Judges
Peter O'Toole - Head Judge
Peter qualified from the Botanic Gardens Glasnevin 1987 and the Royal Botanic Gardens KEW in 1991.
He was a director of Peter O’Brien & Sons (landscaping) Ltd, Dublin where he worked for over 20 years. Peter O’Brien’s is a large contracting business covering a broad spectrum of landscape activities. Some of the high profile jobs carried out include: installation of Thomond Park (Munster Rugby’s Pitch) and the Titanic Project in Belfast.
Peter lives close to the sea in Dublin and tries to get on it as much as possible to sail, fish and kayak.
Peter qualified from the Botanic Gardens Glasnevin 1987 and the Royal Botanic Gardens KEW in 1991.
He was a director of Peter O’Brien & Sons (landscaping) Ltd, Dublin where he worked for over 20 years. Peter O’Brien’s is a large contracting business covering a broad spectrum of landscape activities. Some of the high profile jobs carried out include: installation of Thomond Park (Munster Rugby’s Pitch) and the Titanic Project in Belfast.
Peter lives close to the sea in Dublin and tries to get on it as much as possible to sail, fish and kayak.
Catherine Adams
BSc (Hons) MPhil CMLI (Retired)
Catherine has over 36 years’ experience in the profession and has been involved in a diverse breadth of projects from EIAs, Master Plan studies, Park design and refurbishments, health care, university campuses, schools projects, public realm schemes in NI and Scotland and major sports projects. Recently she has been involved in projects in Riyadh and AlUla in the Middle East. She has experience in working in sites with environmental designations, contamination issues, Conservation Area designation and sites listed in the Historic Park, Garden and Demesne Register. Many large schemes are being assessed by BREEAM or CEEQUAL. She was an advocate for sustainable design solutions for landscape and multidisciplinary projects. As Regional Director, she undertook the role of peer reviewer and quality champion within the 70 strong landscape department in AECOM until her retirement in May 2022.
Selected Significant Projects:
National design competition winner for Cleveleys Seafront Regeneration
Newcastle Promenade- Civic Trust Award
National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome, Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games
Belfast Cancer Centre, ALCI premier Bog Oak Trophy
Mark Camley
Executive Director of Park, Operations and Venues
London Legacy Development Corporation
Mark joined London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in January 2012, and led the successful re-opening of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the largest new urban park in the UK for over a hundred years.
He led the design of the South Park and directed the opening and operation of the Park and Venues, including the London Aquatics Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, and the Copper Box Arena. The Park achieved Green Flag a year earlier than planned and has had over 30 million visitors since it opened.
He is a Director of World Urban Parks, London Stadium 185 and Stratford Waterfront Management Company.
Prior to joining LLDC, he was CEO of The Royal Parks for over six years, where he led the parks in gaining Green Flag, developed an investment programme to tackle maintenance backlog of the building stock, and introduced new events like Winter Wonderland.
International projects include leading procurement of re-design of Gorky Park (Moscow), Peer Review of Centennial Parklands (Sydney) and advisor on new urban parks in the middle east.
Marina Cervera
Universidad de Barcelona
Degree both in Landscape Architecture and Architecture. Higher Degree as Masters in Landscape Architecture from ETSAB (UPC). She has been awarded with several scholarships such us Mies van der Rohe Foundation (2001), Caja de Arquitectos Foundation (2002), the CRPP and Le:Notre. In 2014 she got her Master in Urban Planning (UPC). Her professional practice has been developed through Ateliers Jean Nouvel (Paris), the CRPP (UPC) and since 2003 through her own Barcelona-based professional practice involving own projects. Marina Cervera is adjunct professor for ETSAB, DUOT, teaching at MBLandArch. She also teaches in Master’s Program in Landscape Architecture (Fundació UPC) and has lectured around the world in conferences, seminars and International workshops. She is also Executive Director of the Landscape Architecture Office at the COAC, and as a Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Biennial of Landscape Barcelona. In the field of professional activism, she has been Chair of Professional Practice and Policies of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), has been a local contributor to European and local institutions and is a member of several editorial boards of publications related to landscape architecture.
Karen Foley
Karen Foley is Emeritus Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, UCD.
She has taught widely across the disciplines of Landscape Architecture, Planning, Architecture, and Horticulture and was instrumental in the development of the internationally accredited curriculum for BSc Landscape Architecture Programme at UCD.
Her early research work looked at developing landscape and seascape assessment methodologies as effective planning tools. More recent work is in the area of landscape architecture, climate adaptation and the co-creation of design solutions. She is currently working at reviewing the existing Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) tool and reframing it to accommodate new societal and environmental requirement and changes in digital technology.
Karen Foley is Emeritus Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, UCD.
She has taught widely across the disciplines of Landscape Architecture, Planning, Architecture, and Horticulture and was instrumental in the development of the internationally accredited curriculum for BSc Landscape Architecture Programme at UCD.
Her early research work looked at developing landscape and seascape assessment methodologies as effective planning tools. More recent work is in the area of landscape architecture, climate adaptation and the co-creation of design solutions. She is currently working at reviewing the existing Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) tool and reframing it to accommodate new societal and environmental requirement and changes in digital technology.
Ursula Forczek-Brataniec
IFLA Europe Exhibition WG Chair
Urszula Forczek – Brataniec. Secretary General IFLA Europe (2016-2020).Graduate of Cracow University of Technology (CUT), Professorr in the Landscape Architecture Chair of the Faculty of Architecture CUT.
Her main area of interest includes theory and practice of landscape architecture. She is the author of the book entitled. View from the road. The landscape in a dynamic perception (2008) and Visible space. Visual analysis in the landscape planning and designing (2018) Apart of scientific work and teaching she is also a designer. She cooperates with eM4 Brataniec Architecture Studio. Their joint projects and implementations have been awarded among others: Polish Nomination for Public Space, Barcelona 2014, 2022; publication in Landscape Architecture Europe 2015; First Prize in Living Architecture Competition, Warszawa 2015; nomination for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award 2015, 2021.
For many years she has been an active member of associations and scientific committees: Polish Landscape Architecture Association SAK, IFLA Europe, Scientific Committee of Pieniny National Park.
Sue Illman
Sue is a practicing Landscape Architect, and Managing Director of Illman Young. Whilst her practice works across a broad range of sectors, Sue is best known for her specialist expertise, enthusiasm and advocacy around the use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Whilst designing and delivering SuDS on the ground, Sue’s key contribution has been through her work as an author of the SuDS Manual, and as lead author for the SuDS Construction Guidance. She is a regular lecturer, delivers SuDS training for CIRIA and CIWEM, and has been part of the team delivering training to Water Companies since the introduction of the new Design and Construction Guidance. Sue is also part of the team working with Defra commenting on the development and wording of the update to their policy related to SuDS and the changes required to Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2012.
However, Sue’s engagement in SuDS is part of a desire to see the approach to landscapes embrace the broadest extent of climate change, where water, trees, SuDS and landscape as a whole can make a major contribution towards reducing the effects of climate change.
Whilst Sue promotes a ‘landscape led’ approach, this is fundamentally rooted in a collaborative and cross professional approach to problem solving and site design.
Peter Nickels
Peter Nickels Architects
Peter Nickels MRIAI RIBA is an award-winning architect with over 30 years professional experience in private practice. After graduating from Liverpool University School of Architecture, Peter worked in the UK, Hong Kong, China and Ireland and has amassed a wealth of experience on a wide variety of different project types and scales, including railway infrastructure projects, art galleries, stadia, educational buildings, hotels, conservation projects, large scale housing and individual residential projects.
He was Associate Director at Aedas in Hong Kong and at Gilroy McMahon Architects in Dublin before establishing his own practice, Peter Nickels Architects in 2013, to focus on smaller scale, design oriented projects, with a particular speciality for environmentally conscious design.
He qualified as a Certified Passive House Designer with the Passive House Institute and is passionately committed to creating truly sustainable, healthy, comfortable and beautiful low energy buildings, and in particular the challenge of upgrading and retrofitting existing homes to Passive House standard.
Emily Smyth
Ex Chair LINI
(CMLI FHEA MLA MSc(Planning Studies) BA(hons)Architecture
Emily is a Chartered Landscape Architect with over twenty years' professional experience as practising landscape architect, academic Course Director for landscape architecture, and appointed advisor to government for nature conservation, the built environment, and Peace and Reconciliation funding for Northern Ireland / Ireland. Emily has been Chair and committee member of Landscape Institute Northern Ireland, and a member of Landscape Institute standing committees for policy and education.
Emily's expertise lies in integrated project design and policy development, education and public engagement. She specifically focuses on nature-based solutions, ecosystem and biodiversity resilience, and the interaction between landscape and society, and its heritage, change and value.
Eimear Tynan
Eimear Tynan is an associate professor of landscape architecture at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She teaches and supervises master students with emphasis on fieldwork practices and landscape theory.
In addition, she promotes critical thinking on how landscape architects are addressing and responding to current climate crises and environmental change. Her research interests include coastal change in urban and rural contexts, island studies, and the role of time in landscape architecture practice.
Eimear is also a horticulturalist and chartered landscape architect with extensive experience in private and public professional practice in Ireland and Norway. Her practical experience has ranged from community consultation projects to detailed landscape construction works.
She holds a masters of landscape architecture from both University College Dublin and The Oslo School of Architecture and Design.