Graduate News: Qian Gao

  15th July 2015

I joined the conversion course in the University of Gloucestershire after completing my Landscape Architecture bachelor’s degree in China. I hugely enjoyed my two-year studying at the UoG, which offered me a very different perspective compared to studying Landscape Architecture in China.

The course was diverse, and covered all aspects of Landscape Architecture. Modules ranged from landscape design to town planning, and from essential drawing software to professional practice. Even though it was a challenging course, particularly for an international student, I always received the support and help I needed from both my tutors and classmates.

Following my graduation last year, I found a job working for Randle Siddeley Associates in London. As it is a small practice, I have been involved on a wide variety of projects ranging from public realm master-planning to private garden design and everything in between. Projects have been in both the UK and China, which has given me a fantastic opportunity to develop a better understanding of how good Landscape Architecture can respond to different cultures and to improve my knowledge of different design processes around the world.

What I enjoy most in my job is the time I spend working alongside other design consultants such as architects, engineers and contractors, who always bring a different perspective to a project. The fact that every project is different allows me to innovate, and alongside other consultants, to show that good design can be used to solve practical problems.