Blog » How I became a Landscape Architect & Urban Designer

How I became a Landscape Architect & Urban Designer

8th January 2021

Good communication and creative flair are key to Andrew Haley’s role as a Landscape Architect.

The post: Director, The Paul Hogarth Company

The post holder: Andrew Haley

Read how he became a Landscape Architect & Urban Designer

Give a brief outline of your career to date.

I have been with the same company all my working life, joining The Paul Hogarth Company just before my graduation ceremony in June 1991. The company is marking its 30th anniversary this year and it will be a milestone moment for me too, as I joined when our MD, Paul Hogerth, was only a few months into the start of the business.

Over the course of almost 30 years of being a Landscape Architect and Urban Designer I have been fortunate to work in wonderful places and with amazing people. I have been involved in developing the masterplan for Laganside and guiding development of places such as Cathedral Quarter, Connswater Community Greenway and the Wild Atlantic Way. Guiding the redevelopment of Hillsborough Castle was a real privilege. It recently won major awards for its contribution to the Heritage and Culture and its recognition and approach to responding to the climate emergency.

What was your favourite subject at school?

Geology. I enjoyed the science behind why places look the way they did, whether craggy mountains, rolling fields or steep valleys.

Did you go on to further/ higher education, if so, what did you study and where?

As an 18 year old lad from Yorkshire, I headed off to Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. It was one of the best places at that time to study Landscape Architecture but having been there once before for my interview I had been smitten by Scotland’s capital city and knew it was somewhere that I wanted to live as a student.

How did you get into your area of work?

Just before I went into lower sixth at school I had no idea what I wanted to do, as a career or as a course. I was dragged to a careers fair by my mum and dad and saw nothing of interest until the last, tiny table. It was Landscape Architecture – something I had never heard of before but a course that seemed to bring together creativity and science/analytical skills. lt caught my imagination, I applied, went on to enjoy the course and have, for nearly 30 years now, loved the work that I do.

Is this what you always wanted to do?

I honestly went from being clueless about what I wanted to do, to embarking on a course and career from which I’ve never looked back.

Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?

The route (for almost all people) to becoming a qualified Landscape Architect, is to get a degree in Landscape Architecture. My route was as an undergraduate, doing three years and a year-out in a workplace before returning for the final year. After graduation I did a Chartership, which requires the demonstration of professional experience, culminating in an exam, which took a couple of years to complete.

Are there alternative routes into the job?

Most people heading in the direction of Landscape Architecture do so through an undergraduate degree course in Landscape Architecture. The alternative is a postgraduate Landscape Architecture course following on from a relevant course. Changes are being considered for access to the profession, with preliminary discussions, including at Queen’s University, exploring apprenticeships.

What are the main personal skills your job requires?

It helps to be a good all-rounder but then to find your niche. You need to have good design skills, technical, construction knowledge and an understanding of the natural environment. Most of all you need to be a good team person and good communicator.

What does a typical day entail?

My days before Covid-19 would have been really varied. With projects across all of Ireland, most weeks included times away from the office; looking at a site, meeting clients or other consultants. Then there is time back in the office with our team helping to steer designs and bidding for new projects.

What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?

The best part is working together with our team and with our clients to develop designs which fulfil their potential, making places better for people and better for the environment. The flip-side of that is when things don’t quite work out and when you can see a project’s unfulfilled potential.

Why is what you do important?

The projects that we design, whether large or small, really do make a difference. They make a difference for people who use them and they make a difference to the quality of the environment, addressing issues of climate resilience and biodiversity. Connswater Community Greenway is an example where in designing those places to play, walk, meet neighbours and learn, we have seen the benefits to local people, visitors and to the natural environment.

How has Covid-19 impacted on your business/role?

The last ten months have required all of us to find new ways of working. Like most people we have been working from home during that time, with occasional site, or in-person meetings but with most things happening remotely. Existing jobs and new ones have kept us very busy, but it’s much more difficult to plan ahead, as we are constantly having to adapt to the changing restrictions in the different places that we are working.

What adjustments have you had to make?

It has been both a challenge and an encouragement to be forced into learning new and diverse ways of communicating online. Most of the things that I and the team do are the same, but the means of sharing that with clients, our team and others is unlike anything we could have envisaged a year ago.

What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?

Be enthusiastic about the potential to change the world. It takes wide-ranging skills to do this but if you can see yourself being a central part of such a team, go for it.

If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?

I guess my days of wanting to be a professional cricketer are long gone – in fact, they never were!

What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?

Be enthusiastic. See the potential in the small things – they will lead to bigger opportunities. Relish the chance to learn from the people around you, whether that is a colleague or member of the public.

Describe your ideal day off.

Things change, with the changing dynamics of home life and work. At the moment, with three busy late-teenage ‘children’, my wife and I love those moments when we can do something that we all enjoy, together.

And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?

Make it easy for the employer to see that you have good skills and demonstrate that you are a good, positive team-person, with a strong work ethic.

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