Urban designers – to register or not to register?

In May 2011, the National Council of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects agreed that the AILA Registration Scheme is to be expanded to cover other areas of practice. In the first instance AILA is to offer the option to AILA Registered Landscape Architects to be also registered as an AILA Registered Urban Designer.

The criteria for assessment will require the applicant to provide evidence of practising in Urban Design. So, if an AILA Registered Landscape Architect is not working in Urban Design, and therefore lacks the evidence to include in their application, this pathway may not be possible.

Once registered as an Urban Designer, there will be the requirement to report Urban Design continuing professional development annually.

The most important criterion is that registration as an AILA Registered Urban Designer will be available to AILA Registered Landscape Architects. If not already registered, the applicant will first have to apply to be registered as an AILA Registered Landscape Architect and, if successful, then apply to be an AILA Registered Urban Designer. So, if the applicant is not able to qualify to be registered as an AILA Registered Landscape Architect, then the option of being an AILA Registered Urban Designer is not open to the applicant.

Landscape architects or those who have been working in Landscape Architecture, but not previously registered, should look at the various paths to AILA registration listed on the membership pages online.

If you have already gained a post graduate degree in Urban Design, in addition to your original Landscape Architecture degree and you are already a Registered Landscape Architect, your assessment should be much easier. But you will still have to apply.

If you have an undergraduate or post graduate degree in Urban Design, but no accredited Landscape Architecture degree, you will first need to satisfy the criteria of being recognised as an AILA Registered Landscape Architect. There will be other variations to this process and many willnot quite fit the pathways as set out above.

The assessment will require evidence of the skills, experience and expertise across aspects of Urban Design. The process will not be revisiting those areas already assessed when the applicant became an AILA Registered Landscape Architect. As such the assessment will be based on thefact that the applicant is already a registered ‘design’ professional – an AILA Registered Landscape Architect.

The AILA Registered Urban Designer application process is still being finalised and should be implemented towards the end of 2011. Queries will be welcomed once the new application processes have been announced. Please watch the AILA web site for more news on when the documentation, including the application forms, are to be available. www. aila.org.au

UDFQ 95: September 2011