The guidelines have just been published by Tuia Pito Ora New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects and are the result of more than four years’ of mahi and collaboration by leading landscape architects including Te Tau-a-Nuku collective of Māori landscape architects.

The core team behind the publication believes the guidelines encapsulate the best collective knowledge of landscape architects working in landscape assessment under New Zealand’s legislative framework.

Gavin Lister of the Isthmus Group has championed the project from its inception. He says it represents the collaborative input of the profession and will give landscape architects and allied professionals a stronger platform from which to assess and manage our landscapes. “I hope the outcome of that is richer landscapes.”

Fellow author, Boffa Miskell’s Rachel de Lambert, says while the guidelines are specific to Aotearoa, they are globally significant too. “Our assessment practice is diverging from places elsewhere in the world and we hope that this guidance will be seen as providing leadership beyond New Zealand.”

For the other co-author, Alan Titchener, a key plank of the guidelines’ success is effective engagement with tāngata whenua, the team’s commitment to mātauranga Māori and the recognition given to pūkengatanga — the knowledge and expertise held by and relating to an iwi, hapū or whānau.

“I think the guidelines open the door for a more inclusive, reasoned way of dealing with landscape which will be transformative for the landscape architecture profession.”

Titchener believes a key success of the guidelines is that they “leave the ball in the court of the assessors. It asks and requires them to think deeply about landscape and to process those thoughts in a way that other people can understand and follow.”

The finished publication is a handsome, well-illustrated book that represents a huge collaborative effort not only by the authors but by the design team at Isthmus who led the graphic production, supported by Boffa Miskell.

Tuia Pito Ora New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects President Henry Crothers says the guidelines are an exceptionally important piece of work and will have applications beyond the profession.

“Te Tangi a Te Manu is a work of international significance, developed in the spirit of partnership and collaboration. Its legacy will have an immeasurable impact on the landscapes of Aotearoa.”

The team believes the finished result is a taonga, a treasure for the landscape architecture profession, this country, and beyond.

Copies of Te Tangi a te Manu — Aotearoa New Zealand Landscape Assessment Guidelines are available by emailing admin@nzila.co.nz.