John Potter named Fellow of the NZILA

John Potter has been admitted into Fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects – Tuia Pito Ora.

The designation of Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora is conferred upon senior members of the profession, recognising their distinguished work, expertise and particular contribution to landscape, landscape architecture, and the profession.

John joined Boffa Miskell in 2001. A chartered landscape architect, educated at the University of Sheffield, John brought with him extensive experience in the design of both private and public spaces, often working closely with planners and ecologists.

Over the past 18 years, John has played a lead role on a range of public realm, streetscape and city centre improvement and revitalisation projects, all involving community and key stakeholder participation.

These high-profile projects have had a profound impact on their cities and neighbourhoods and, through their success, have increased public awareness and appreciation of the important contribution of landscape architects in city-making.

John was project manager and design lead for the restoration and upgrade of Saint Patrick’s Square, which won the NZILA George Malcolm Supreme Award in 2010, and received universal praise from the wider design community, drawing international attention to the high standard of work undertaken by landscape architects in Aotearoa-New Zealand.

As Boffa Miskell Programme Manager for the Auckland City CBD Streetscape Upgrade Programme John contributed to the changes to Federal Street, the Darby and Elliott Street Area Upgrade, Victoria Street, Albert Street, Beach Road, Fort Street Area Upgrade and O’Connell Street. These have paid a key part in transforming the public realm in Auckland and have contributed to the impetus towards a more pedestrian-friendly, accessible and equitable City Centre.

As Design Reviewer and Collaborative Design Leader on projects related to Auckland Transport’s Roads and Streets Framework, John has provided similar leadership on important active transport projects focused on delivering modal shift change in local town centres and a paradigm shift in the relationship between vehicles and people. He is deeply involved in engagement with client and community stakeholders; reframing the project objectives to deliver more meaningful streetscape and community focused outcomes.

In 2013-2014 John relocated to Christchurch as a member of the 4-person Design Leadership Team for the Te Papa Ōtākaro / Avon River Precinct and City Promenade in Ōtautahi / Christchurch. This project won the NZILA George Malcolm Supreme Award in 2019. It is the largest-ever public realm transformation undertaken in New Zealand, and critical to the successful rebuild of Christchurch City Centre following the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.

John’s on-going involvement in large-scale public realm projects is indicative of his extensive experience in design, project management and implementation while operating in a multidisciplinary environment; along with expertise in project procurement processes. With these practical administrative skills John delivers hands-on process and design leadership and ensures a leading role for landscape architects in these projects that, historically, have been the purview of engineers and urban architects.

John is currently the Registration Panel Deputy Chair for the NZILA. He set up the Auckland Branch NZILA Registration Mentoring Process – which is now used as a model for branches across the country; and regularly sits on the “Dragon’s Den” panel to help prepare candidates for their NZILA registration interview. He has been a notable contributor to the process of readying graduate landscape architects for practice, running annual contract administration workshops for registration candidates in Auckland and mentoring dozens of landscape architecture graduates through the registration process.