Storytelling in landscape design - with Lisa Jack

From hotel resorts covered in water in the Indian desert, landscaped roads in Croatia and the Shared Streets project in Auckland, landscape architect Lisa Jack’s design career has been anything but dull.

‘’And I’ve just come off the back of a project where we designed a hotel for bats!’’ says Lisa.

‘’Once we began master planning the site, the ecological assessment found there was bat activity on the site. We had to reassess our approach to the work and were able to pivot, creating a sort of hotel for these native species. Ecologists led the design with a mixture of native and exotic trees for them to rest in, and meadow spaces in between for the bats to swoop into open areas to get bugs and feed.

‘’We also created a pond which is a farm drain that had been excavated, where the bats could feed on bugs drawn to the water.

 ‘’A real bat buffet!’’

At high school, Lisa dreamt of being an interior designer before shifting her focus to microbiology.

‘’I was totally fascinated with viruses and how immunisation works. My fourth form science teacher, Mr Griffiths, was amazing - that was probably the birth, actually, of an interest in viruses, biology and genetics. And my final year science teacher, she was incredible and highly disappointed the one time she caught me wagging class!’’

As part of a careers day at her high school, Lisa noted she had a strong bent for graphic design and science and found landscape architecture as a profession that fit both of these areas. Although not totally convinced it was the right career choice for her, Lisa did a ‘student for a day’ at Unitec in Auckland, which led to her unintentionally signing up to the course.  

‘’I had intended to do a gap year, but that never happened because I signed up to the landscape architecture degree,’’ says Lisa.

After completing her studies, Lisa headed off to the UK, where she worked for WATG, a multidisciplinary consultancy focused on architecture, interiors and landscape architecture, urban design specifically for resorts.

‘’A lot of the projects were highly funded and themed. Like a resort I worked on in India where the client wanted it to be covered in water.’’

“I remember one was in Croatia, and the client really wanted visitors to have the experience of coming into this project, and so the road in was this journey. Sometimes it'd be like weaving in and out of the landscape and really celebrating the landform.”

After her stint overseas, Lisa returned to New Zealand to work for Boffa Miskell, where she worked on some great projects, including the Shared Streets in Auckland initiative.

‘’I was so lucky to be involved in the project. It was the first one to be constructed at the time. I contributed to the plans for the initiative in Fort Street and loved getting to go out on site to see how the work I’d done came to life,’’ says Lisa.

Now with Harrison Grierson just on 12 years, Lisa reflects on the things that get her out of bed in the morning when it comes to the work she does.

‘’I love the variety of landscape architecture. There's a place for everybody.

‘’For me, if it's got mana whenua consultation, that really gets me going and makes me happy because it's important in Aotearoa to make sure we're expressing the history and stories that go along with the landscape.

‘’It’s important, as designers, to ensure we tell the story of the community in our projects. I love to show the identity of mana whenua, especially and weave it into our designs.

‘’The challenge is in creating a space that is welcoming for everybody.

‘’And at the heart of it, we’re just trying to make communities better for people.’’

‘’Any good designer has to be able to put all that meaning and all those layers of storytelling right down into a single piece of paving stone. Sometimes you'll create a bespoke piece of furniture, but on a smaller scale. All those layers make up something really special.’’

‘’Nothing beats seeing your design come to life. You’ve got this idea in your head, but then when you see it, it's just so satisfying.’’

But it’s not all storytelling and good design. As landscape architects, they have to consider legislation and the best way to build.

‘’We are always considering how our designs will be signed off by council and how they’ll be built by the contractors.

Most loved landscape project?

‘’The High Line to me is a masterful feat of landscape architecture that melds walkways, benches, and chaise lounges with grass, perennials, trees, and bushes in perfect unkempt-kempt harmony,’’ says Lisa.

Described by her team as an empathetic leader, Lisa strives to lead with empathy.

‘’It's caring about your people and asking questions.’’

As we celebrate 140 years at Harrison Grierson, we reflect on the key role our people have played in shaping Aotearoa. We've designed some of New Zealand’s most iconic communities and spaces.

None of this would have been possible without our people (and clients) who we like to call trailblazing pioneers, like Lisa Jack, a true creative genius in the landscape design space.