirikiriroa Hamilton.
Read MoreRecreation Aotearoa’s annual Parks Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the shaping of our parks, play and open spaces across the motu. Award winners for 2026 were presented on the evening of Thursday 14 May.
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