The upcoming 2019 International Festival of Landscape Architecture in Melbourne will feature an impressive line-up of keynote speakers from all over the world.

Hosted by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), the Festival is being held in Melbourne on 10-12 October.

The sixth edition of the Festival, ‘The Square & The Park’ will focus on the enduring importance of public spaces.

International keynote speakers for the festival include celebrated director of Swiss-based Vogt Landscape, Gunther Vogt, North American academic and critic Julia Czerniak and South Korean academic and designer, Kyung-Jin Zoh, the chief advisor for Parks and Green Space in Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Some of the topics that will be discussed at the Festival include ‘The Materiality of the Square’, a discussion on important Australian parks constructed in the 90s, and the controversial debate surrounding plans for an Apple store in Melbourne’s Federation Square.

“The profession faces some important challenges and exciting opportunities, as we continue to be at the heart of discussions in design, politics, ecology and management,” AILA chief executive officer Tim Arnold says.

“Parks and public spaces make a real difference to people’s lives every day – they are spaces where people come together to celebrate, to play, to exercise or just to spend some time together.

“As a profession, and as a community, we need to explore how we can improve our public spaces and help make our cities and communities more connected and more liveable.”

The Festival will begin with the AILA National Awards on the evening of Thursday 10 October. The AILA awards will recognise the work of Australian landscape architects as well as showcase the exceptional spaces they have produced.

In addition to the speaker programme, the Festival will also host the ‘Future Park’ in partnership with the University of Melbourne. This design ideas competition will challenge professional and emerging designers to speculate on new park possibilities for a future Melbourne. As the fourth fastest growing city in the OECD, Melbourne needs to find solutions to the really pressing issue of limited urban spaces.

The International Festival of Landscape Architecture will take place from Thursday 10 October to Saturday 12 October, at locations around Melbourne.

Please visit the AILA website for more information, including a full schedule of events.