National Parks & Nparks Landscape | Landscape Architecture

Ellen Wong is an NParks scholar and works as a Landscape Architect. She shares about her passion for creating spaces where people and nature can interact in harmony.

Ellen, what motivated you to become a Landscape Architect?

I chose to study landscape architecture as it is very fluid and gives me a lot of scope to work in because of the range of projects that we have.

I received a scholarship from NParks to study landscape architecture at the University of Melbourne, and I graduated in August last year. So I’ve been working as a Landscape Architect at NParks for 8 months now.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed my studies - learning from the best professors and even going on an exchange program to Cornell University for one year.By the end of my second year at university, I was very sure that I wanted to become a Landscape Architect.

	What’s it like being a Landscape Architect?
	I like to say that being a Landscape Architect is like playing a game of Air Hockey with 4 pucks! This is because at any one time, we have to deal with many aspects of a project – budget, client expectations, potential delays due to numerous reasons like bad weather, unavailability of construction or plant materials – and at the same time staying true to what we believe in as a Landscape Architect, which is to create spaces for people to enjoy.

What do you think are important attributes in order for someone to become a successful Landscape Architect?

I would say that you have to eat, sleep and breathe landscape architecture! Being a Landscape Architect is what makes you the person that you are - it changes the way you think, how you react to your surroundings and teaches you how to appreciate the beauty behind how nature has put things together.

Here are 4 key attributes which I believe are important to be a good Landscape Architect -
1.	Passion, because it provides the drive to keep going when things are tough.
2.	Doodling, because you never know what kind of inspiration you can get from 3 random lines put together.
3.	Open-minded, so you can derive from any discipline, ideas and methods to contribute positively to the field of landscape architecture.

4.	Spontaneous, because it makes you want to explore new ways of doing things and teaches you to trust your instincts.

	What responsibilities do you have in your job?
	As the scope of each project is different, my responsibilities tend to cover a wide spectrum. For Jurong Central Park, I had to understand the composition of a wetland in order to use a combination of plant species and hardscape elements to create a natural look. For the Bedok Reservoir Park project, I had to look into creating a set of guidelines to ensure our design is followed closely during different phases of the project. I designed contingency plans to deal with possible delays and also did detailed drawings of the project’s development. During my stint in HortPark – The Gardening Hub, my work was very hands-on. This involved carefully selecting plants to suit the various sectional themes, designing informative labels for the plants and trees, and assembling the water garden for GardenTech 2007.

What challenges do you face in your job?

It’s about being able to constantly find simple and innovative ways to create spaces to cater to the various needs of users – for play and participation, exercise, relaxation – and to bring to people a different level of using the designed space. The main aim is to create a space that will continue to draw people in after their first visit.

What are the career prospects of a Landscape Architect?

There is a great scope of work for Landscape Architects to specialize in. Projects can range from regional master planning for cities, designing town parks and urban plazas, ecological management, golf course design and residential housing landscape design. The landscape architecture office that a Landscape Architect practices in determines the kind of projects one is exposed to. Some of the prominent projects in Singapore that Landscape Architects work on are the Gardens by the Bay, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Sentosa Cove landscaping and the bi-annual Singapore Garden Festival.

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