Matthew Kneale

Landscape Architecture is not about pretty gardens; it’s about dealing with the challenges of urbanisation, such as water, energy and food security, as well as ensuring equitable access to transport, work, leisure, health and happiness.

"I’m inspired by the longevity and wide-ranging impact Landscape Architecture can have. I can potentially develop a project over 2 years and the outcome might exist for 100 years.

"With Landscape Architecture, you need to be passionate about the world and want to make a positive change. It’s not about pretty gardens; it’s about dealing with the challenges of urbanisation such as water, energy and food security, as well as ensuring equitable access to transport, work, leisure, health and happiness. Landscape Architecture has the potential to improve the lives of everyone.

"In my time at RMIT I’ve worked on some great real-world projects. In first year I completed a Design Studio project called Glitch, run by Tom Harper and Caitlin Perry, and based at the recently decommissioned Amcor Paper Mill in Alphington. My project, called Fractured Adaptation, transformed the site into a bamboo plantation and cross-laminated timber factory, with the aim of retaining manufacturing jobs in the inner north of Melbourne. It was critical in informing my understanding of the role that design must play in the economics of the city."