We caught up with Peter to congratulate him on his promotion to Director. It was also a great opportunity to discuss his recent projects and explore his vision for a future that embeds sustainable practice.
A Chartered Landscape Architect with more than 15 years of professional experience. Peter joined the practice in 2011, leading a wide range of significant landscape and masterplanning projects; These include the Exeter College Hele Road campus and the Yeovil Refresh.
He will continue to help lead the Landscape and Urban Design Team, as well as assisting with the day-to-day management of the practice.
In this interview we explore some of Peter’s recent work, and what he looks forward to in the future…
How has your experience at LHC Design influenced your career?
Working at LHC has enabled me to develop valuable experience working as part of a talented multi-disciplinary design team, allowing me to connect the dots between disciplines and hone my place making skills.
Since I arrived, I’ve been lucky to have worked on a diverse range of projects – that often seek to address pressing issues of the time.
What projects have you been working on recently?
I’m currently helping to deliver a significant programme of public realm regeneration for Yeovil town centre that seeks to enhance the quality of the public realm and reinforce the town’s character. It will support changing patterns of use and activities within the High Street. It will reduce car dominance and encourage active travel through pedestrian focussed spaces. We will introduce new street trees and raingarden planting as part of new urban greening. Having led the design of the public realm I’m now performing a TA role to help the client and contractor teams deliver phased construction in this complex and historic town centre setting.
Last year I helped develop a series of town centre and public realm masterplans for Sedgemoor & Mendip District Councils’ bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. Although the project was not successful in this round of funding, the proposals provide the Council with an important framework to guide projects in the future, which focussed upon setting active travel infrastructure into enhanced public realm and spaces.
Which projects have you particularly enjoyed in recent years?
In addition to town centre regeneration, I’ve loved developing landscape strategies for Exeter College Hele Road Campus and South Devon College. Both of which have now in part been delivered, and in developing landscape proposals for various new residential neighbourhoods in the southwest.
You are passionate about embedding sustainable design, how have you implemented and delivered this at LHC Design?
Beyond project work, I am also co-leading LHC’s internal Environmental and Sustainable Working Group (ESWG) to develop our Clean Growth Strategy and Guide to Sustainable Design to embed sustainability into our company ethos and culture.
I recently contributed to the practices updated core values and vision – which sets Intelligence, Culture, and Sustainability at the heart of our approach to both business and design.
I’m looking forward to channelling these principles into both the culture of the practice and the projects that we’re engaged with, and collaborating on.