Alex Swart, a postgraduate student in the University of Pretoria (UP)’s landscape architecture programme, believes that urban designers are increasingly focused on developing ways to design sustainable spaces, towns and cities for the people who will live in them. This comes from the knowledge he gained through his degree in town and regional planning, obtained from UP in 2016

However, Alex realised that he could make a greater impact on the urban design of the future city by pursuing postgraduate studies in UP’s landscape architecture programme, where he could work on design-based projects. Fortunately, the Department of Architecture has the necessary flexibility to accommodate people like Alex, and he was able to do a bridging course, which enabled him to enrol in the Department’s honours programme in landscape architecture.

Looking back at his undergraduate studies, he observes that his bachelor’s degree in town and regional planning added a lot of value to his postgraduate work, and that it prepared him exceptionally well for the future world of work. He furthermore believes that a postgraduate qualification from the University of Pretoria will ensure that he can make a meaningful contribution to the landscape architecture profession, not just in South Africa, but internationally. “As a discipline, landscape architecture is becoming more human-centred. We are striving to improve the social, institutional and living conditions of people, not of buildings or landscapes.”

Alex is of the opinion that his background in town and regional planning gave him an added advantage when he switched to landscape architecture. “The skills I acquired in the Department of Town and Regional Planning, combined with the landscape design interventions I have encountered in the Department of Architecture, have proved to be a very powerful combination to prepare me for my career as a landscape architect.”

In practice, urban designers often need to combat poor city planning. “It is important for a practitioner to focus on how the city of the future can become more liveable, people-oriented spaces where communities and individuals can thrive to ensure the sustainability of both people and the planet.” What he is learning as a future landscape architect is perfectly aligned to the idea of a smart city and the disruptive engineering practices that accompany it.

Alex believes that landscape architecture is definitely a career for the future. “The need to integrate the natural and the urban environment is becoming increasingly important. As a result, landscape architects are becoming all the more relevant.”

He would recommend the University of Pretoria’s landscape architecture programme to prospective students who are interested in making an impact on the urban design space. “My experience in the Department of Architecture’s landscape architecture programme has been amazing, while it has also been extremely informative and fulfilling. If you have the desire to shape and design spaces that people will want to use and interact with, this is the degree for you,” he concludes.