Profile

I have always wanted to be a landscape architect, even from a very young age. My father was an engineer; there was a drawing table ever present in the corner of the room. Whenever my father wasn’t using it, I would start drawing my own designs.

Having spent tracks of my career practicing in the UK, the Middle East, and then finally Australia, I have often found myself ‘out of place’ and therefore more heightened to the concerns of a community – helping to put them ‘in place’. It has made me more dynamic as a designer. I consciously respond to context and have observed, first-hand, how good design translates between different cultures and climates.

I’ve always been aware of the power and responsibility that comes with being a designer. I can make significant changes to the world around me and create places that people really love and enjoy. I’m also fascinated by the idea of legacy. The designs of a landscape architect exist well beyond the lifespan of the designer. We are always performing a curious kind of time travel, where we think decades into the future to predict how our designs will develop or change. I also don’t see much difference between my roles as landscape architect and as a director at WAX. Ultimately, I am trying to create a place in which people will thrive and flourish, be it the design or the studio. The way I design is the way I live my practice; it is about providing inspiration and guidance, involving people and collaboration. There is an element of transparency to the studio that extends to our practice – who we are represents how we design.