Portrait

Skye Reid, landscape architect at RPS, talks with Sara Eckermann from QLD AILA Fresh (Qfresh).

An interview with Skye Reid, landscape architect at RPS.

Skye Reid, landscape architect at RPS.

Sara Eckermann – What inspired you to become a landscape architect?

Skye Reid – A lot of things drew me in to choosing to study landscape architecture, but a large factor was my family. I grew up with a family who loved to travel and this allowed me to experience a number of very different cultures and public spaces. Visiting Japan and Nepal many times during my childhood really opened my eyes to how important public space is to every culture. Later, in high school, I really loved graphics – not only as a purely creative outlet, but as a means of realizing a practical outcome in the projects I was working on. At university, I loved the research side of the discipline and how, through the design process, I often ended up following many different tangents to seemingly unrelated topics, all of which just goes to show how diverse landscape architecture really is.

SE – Which issues are most important for landscape architects to be addressing in Australia?

SR – Noticeably, with so many industries and professions declaring climate emergencies (including AILA), there is a critical need to tackle what are ultimately human-induced environmental consequences – and now. In Australia, in particular, landscape architects are well positioned to focus on the impacts of drought and fire and its effects on such a huge proportion of the country, and specifically our rural communities. It’s important that we address these issues and ensure we are part of a paradigm societal shift in how we consider basic concepts and practices involving the environment.

SE – Can landscape architects save the world?

SR – That’s such a huge question. We can do our part, obviously, but we operate among many other professions, so

I don’t think we can claim to single-handedly be the saviours! With that in mind, it can take a lot of time to see the effects achieved by the work we do – sometimes, entire generations. This “slow burn,” however is exactly what makes landscape architecture capable of creating long-term, pivotal change.

While I don’t think I can individually change the world I can definitely contribute to making it something better. To do this as a profession, we need to make sure we dedicate ourselves to the projects that will really matter down the track.

SE – What has been your biggest misconception about the profession so far?

SR – I started working as a student in the second year of my studies, so had a good idea of what I was in for prior to graduating! One thing I never realized though, was how teambased landscape architecture can be and how you really do bounce ideas off the people you work with. Our design studios at university were always individual projects, so it was a relief to come into practice and have more minds on the job.

SE – How could you have been better prepared for life in practice?

SR – I was really lucky in that I had a job while still studying, but for others it would have been good to have more of that realistic, real-world experience integrated within the degree structure. I often think that as students, we would have benefited from having a compulsory placement as part of our studies. Also, the whirlwind of university and my desire to reach all the deadlines and do well academically meant I probably missed out on a few of the smaller opportunities I could have taken up while studying. Even things like access to the resources or study tours, I should have, in hindsight, appreciated more.

SE – What do you think you’ll be doing in five years’ time?

SR – A hard question to ask someone who has just graduated! I feel like I’m still learning about all the different areas of landscape architecture and what options I want to pursue. Over the next five years I’d like to focus on getting as much experience across different snippets of landscape architecture as I can. I’m conscious of becoming set in a particular niche and not drawing on the wonderful diversity of the industry we’re in.

SE – What excites you most about your career?

SR – I am excited to see how the profession will change in the future. I hope we can rise to the forefront of multidisciplinary projects and play more of a leading role in the life of our communities.

I think it will also be interesting to see how many new pathways the discipline can open up to and begin to dip our toes into. It’s an exciting time in terms of technology and I look forward to seeing how design will evolve to respond to all the ever-changing issues we’ll no doubt face in the future.