Arty anniversary and award-winning building

Anniversary celebrations at Lincoln University’s School of Landscape Architecture will kick off with the official opening of the school’s new award-winning building.

The school will celebrate its 40th anniversary between November 18 and 22, with the new $6million purpose-built building opened at 5pm on November 20.

Head of School Neil Challenger says New Zealand’s first professional qualification in Landscape Architecture began in 1969 at what was then Lincoln College, with five students in a prefab. “Things have moved a long way since then,” he says. “Nearly 700 students have now graduated from our Landscape Architecture programme and this year 150 students are studying in the school towards Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees.

“The school began with two lecturers and now has nine, has an internationally regarded reputation for its research, its own refereed journal (Landscape Review) and, combined with planning, has received the top research ranking among New Zealand’s design programmes.”

After the pre-fab there were two other second-hand homes, but Neil Challenger says the wait has been worth it and he can’t think of a better way to mark 40 years of success than by moving into their new building. The new building, by Sheppard & Rout Architects Ltd and Royal Associates Architects, recently won a Public Architecture award in the Canterbury branch of the NZIA Design Architecture Awards. Judges described the building as a groundbreaking education building and said “its cohesive inclusive feel that helps create synergies for students to learn together.”

“Lincoln University is New Zealand’s specialist land-based university, and is 100 per cent committed to transforming land, people and economies,” says Mr Challenger. “The new building enhances the ability of the students to interact and allow the studios to be managed as though they were professional offices.

“The 150 students in the school are working in a hybrid model of design education where computing and hand-graphics are integrated to combine the creative freedom of the pencil with the production and rigor of computers- no drawing boards - and we are already seeing better results than ever before.”

“The building is uniquely engaging with its landscape and the distinction between the building and the landscape is almost ephemeral. Almost every window offers a different aspect of Banks Peninsula or the Canterbury Plains or campus, with lots of glass and natural light, so it’s a terrific place to work and study. “

The 40th anniversary weekend will begin with the official opening of the building, followed by an art auction of works by 40 artists. About 25 works will be auctioned openly, with another 45 offered by silent auction, all to raise funds for the production of a sculpture for the new building. The sculpture will be created on campus by the 2010 Sculptor in Residence.