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What is an Aotearoa practice of landscape architecture?

Posted 02 09 2026

in News

Image: uploads/2026_09/Screenshot_2026-09-02_at_5.07.53PM.png
A study by Sibyl Bloomfield

A note from Sibyl:

Thank you so much to those of you who have taken time to engage with this survey! There has been a really good number of responses already. I have been made aware that some of you were not able to select multiple choices for some questions – my apologies, I have made some adjustments, and this new link should resolve this – if you wish to retake the survey please do!

Updated survey link: https://aut.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2fcrt7KKGgHJgaO

What is an Aotearoa practice of landscape architecture?

You are invited to participate in a research study on what constitutes an Aotearoa practice of Landscape Architecture. This research investigates what constitutes a ‘just’, regenerative, and values-based landscape architecture practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Central is the question of how te ao Māori (Māori worldviews) understand land and place, and how these understandings might inform and transform practice. It asks how interweaving Māori and Pākehā (Western/British) perspectives might foster deeper connections between people and place through landscape architecture. The study participants are landscape architects practicing or having practiced, or engaged in the landscape architecture profession, in Aotearoa New Zealand. You have been invited to participate because you are a landscape architect practicing in Aotearoa New Zealand, a member of Tuia Pito Ora NZILA, member of Ngā Aho and/or Te Tau-a-nuku. I believe your knowledge, experience, and insights will be of great benefit to the research and are grateful for your time and contribution. 

This study is being conducted by Sibyl Bloomfield from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, NZILA and Te Tau-a-Nuku member. Other research team members include doctoral thesis supervisors Maibritt Pedersen Zari and Diane Menzies. The study is being carried out as a requirement for a PhD in Landscape Architecture at AUT.

By completing the anonymous online survey – linked here – you will be contributing valuable insight into how the landscape architecture profession in Aotearoa New Zealand perceives itself and its practice. This survey is part of a 3-phase research project. For more information, please contact Sibyl Bloomfield: sibyl.bloomfield@aut.ac.nz

 

Approved by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee on 28 April 2026,

AUTEC Reference number 26/65.