Introducing the first LFA Ewings Scholarship winner: Cameron Hocking
We are delighted to introduce Cameron Hocking, Master of Landscape Architecture student at Adelaide University, as the inaugural recipient of the LFA Ewings Scholarship.
Congratulations, Cameron!
In addition to his studies, Cameron Hocking works part-time as a student landscape architect with T.C.L in their Adelaide studio.
This is the first scholarship to be awarded by LFA and has been made possible by a $1 million donation from Michael Ewings, FAILA MAIH, a multi-award-winning landscape architect and industry leader. Over his many years in practice, Michael influenced the thinking about the design of public landscapes in Sydney and regional towns across New South Wales.
Michael established the scholarship to encourage students and recent graduates who, as qualified landscape architectural practitioners, will have the passion, motivation and drive to make a positive and exemplary impact on Australia’s urban landscapes. The $20,000 scholarship is paid over two years to a student of landscape architecture or a recent graduate with a proposal for a structured research project or extended studies contributing to their professional development.
Cameron came to landscape architecture with a background in computer science, a discipline he found “immaterial and inhuman…defined by logic, optimization, and rigid structure.” He notes that the Scholarship will ease the financial stress related to university expenses, allowing him to focus on his studies and produce a high-quality final thesis.
A three-week study tour on the theme of Serious Fun is included in Cameron’s research plan. He anticipates this experience will provide a transition from being a student practitioner to an early career expert in design of playful public spaces and provide a launch pad for a career focused on vibrant, human-centred design.
“Humour and wit are powerful tools to inspire social change, encouraging a shared experience of one’s surroundings,” says Cameron. “Through the LFA Ewings Scholarship, I will investigate how playful urbanism and adaptive reuse can foster a mutual care and respect between people and their environment.”
Cameron has been an active volunteer with AILA student members’ activities, advocating for greater engagement with the wider landscape industry. As a student landscape architect in Taylor Cullity Lethlean’s Adelaide studio, he is gaining professional experience to build on his studies and better understand how landscape architecture intersects with other built environment professions.
We will be following and supporting Cameron’s progress over the coming two years and beyond, in his personal and professional journey to “…develop a vision for resilient Australian landscapes that are engaging and culturally vibrant” that “…employ humour and playfulness to encourage a reciprocal care and respect for one’s surroundings.”