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Landscape Architecture students win national competition

Two Landscape Architecture students at University of Gloucestershire have won national awards for their creative designs in response to climate and natural crises.

Imogen Reeves (left in top image) and Courtney Brodrick received the 2021 National LDA Design Bursary Award after submitting entries to the 2021 LDA Design Competition. They receive a bursary of £1,000 and a work placement opportunity with design and planning company LDA,

The competition challenged designers to produce imaginative ways to response to climate and nature crises by making places where people live more resilient and innovative.

Imogen and Courtney, who are studying a BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture degree within the University’s School of Arts, are the first students from the University to receive the national award.

Imogen produced a design entitled Something Borrowed, Something Blue that sets out a vision for a space that blends the tranquillity of a pre-industrial rural idyll with the energy of a modern city.

The judging panel was impressed by the breadth of thinking in Imogen’s design and enjoyed the open and unconstrained presentation of her ideas in the drawing.

Imogen said: “The combination of musicology and landscape design process was a really interesting experience and released students to be more intuitive in the design process with personal experience and emotion.”

Imogen Reeves’ successful entry in the 2021 LDA Design Competition

Courtney’s design The Honeybourne Line looks to enrich local ecology and creative new habits along former disused railway track of the same name now used by cyclists, runners and walkers in Cheltenham.

The judges said the use of green watercolour in the design was inviting and intriguing and the use of hand-done drawing was indicative of the emotional ties that were integrated into it.

Courtney said: “Our first-year design study focused very much on extracting design ideas from unexpected places through creative approach, which generated my confidence and imagination of place making.”

Courtney Brodrick’s winning design for a new-look Honeybourne Line in Cheltenham

Academic Course Leader Dr Ying Li said: “I am really pleased to see the new generation of designers who respond creatively and authentically to current climate and nature crises in such unique approaches.”

“What Imogen and Courtney has achieved is exceptional, which is perfect in responding to the motto of BA landscape Architecture course: Imagination is more important than knowledge.”