Land Studio appoints director of new civil engineering division

Lisa Sawyer will lead the team in providing clients with drainage design and water management strategies.

Chester-based Land Studio has made a name of itself as a landscape architect practice. It wanted to expand its offering by creating an in-house civil engineering division to better tackle sustainability concerns.

Sawyer said: “Climate change has brought to the forefront the need for landscape architects and civil engineers to work closely together and to be involved with building projects – whatever their size – right from the start.

“This enables us to suggest that a building could be better orientated to make the most of the topography of a site or to show that there’s a more cost-efficient, sensitive way of dealing with surface water than putting attenuation crates under the ground. It’s time to think differently.”

Sawyer joins Land Studio after nearly 18 years with Ramboll, where she had been promoted to director in June 2019.

“We’re delighted to welcome Lisa on board,” said Land Studio founder Simon Richards.

“Our combined knowledge and expertise of land and natural systems gives us a unique insight into the design of drainage and water management strategies that can respond to our changing climate,” Richards continued.

“We believe this is the future and a step change in working to combat climate change through design excellence and a fully integrated landscape architecture and engineering systems approach.”

In addition to having an office in Chester, Land Studio also has a base in Flintshire. Recent projects for the firm include enhancing the visitor experience at Lyme, designing the landscape around the Delamere Forest visitor centre, and improving entrance routes to Dunham Massey.