MSD Dean's Lecture: A Sense of Identity

In the final Dean's Lecture for 2023, Landscape Architects Chloe and Michael Humphreys from The Landscape Studio will outline their unique approach to each project which is driven by careful observation and an in-depth understanding of a sense of place.

This directly informs both their design process and the implementation of their practice's projects. Through the presentation of three projects, one in Kenya, one in Uganda, and one in Tanzania, they will share the stories of how they seek to embrace and celebrate a sense of place, trying to keep carefully in tune with the true identities of their project sites.

This is explored through the understanding of the wider landscape, cultural differences, and local plant and hardscape pallets.

About the speakers

Landscape Architects and Designers Chloe and Michael Humphreys founded the Landscape Studio, a small award-winning Landscape architecture and design firm based between East Africa and Europe. The studio has created solutions for a diverse portfolio of projects; conservation projects, planning, and design of academic and residential projects.

Their philosophy is to achieve a balance restored, to design solutions where the spaces in which we interact with our natural environment are mutually beneficial for the ecosystem and the people that inhabit it. Key to achieving these goals is their focus to improve biodiversity and the ecology of their project sites and to investigate sustainable and responsible hardscape, stormwater, and planting solutions.

Their practice comes with an acute sense of responsibility. They aim to produce fair and sustainable solutions that can stand the intensity of change in our times, whilst providing liveable spaces that can age with beauty and dignity.

They provide adequate landscape design solutions that balance the environmental and geographical attributes of the site, the architecture, and the requirements of the project. Observation of the existing conditions and understanding of the context is fundamental to their approach.