Ceci WONG

Session 2 - 28 Jan 2021

During this lesson, we are asked to introduce ourselves within 2 mins. Since some of our group mates are from mainland China, we didn't get the chance to know each other well during this pandemic period. I was a bit surprised that some of our classmates are actually quite experienced in this industry. Knowing that one of my group mates had been working in 6-7 government departments as an intern, I was a bit regretful that I spent my summer in front of my computer watching netflix… One important thing I have learned from this lesson: being punctual is a must to show our professionalism!

Session 3 - 04 Feb 2021 - Are you a Landscape Architect

Are you a Landscape Architect? Of course I'm not... I hope a few years later when I read this blog again, I am already a Landscape Architect! Today we are listening to the Team orange presentation. They are presenting the topic “Are you a Landscape Architect”. Their presentation is providing an important foundation for us, MLA classmates. To be honest, I did not have much knowledge on these topics before listening to their presentation, but I did hear from my friends that the ILA exam is pretty hard and the passing rate is just 30%...

We learned about working ethics in this lesson. Code of Professional Conduct is the foundation of our profession and we should keep in mind that it is our responsibility to follow it when we are working with a professional landscape architect title. Besides, it is very surprising that there is multiple job nature within the landscape architect profession. Which makes me more confident in finding a job that suits my personality.

Session 4 - 11 Feb 2021 - Where do you work?

Thanks for team blue for the presentation! Today’s presentation is about the diverse career direction that we can choose after graduation. Their presentation reminds me the conversation I had with the department head when I was working in ArchSD. At that time, I expressed my worries about finding a job in this industry as the economy is declining due to the pandemic. However, the department head explained to me there are multiple role that performed by landscape architects including project management, handling submissions and the government is having a few landscape architects vacant for a while. It is no rush to take the chartership examination as the job experience we learn from work will help us to determine the job nature that we want to pursue in the future.

After the presentation, Ringo from Earth Asia introduced their office to us as well as the projects that they have been working on. He also offered us a office tour and explained to us the operation of a landscape design studio.

Session 5 - 25 Feb 2021 - You are the boss

Today’s presentation was presented by team purple. It is a very interesting presentation as we seldom think in a way that a boss thinks when we are studying. The interview presented the ambitions and struggle of owning a design firm in different scale of business. One of the major task of being a boss is risk management. A poor managed project could turn a company bankrupted. The interviewees also present the reality of the industry.

After graduation, it is less like for us to design in a way we want. There are a lot of factors that alter the design process and it frustrates the designer a lot. In the future we might face the same frustration. As a landscape architecture graduate, we should have the idea of the idea of contribution as it takes a long time to train a fresh graduate.

Session 6 - 04 March 2021 - Develop or control?

When we are working on our studio project, we never consider the complexity of submitting a planning proposal. Sometimes we are very native that neglecting the biggest force that stop the project from moving forward is the rejection of submission to the government. There are tons of documents we need to prepare in order to get the permission of starting the project, including the TPRP (Tree preservation and tree removal proposal, heritage impact assessment, environmental impact assessment.

This presentation reminds me again my internship experience. I was responsible for helping my supervisor to prepare TPRP and SOI, the process involve multiple departments and it takes time to get reply from them. No wonder people always says that the actual job of a landscape architect is the paperwork.

Session 7- 18 March 2021 - Winning a project

Today Barry arranged a virtual visit to a local landscape firm BLEND. They explained to us the process of winning a project. The preparation work is very important as it can increase the chance of winning a project. They will do a winning bid strategy report by asking a few questions: What can we do? What are the project goal? What are the competitors and Why us? By analysing the needs of the clients and the strength of the company, it helps the company to decide if they should bid for the project and what is the best strategy to win it.

They also explained to us the process of managing a project. Including engaging new clients, contractual matters, design processes as well as deliver and follow up. The reality of being in a landscape architecture industry is that design is not the biggest part of the project, actually there is a lot of promotional and administrative work to do.

Session 8 - 25 March 2021 - Organizing a project

Today’s presentation is “Organizing a project” presented by team Green.

Before their presentation, I had no idea what is procurement. Team Green delivered the presentation clearly as they drew a branch of diagram explaining the concept in it including the contractual relationship and administrative responsibilities between employers, contractors and architects. Under the 3 different procurement strategies: traditional/ conventional procurement, design build procurement, and management procurement, the risk is allocated differently between client and contractor in different procurement. After the explanation of the extent of risk by Team Green, it seems like the design build approach has the lowest risk on time and cost ,but the quality of work might not be as good as the other two approaches.

Session 9 - 1 April 2021 - Awarding a project

It is a big day for our team! It’s the show time for team PINK to present the topic of “Awarding a project”. We had a hard time deciding how to make the presentation more interesting as the previous presentations were presented in innovative ways like TV shows and animation. However, after discussing with our groupmates, we decided to do it in a simple and tidy flow that explained the idea of different tendering methods. Since I was in charge of the Q&A session, I was afraid that no one would reply to the questions. As a result, it was very happy to see that our classmate is actively participating in the in class activities! I am very grateful that I was able to work with our team leader James. He is a reliable leader that organised the meeting as well as the logistics of the project. Although he assigned each of us to work on different topics, he read through all the notes since day one to facilitate the discussion among group members.

After the presentation, it is another virtual tour! We visited the Urbis office! Urbis is a large scale landscape firm compared to the office we visited in the past few weeks. It has around 50 landscape designers and 7 RLAs. Urbis is an international company but it still participates in various landscape projects including the SENT landfill, Hong Kong wetland park and West Kowloon Cultural district. The presentation done by Urbis is like a recap of previous presentations done by other groups. They explained to us the relationship between employer, contractor and landscape architect in a real case. For example in the SENT landfill project, it also included environmental teams and specialist contractors. They also explained how different teams like landscape architect, landscape designer and horticulture team can work together with the lead of project manager. After listening to their presentation, I have a clearer idea on the structure of a landscape company and the process procurement with a real example.

Session 10 - 8 April 2021 - Delivering a project

In today’s lesson, our group was assigned to outline the concern and issue of clarification in the role of landscape planting sub-contractors. Our group has come up with a few answer for this question:

• Border restriction, some materials are not available (soil, plant material?) - maybe replacement for less delay in construction

• Planting design finalization from design consultant

• Planters, Irrigation points, Drainage setting, will they be ready, built by hardscape contractors

• Payment from client coordinated by Main contractor

• When working at site resumed, will there be Clerk of works, Site Managers on site

• Not being allowed to send labour/ manpower to site to establish plants would delay the construction but it is not our fault

• Coordination of construction period and work schedule with different sub-contractors (possibly overseas)

It is a fruitful discussion as most of the time we only think in the position of a landscape architect and we seldom put ourselves in other’s shoes and think of the needs of others.

Urbis also presents us a virtual visit to SENT landfill today. The SENT landfill project focuses on the restoration of landfill in different phases. Their staff explain the logic of plant selection (the mixture of native and exotic species) and how to carry out the selection trail during the site visit. The information that was presented in this visit is very valuable to us as the planting methods they used are not commonly used in the landscape project in Hong Kong, for example, the use of microclimate tubes to create micro climate in a harsh environment.

Session 11 - 15 April 2021 - Hire me!

This session is super useful to us as we got the chance to discuss with our classmate their strategies on writing their CV and cover letter. Before taking this session, I was writing the cover letter in a way that can apply to multi companies. The letter did not show my understanding to the company that I am applying for. During the discussion with our team, we concluded that these items should be included in our cover letter in order to give a good impression to the interviewers:

• Show our understanding about the company, including: Major types of project they do, on current projects, corporate culture and treatment

• Linking us to the company - Show why we are suitable candidates: In what ways are we interested in the companies’ projects, our previous connections/ phone conversations with staff of the company, show how our skills could contribute to the company

After improving the content of my cover letter, I believe that I can have a higher chance of being interviewed in the future! In this lesson we also think of a list of questions to ask in an interview collectively. Some of our classmates give some great ideas on how to ask a question in a way that presents our personality.