People
Paul Appleton
Paul is a native of Brisbane and studied Landscape Architecture at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
He began his professional career in 2006 as a graduate with the North Tyneside Council in Newcastle UK, designing with the historic landscapes of the 17th century Clifford’s Fort. He then took a construction job in the Tramuntana Mountains of Mallorca, Spain. He developed a hands-on appreciation of high design and fine detailing, and how these translate through construction. In 2008 Paul returned to Australia to complete his postgraduate studies and worked for Landpartners and Gamble McKinnon Green while studying.
Paul moved to New York City in 2010, and worked for Starr Whitehouse before joining the team at Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2012. He worked with NBW on projects from Manhattan, Long Island, Upstate NY, California, Connecticut and Kentucky before returning to Australia in 2017. During his time in the US, Paul gained exposure to a wide range of large and high profile projects, and developed a love for master planning and working in big landscapes.
Paul started up the Nelson Byrd Woltz field office in Melbourne in 2017, servicing regional projects and pursuing other opportunities. During his time in Melbourne he worked with the City of Melbourne on Queen Vic Market’s green space plan, and a competition for an important landscape of memory: a historic convict site in Hobart. He also followed his passion for large-scale land holdings, working in the North and South Islands of New Zealand, Tasmania, the Tweed Valley and projects closer to home.
Paul rolled up the roll-a-doors at LANDSCAPE workshop in the Cape Byron region in November 2020.
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Built Environment - Maj. Landscape Architecture, 2003
Graduate Diploma Landscape Architecture (with distinction), 2009
Resource Consulting Services (RCS) Grazing for Profit (GFP) course in Regenerative Agriculture, 2020
AILA (Australian Institute of Landscape Architects) Registered Landscape Architect 13396
Yu ‘Lavender’ Zhang
Lavender is from Anhui Province in eastern China. She was awarded a scholarship from her University and gained a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree in China in 2014. She then completed the Master of Landscape Architecture at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 2017, with Distinction in the final year research project.
Inspired by her experience in diverse academic and cultural backgrounds, Lavender applies her own insights directly to her design process in the arrangement of space. She believes good design should lead to a balanced relationship between natural ecologies and peoples' experience of their environment. At University, Lavender dedicated herself to specialise in large-scale landscape urbanism projects, contributing to projects that combined landscape and infrastructure in shaping a city's healthy development.
Lavender moved to Hobart, Tasmania in 2018 and started her professional career at Susan Small Landscape Architects, gaining hands-on experience in the design and installation of private landscapes. She joined the team of REALM studios and engaged in projects for the University of Tasmania. She assisted in the delivery of the concept package of a campus streetscape design, and took the lead of all the graphic drawings from research to modelling and rendering.
Lavender joined the LANDSCAPE workshop team in the Northern Rivers in September, 2021. She brings to the office highly refined skills in 3d modelling, rendering, and mapping, and has worked on all scales of projects. She is driven to increase her knowledge, expand her design horizons, and to learn new skills in the profession.