It has been a tough year for students everywhere, and things don’t seem to be fast improving. Our support is needed, now more than ever.
In its second year, our bursary awards aim to do just that.
Launched last year to mark our 40th anniversary, LDA Design is awarding five one-year bursaries, worth £1,000 each, to support and encourage landscape architecture or urban design students in the UK, at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Recipients will also be offered paid work experience in one of LDA Design’s eight UK studios. We currently have two of last year’s winners working with us.
Although joining the London studio under the shadow of Covid-19, Reka Tundokova said of her time with us: “It’s good to hear LDA is launching its bursary again. I’m really enjoying it here. I get to see everything I’ve studied so far in action. Experiencing the preparation for a planning application or a design proposal with people who have done it for years is stimulating for students yet to embark on their professional career.
“LDA’s approach involves creating a narrative, almost like a story for each place they deal with, which connects the dots and sees what’s most relevant so proposals are specific to local needs.”
Aimed at encouraging greater diversity within the industry, LDA Design intends for one or more of the bursaries to be allocated to students who have faced financial or other challenges in pursuing higher education.
LDA Design chairman, Frazer Osment, said of the scheme: “During lockdown, people have behaved differently. At the same time as our parks and green spaces have been used more intensively, our high streets have been thrown into further turmoil exposing a chronic lack of resilience in our towns and cities.
“Now is the time to reassess our priorities and imagine how things can be different. It is the time for reflection, yes, but also assertiveness and radical action to secure the changes we need. Those working within the built environment profession, especially landscape architects, urban designers and planners, have a vital role to play in shaping post-pandemic places with new thinking and empathetic design.”
So, the challenge is to reimagine an existing or new piece of city. It could be a network of streets with a square or a park, or at a slightly larger scale, a small neighbourhood. We want students to think about what they have experienced, observed and learned during 2020 and draw on this to show how cities can better support people, becoming more liveable and more responsive to climate breakdown.
The deadline for submissions is midnight on Sunday 22 November. Awards will be announced in December.
Contact us at bursaries@lda-design.co.uk with any questions. Good luck, everyone.
Download the challenge. Download the LDA Design Bursary 2020 Application Form.
