Many congratulations to Hal Moggridge who was awarded the IFLA President’s Award in September this year. This award recognises the contribution of an individual or organisation for the advancement of the profession of landscape architecture through their participation in IFLA.

Hal is an architect and landscape architect. In 1969 Hal founded Colvin & Moggridge, with Brenda Colvin, working wholly as a landscape architect. After Brenda’s retirement, Hal continued in partnership with Chris Carter.

His work with the practice has been varied, including rural industrial projects, public landscapes such as the National Botanic Garden of Wales and White Horse Hill, private parks and gardens and restoration of historic parks including the restoration of Capability Brown’s masterpiece at Blenheim Park (1981–2000) with Ralph Cobham. From 1992 until 2004, the practice was landscape consultant to the Inner London Royal Parks, carrying out numerous improvements including reintegrating Horse Guards Parade into St James’s Park, reorganising Hyde Park Lido, and in Regents Park, Hanover Island and St John’s Lodge Garden.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire, opened in 2000. The photo shows the Broad Walk which is the spine of the layout, looking down to the entrance from the location of buildings for visitors, new and old; on the right are old walled gardens restored now as new gardens. 

Hal’s life-long interest, stimulated through work as practitioner and committee member, to preserve important views and skylines in rural and urban settings and historic and modern contexts has resulted in the development of methodologies of significant practical application.

Gale Common Hill, Yorkshire, made of ash from coal fired power stations, now closed. Phase 1 of this totally artificial hill has been completed as shown, about one square km, with an emphasis on nature conservation and access for public recreation. Later phases are being quarried away as the ash is a valuable product for building purposes

In 1967 he became a member of the Institute of Landscape Architects (renamed the Landscape Institute (LI)) and was elected president of the LI from 1979 to 1981. He was the LI delegate to IFLA from 1980 to 1990 and again from 2002 to 2006, and later served as chair of the jury and selection committee for the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Trophy Design in 2014.

Restoration of the historic landscape at Castle Hill, Devon. Before restoration the mock castle on the hilltop was invisible and the lovely house hardly seen between intrusive trees.

He was Professor of Landscape Architecture at Sheffield University from 1984 to 1986, a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission, and served on the National Trust’s Architectural Panel. He still serves on the ICOMOS-IFLA International Committee on Cultural Landscapes (since 2000) and the ICOMOS-UK Cultural Landscapes and Historic Gardens Committee (since 2003).

He was IFLA representative to the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape Working Group from 2006 to 2009. He was Chair of the Penllergare Trust from 2000 to 2012, is patron of the London Gardens Trust, and is a trustee and past chair of the Landscape Foundation, established in 1992 by Geoffrey Jellicoe.

Hal is now retired from Colvin and Moggridge, the oldest landscape practice in the UK, and remains a consultant. In 2017, he published Slow Growth – On the Art of Landscape Architecture, conceived in response to the question, “What is landscape architecture?” This is an analytical account of projects, sharing his lifetime’s understanding and experience of what is important in landscape architecture and for people. Hal was awarded the OBE in 1986, the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour in 1999, the Landscape Institute Medal in 2002 and 2019, and the Europa Nostra Medal in 2003.