It is a discipline which could be considered to be increasingly important to our natural and built environments, given the strong focus in recent years on contemporary issues such as sustainable development and climate-considerate design, occupant health and wellbeing and placemaking principles to develop resilient, strengthened communities. Examples of these spaces include parks, campuses, plazas, streetscapes and any public space which can be considered to be distinct from (but complementary to) any individual built asset. It is a broad discipline which draws upon art, ecology, architecture, engineering and sociology in the design of rich, vibrant and healthy public spaces which “create and enable life between the buildings” (Holmes, 2021). Landscape architecture is a discipline which deals with the “planning, design, management and nurturing of the built and natural environments” (ASLA, 2021). In this article, John takes a look at both the importance and uniqueness of landscape architecture as a discipline, its troubled relationship with BIM over the years and how it has managed to independently adapt to the construction industry’s ever-evolving digital economy. As BIM Academy prepares to deliver its first course on landscape training with Autodesk Revit, Technologist and Instructor John Millar was prompted to research the ways in which landscape professionals can be best supported in their BIM journey.

Autodesk revit landscape architecture