MONSTROUS ACHIEVEMENT AS STUDENT WINS THE 2012 KARL LANGER AWARD
10 Apr 2013
The 2012 Karl Langer Award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects has been won by Chris Hodgson, a fourth-year Queensland University of Technology student.
The 2012 Karl Langer Award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects has been won by Chris Hodgson, a fourth-year Queensland University of Technology student. The Karl Langer Award is the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) recognition of top new industry talent.
Hodgson’s winning concept, “Man versus Monster”, highlights the importance of tackling the currently turbulent environment through clever design. “Man versus Monster is about how we can’t continue to be frightened by climate change and we need to figure out ways to adapt and embrace what we are working with,” explains Hodgson.
Mr. Hodgson’s concept stresses the importance of working with the ever-evolving landscape and that the environmental changes we currently witness can be worked to our advantage.
“We can’t continue to ignore the changes we are seeing in our climate,” said Mr. Hodgson.
“We need to change our ways from engineering-based solutions and work to integrate the natural landscape into the design process from the beginning.”
“Cracking the concrete” is just one of Hodgson’s proposed ideas where by literally cracking the concrete and allowing vegetation to grow, a process of change can begin where humans and nature evolve together, leading to a resilient and adaptable space. Hodgson says there is an opportunity to make people excited about change, especially change which integrates landscape’s changing processes. “As humans, we find it difficult to accept change as something positive, but our job as landscape architects is to show people that finding ways of designing with our natural environment in mind is not as scary as they thought – it’s something to get excited about,” he said.
Hodgson won the prestigious award from a pool of seven finalists, each of which were nominated by their lecturers for high academic performance and then assessed by a panel of AILA judges upon presenting a portfolio of their work. “Through the Karl Langer Award, AILA has provided me with a platform to get the message out that changing the way we approach design to work with our natural environment is a positive and exciting concept,” said Hodgson.
