In Profile: Alex Crowe

Alex-Crowe-Profile-3

Alex Crowe is a young landscape architect, part of the AILA Fresh NSW project team delivering the AMP Activation for the 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture: The 3rd City in Sydney.

The design team includes Alex Crowe, Michael White, Anina Carl, Ashley Darby and Faid Ahmad, partnering with Street Furniture Australia, AMP Capital, WE-EF LIGHTING, Andreasens Green and Blue Scope Steel to create a daytime hangout and evening event space.

Furnished by Street Furniture Australia, the activation runs from October 11 to 15, between the AMP Towers on 33 Alfred Street and 50 Bridge Street, Circular Quay.

Enter via Philip Street to see the efforts of the AILA Fresh NSW team and be inspired by young people imagining the future city.

You’re currently involved in a ‘space activation installation’ by AILA Fresh NSW. What is the design intent behind the project?

Yes, I am part of an AILA Fresh NSW team that is working really hard on the AMP Activation, which will activate an underutilised site between the AMP Towers in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

Our intention is simply to create a space to host some day and night events for the upcoming 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture, while also providing a nice place for people who work in the area to sit and eat lunch. It’s not too fancy, but it doesn’t really have to be.

We have re-used materials from the manufacturing of corrugated iron to create a series of green wall planter boxes. The result is a private space tucked away from the busy streetscape that surrounds the site.

AILA Fresh NSW designs an activation for the AMP precinct. Street Furniture Australia will supply seats.

AILA Fresh NSW designs an activation for the AMP precinct. Street Furniture Australia will supply seats.

Can you tell us about yourself?

Following my graduation from UNSW, I was lucky enough to be part of MADE (Multidisciplinary Australian and Danish Exchange), which is a program run by the Sydney Opera House to promote the value of the process that created the Opera House. It was fantastic!

It was all about learning how to create a confluence of different paradigms of design and it certainly opened my eyes to how fruitful the complexities of multidisciplinary collaboration can be.

I have recently returned from a much longer than expected stint working in Europe.

You’re working on a project in the Kangaroo Valley. Can you tell us more?

My family runs an ecotourism business there. I am currently putting together a Master Plan for the property, which aims to allow tourism to operate without impacting the sensitive ecosystems on the property or the agricultural productivity of the land.

We are also trying to restore some bushland to encourage a colony of endangered brush-tailed rock-wallabies to settle on the property, so there is a lot going on!

I think it is possible for so many land uses to coexist; it is quite complex, but with the right amount of thinking, work and collaboration, we can do it – all the tools are there, you’ve just got to get started.

While overseas, you were involved in an environmental project to revive cargo shipping under sail. What’s it all about?

I had a very happy accident after finishing the MADE program. I had intended to do a three-month bicycle trip around Europe, but ended up spending two years in Germany helping with a project called Timbercoast instead.

We restored an old sailing ship to move cargo using only wind power. I helped with restoration and the project’s business development, and I got to sail from Europe to the Caribbean. Our aim is to raise awareness about the impacts of shipping and global trade on the marine environment, particularly in environmentally sensitive ecosystems.

The ocean is an ecosystem as diverse, if not more diverse, than any terrestrial one, but unfortunately it is obscured by lots of water so it’s tricky to see everything at work.

Nonetheless, if we are going to make sensible interventions into any environment, I think it’s important to understand the ecosystems of both landscapes and seascapes and how densely interwoven they are.

As a society, our interactions with these ecosystems are still a bit clunky. It was a lot of fun being part of a passionate community that was trying to find a better way for industry to do that.

What inspires you about collaborating with this generation of landscape architects?

I believe this generation of landscape architects and young professionals designing the built environment have the power and capacity to respond to a massive responsibility: to find better ways to sustainably inhabit this wonderful planet of ours. 

As a society, we are progressing faster than ever, and the AILA Fresh members are going to determine the direction of this development. We will be the ones to make real inroads into shifting the stagnant response to climate change – it’s on us!

Knowing I am around people who accept this responsibility is really inspiring.

Visit the AMP Activation from October 11 to 15, between the AMP Towers on 33 Alfred Street and 50 Bridge Street, Circular Quay. Enter via Philip Street.

The site will be alight with projection artwork over two special nights of the Festival, October 11 and 12. Visit the space to see the work of AILA Fresh in action.


IMG_4402-01

Alex Crowe

AILA Fresh NSW holds a working bee to prepare for the AMP Activation. Image: AILA Fresh NSW.

AILA Fresh NSW holds a working bee to prepare for the AMP Activation. Image: AILA Fresh NSW.

 


make an enquiry

Opening hours are from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

enquire now

recent news

Why choose the original Linea over reproductions?

Successful products are often followed by copycats. Over the past year we have become aware of an increase in reproductions of the Linea range attempting to create a similar aesthetic at a lower price. This can compromise the overall durability and environmental credentials of projects being delivered, affect ongoing maintenance requirements, and in some instances pose a risk of injury to the public. The design of Linea is deceptively simple while delivering exceptional attention to detail. Details matter not only for beauty, but also for providing durability, and safety, that will last decades. Linea strictly uses the highest quality and sustainable materials, has passed rigorous strength tests, and is designed for longevity, with easily replaceable parts. The product range is the result of hundreds of hours of research and development …

  • 26 apr 2024
read more

Street Furniture Australia is now 100% Carbon Neutral

Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …

  • 20 jun 2024
read more

Book a 30-min Climate Action Talk

Our Presentation Specialists bring a fun, interactive and informative workshop about our carbon neutral journey and latest products to your office. In 30 minutes (plus Q&A) you will explore materials and finishes, touch and feel samples, and bond with your colleagues over delicious treats in the comfort of your office. There will also be a mystery prize for a lucky winner (optional). ‘The presentation content was informative, engaging, interactive and relevant. Genuinely one of the better supplier workshops! It was efficient yet insightful. The interactive nature of it enhanced engagement with the team,’ Sam Westlake, Senior Associate, Hassell, Sydney. ‘Possibly our favourite product presentation to date! Engaging, great content and appreciated the physical samples and prototypes,’ Alexa Ongoco, Senior Landscape Architect, TCL, Brisbane. ‘Thorough presentation with actual product to see and …

  • 19 apr 2024
read more

related news

7 Must-See Festivities

With so much to see at the 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture: The 3rd City coming up in Sydney this October, here are our top 7 event recommendations for an immersive street furniture experience. 1. Future Street Alfred Street, in front of Customs House, Circular Quay | 12-15 October 2017 The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IOTAA) and Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand (SCCANZ) will build the street of the future in Sydney’s CBD, designed by the Place Design Group. A four-day celebration will showcase a range of landscape, IoT, utilities, transport, urban design and placemaking technologies and ideas. Street Furniture Australia will bring soon-to-be-released innovations including charging tables, flexible seating systems and smart bins to enliven your lunch break, outdoor meeting or commute.   …

  • 25 sep 2017
read more

In Profile: Mark Frisby

Mark Frisby was elected National President of AILA at a time of great change for the organisation. With new CEO Tim Arnold officially announced this week to take the reins from Shahana McKenzie during the Festival of Landscape Architecture in October, new shifts are coming. StreetChat talks with Mark about his vision for AILA, and the spaces he’s most proud of as a Melbourne-based landscape architect. Having presided at the AILA at both a state and national level, can you map out for us some of the changes you have seen and your thoughts on the future? My involvement in AILA has been extremely rewarding both personally and professionally. At a state level, it has been great to see the evolution of AILA Fresh and the Victorian state manager, which started when I was …

  • 29 aug 2017
read more

In Profile: Konstantin’s Blue Trees

Konstantin Dimopoulos is New Zealand–raised artist who has worked extensively in Melbourne, Australia and is currently based in Tennessee in the US. His successful environmental art installation The Blue Trees has been re-created around the world, including at Sydney’s Pirrama Park in 2016. StreetChat talks to him about activist art in urban spaces. The Blue Trees has been installed multiple times around the world. What have you observed from presenting the work to different cultures? I think that people around the world are basically the same. They all realise the huge issue that we have with global warming and the importance of rainforests and old growth forests to our survival as a species. Purveyors of water, consumers of carbon, treasure-houses of species – the world’s forests are ecological miracles. People want …

  • 13 jul 2017
read more