LDA Design is one of our Partners
LDA Design’s purpose is to make great places and shape the world for the better. We are 100 per cent employee owned and are united by strong values and a creative, supportive culture. Employee ownership means we all have a say in how our business is run and take responsibility for its success. Our Charter sums up all that we hold dear and is a call to action to be courageous.
Climate breakdown and catastrophic nature loss are the biggest challenges of our times, and the need for collective action has never been greater. We believe landscape is key to managing these crises.
As landscape architects, urban designers, and planners, we take a holistic approach which recognises the close links between climate, biodiversity and ecosystem decline, health and wellbeing, and social and economic inequality. We champion new approaches and seek to influence policy which results in more climate-conscious design, sharing our learning with clients and partners. We are committed to our own operations being carbon neutral by 2025.
Our roots lie in the science and art of landscape architecture, and this strengthens all the services we offer. Landscape has the power to transform, to reveal the extraordinary; to connect old and new communities; to create ambitious, sociable, equitable and more sustainable places that work well.
The original meaning of the word landscape is to create a place where people belong. Landscape connects people and place and knowing how people use space gives breadth and depth to our work.
We follow the principles of ‘first life, then spaces, then buildings’, turning traditional masterplanning on its head to shape places that better meet the needs of people. We then design spaces that create opportunities for social interaction and chance encounter.
LDA Design led the masterplanning and detailed design of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, one of Europe’s most successful new parklands. We have designed and are delivering some of the UK’s most challenging city centre public realm projects, including London’s Battersea Power Station, Stratford Waterfront and Strand-Aldwych, as well as George Street in Edinburgh and the transformation of central public realm in Newcastle. Our award-winning partnership with Camden is transforming West End streets, carving out new green space and creating a healthier, safer, and more pleasant experience for pedestrians and cyclists. We believe major infrastructure, including renewables, can deliver wider benefits and social value, and lead to better places.
We have eight offices across the UK and a 180-strong team. We have received more than 100 awards for urban renewal and town centre improvements, and contemporary and historic parkland design.
LDA Design has an annual bursary designed to support students of landscape architecture and urban design studying in the UK with an award and work placement, and in particular those who have faced financial or other challenges to entering higher education.
Benjamin Walker, Director speaks about supporting the charity:
When Sally first explained the idea behind the LNS I knew it was something special which we must support. We love the thought that in some small way we can help the next generation of great designers, thinkers and creators working to better the places we call home.