Alumni Profiles
Welcome to the alumni pages of the Department of Landscape. Below is a gallery of departmental alumni provided on a voluntary basis by our graduates. Our aim is to develop a stronger alumni community, enable networking between members and to inform current and prospective undergraduates about the career paths of graduates and how their time spent in the Department, the University and Sheffield has helped to enrich their lives. If you wish to add an entry or alter an existing entry please send details to e.payne@sheffield.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!
Jason Malyan_ Landscape Assistant @ Atkins, Beijing, China
The past three months in China has flown by! It started in Shanghai at a week long Summer school at Tongji University, which was an amazing experience. Working with Landscape, Urban design and Architecture students from around the globe we explored ideas in response to finding a future sustainable use for a now derelict part of the Shanghai Expo site. It was a fantastic way to see and learn how students from other countries and cultures work. At the end of the week each group presented their final design to the entire Summer school, it was fantastic to see the different approaches and outcomes.
From Shanghai to Beijing… within the first week at Atkins I was already on my way to Chengdu… Panda country! on a site visit and client start up meeting for a park regeneration project in a new residential and commercial quarter. Part of the idea behind our placements in China was the company looking to create a balance of foreign and Chinese designers within the different studios. Us three (me, John and Hannah) from Sheffield were the first to come into the completely Chinese landscape teams in the company and on this trip as with many days since, the language barrier made things very confusing, however my colleagues are unbelievably friendly and patient and it does mean you draw a lot more to try and explain things!
Since then that project has developed through from analysis to concept and is now going into more detailed design very quickly but even though it’s in a different country a lot of the design issues and processes are familiar. However there are some more unexpected requests… the brief for this park asks for a ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ themed area called ‘Panda Alley’… I’ve also just started working with the urban design team bringing some landscape design into a tourism resort master planning project. The multidisciplinary nature of the company does mean that there are a lot of opportunities to get involved with different designers and projects.
Overall it’s been a fun place to work, and Beijing is definitely an interesting place to live and explore, there’s a lot of exciting design work coming out of the city at the moment. The Beijing Design Week just finished last Monday and it showcased a huge amount of modern Fashion, Architecture and product design work. It’s really interesting to be a part of a growing cultural shift towards more modern design ideas and thinking and am looking forward to seeing how the work develops over the next 9 months!
Ian Wale
I studied on the Landscape Design with Town and Regional Planning undergraduate degree program at Sheffield from 2002 through to the summer of 2005 and then, after a year in the US, returned to complete the Diploma in Landscape Architecture from 2006 to 2007.
During the third year of my undergraduate degree I won a scholarship to study at the University of Massachusetts in the US for one year, which I did in place of a `Year Out´ in industry. The scholarship, run jointly by the RHS and Garden Club of America, is hugely competitive and I am certain that my academic background at Sheffield was a major factor in being chosen. The year was one incredible adventure and exposed me to a whole new approach to Landscape Architecture.
After returning from America I worked through the summer of 2006 for Derek Lovejoy Partnership (DLP) in London. Over the 3 month period I worked on a wide range of planning and design projects in the UK and abroad in Dubai, Cyprus, the Cape Verde Islands and the Philippines.
I found the Diploma year to be very different to the undergraduate course, with the emphasis on self-directed learning and more responsibility placed on students. The opportunity to share skills with fellow students from the Diploma and Masters courses made for a varied and very effective learning environment within the studio spaces. I finished the year with a greatly improved skills base in computer programs and presentation graphics as well as a more efficient and ordered approach to creating innovative and creative design solutions.
In summer 2007 I succeeded with an application to a Summer School on Urban Memory at Tongji University in Shanghai, PR China. It was a fantastic experience with students from all over the world coming together to work on design proposals for a river-side site near to the centre of the city. During the School I felt I was very well prepared for the tasks we faced from the initial site visit and conceptual design stages, right up to the final public presentations. I am sure that my Sheffield education was again a major factor in me being one of just two UK Landscape Architecture students chosen to be part of the 37 student-strong workshop.
I see the early years of my career as being a fairly mobile period as I intend to travel and work in order to broaden my knowledge and experiences within Landscape and also in life. I feel my time at Sheffield has provided me with a very solid base from which I am now able to expand and develop my skill base, and it will enable me to travel and find employment relatively easily due to the university´s international reputation. The combination of individual and group work and the range of modules undertaken have meant that I now feel that I am well equipped to successfully enter the professional world of Landscape Architecture and make the most out of my career.
Bingbing Wang - MA Landscape Design (2003-2005)
During my 2-year postgraduate course at University of Sheffield, I acquired understanding and experience in a broad range of landscape knowledge and skills for future career development. I really enjoyed my time studying in Sheffield, miss all the life we spent together, lectures in Arts tower, wonderful field-trips and valuable tutorials.
I had a 6-year professional education and training in architecture, while Landscape Design opened another window for me to understand design in a more integrated and comprehensive way, and Sheffield university provided me with an ideal platform to help me achieve it.
After graduating, I took a position in urban design in which I have combined my architectural background and the landscape skills I had learnt at Sheffield. The two-year professional training in landscape design in Sheffield University has given me great confidence to start my career.
Clare Michael (MA Landscape Design 2005 – 2007)
I undertook the two year MA course at Sheffield after working in administration for five years. My undergraduate degree was in American Studies and although I enjoyed the subject it did not train me for a specific career. It was very important to me that the MA I chose would prepare me for a professional career in Landscape Architecture. I undertook work experience with Landscape Architects in my home town of Hull to decide if it was the right career for me and, after taking a gap year to travel and work in Australia, I started my MA at Sheffield.
The MA at Sheffield offers a wide range of subjects that all contribute to a thorough understanding of what it means to be a Landscape Architect. In addition to design I also learnt how to undertake Landscape Character Assessments, Environmental Impact Assessments and how to work with contractors in practice.
Upon leaving Sheffield I went straight into work with The Landscape Agency in York, who specialise in restoration of historic parks and gardens. I am already applying knowledge I gained at Sheffield, having undertaken Landscape Character Assessment for an historic park and client meetings on site to discuss construction details.
I am very happy that I chose to study at Sheffield as I feel that the support I received from tutors really contributed to my understanding of Landscape Architecture and the breadth of the syllabus prepared me for professional practice.
Yan Cui
Having studied the one year MA in Landscape Studies I have acquired a broad understanding of both architecture and landscape.
Previously, I studied environmental design for four years and undertook a year´s work experience in architectural design. The Landscape Studies course at the University of Sheffield broadened my knowledge and my horizons. It brought me into new areas of landscape design which I had not previously encountered.
The MA in Landscape Studies offers a far-ranging and all-around knowledge about landscape design and gives me confidence in being able to confront challenging circumstances as well as greater faith in my abilities. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to study in University of Sheffield.
David Wesselingh
I completed the landscape architecture and town and regional planning undergraduate course followed by a year out placement at James Blake Associates´ Nantwich office. I returned to complete the landscape design diploma in 2005/06. Both courses at Sheffield offered a well balanced timetable providing guided learning from relevant expert tutors covering all aspects of landscape architecture and the flexibility to work independently to explore aspects of design of personal interest.
Upon graduation I arranged a summer placement working with golf course architects, on a range of international masterplanning and detailed design jobs. This offered a great opportunity to apply and broaden the skills which I developed on the landscape courses in Sheffield in another varied profession.
I am currently working as an urban designer and landscape architect at LDA Design in Exeter. I was attracted to LDA Design by the creative approach to projects and the emphasis on understanding places and how they work. My position at the practice has enabled me to work on a wide range of projects including detailed design, masterplanning, landscape planning and developing urban frameworks and design guidance to inform regeneration proposals. Both of the courses I completed at Sheffield provided a range and depth of knowledge in analysis, design and communication to allow me to positively contribute to the jobs and competition entries I have worked on.