UDLA

UDLA is a multi-award winning studio specialising in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, & Community Development. We believe that Landscape Architecture, the creation of places that inspire interest, interaction and sociality, is not a simple one-off enterprise. To us, it is the result of an inclusive process that involves all of the people it seeks to engage in equal measure, whether they are end users, contributing professional participants, or stakeholders. It is a progression through history, environment, population and practice, encompassing commercial, social, behavioural and aesthetic goals. This approach hinges on the understanding that people and place need to be connected. Therefore the health of a community has an intrinsic relationship with how empowered participants are engaged with their environment, or have a say in changing their existing condition into a preferred one. This ‘people first’ approach makes UDLA unique amongst design studios in WA and a leader in contemporary design thinking. Our work begins by listening in order to identify the requirements and uniqueness of the multiple user groups likely to inhabit a place, and envisioning a spatial outcome that works for all of them by collaborating, sharing ideas and generating collective creativity. Our role goes beyond that of traditional landscape architects; we see ourselves as facilitators, designers, coordinators, communicators and, at times, mentors. Our inclusive approach, and the agreement that stems from it, allows us to proceed with the detailed design work – the documentation and realisation of all those ideas – with confidence and originality. Our task is to create successful public spaces; our process ensures that we do.