Landscape Middle East Magazine - March 2020

In this issue

Working in an industry traditionally dominated by men can be intimidating, especially if you’re ambitious and want to move up the ranks. In honour of International Women’s day this year on March 8th, we’ve launched a new regular feature to highlight some of the most talented women who are thriving in their careers as landscape architects, planners and designers. Not only are these women at the top of their game but they are paving the way for future generations of young women to enter the industry. We start by profiling Annie Baillie, Associate Director of Landscape Architecture at Place Dynamix in Dubai. At a time when there is a fundamental shift in consumer values towards experiences rather than things to bring happiness, we feature two of the UAE’s newly opened desert retreats; Al Faya Lodge in the emirate of Sharjah and Jebel Hafit desert park in Al Ain, both offer visitors the opportunity to switch off and immerse themselves in an authentic desert experience surrounded by dramatic mountainous views. Our cover story is brought to you by DesertINK, the landscape architecture firm who designed the external interface of Al Faya lodge which sits under the spectacular Hajar mountains in Sharjah. And British Landscape architect, Charles Lamb, provides a first-hand account of his research in the Philippine Cordilleras to research 2000-year-old water management techniques used by the indigenous tribes.