People

Mark Darwent, Director, BA(Hons) DipLA CMLI MCIHort

Mark is at his best when resolving difficult design issues, finding elegant solutions to complex site criteria. Landscapes that house zoological collections are a particular passion, where the needs of the animal, keeper and visitor must all be met for a design to be successful. His work at Jersey Zoo (the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) started when he won a design competition to create a new Orang-utan enclosure. He soon moved on to reorganise the zoo masterplan to improve visitor circulation, as well as designing a number of major exhibits over several years. A personal highlight was a new enclosure for Madagascan Teal, which enabled this endangered species to breed for the very first time in captivity. But it is Mark’s intuitive understanding of 3D space, the visual and physical links that make a landscape work including the play of light and shade that make him such a capable landscape architect. Working for all types of client, on projects sometimes spanning decades, he has designed parks and gardens for a number of important properties. To take only one example, at Castletown Cox, one of the finest 18th Century houses in Eire, the surrounding landscape, once sugar-beet fields, is now parkland that rivals the wonderful architecture. Retirement developments are another area of specialist expertise, where Mark’s skills at maximising the landscape potential of a site can be instrumental in achieving planning consents. Mark’s natural talents are reflected in his pursuit of landscape and portrait photography, but it is with the masterplanning of a landscape that he achieves the deep satisfaction of knowing that he’s somehow captured a great composition.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225
m.darwent@colmog.co.uk

Clare Paige, Director, BSc(Hons) MSc DipLA CMLI

For Clare, landscape design and ecology go hand in hand. A botanist, landscape ecologist and manager by training, at both Regent’s Park and Jersey Zoo, she turned previously nondescript waterside areas into fascinating habitats for waterfowl collections – complete with exciting ornamental water features and luscious planting design. The original intent to restore Ox Lee Quarry to pasture hit a problem when it was discovered that there was not sufficient topsoil to do this. Clare’s restoration solution – placing the topsoil at different depths for different land-uses, if at all – resulted not only in pasture, but also plans for woodland, wetland and wildflower habitats. In estate masterplanning and the preparation of landscape conservation and management plans, Clare is pragmatic in her approach. She understands that modern land uses and management – like ecology or historic landscape design – are overlays that will shape the landscape design and the way it is looked after. She has a successful track record when it comes to submitting conservation and planning proposals that adapt historic landscapes to new uses. For example, Tackley Park in Oxfordshire benefited from her talents when her rigorous historic parkland plan, enthusiastically received by Natural England, resulted in another significant grant for country estate restoration work. Her desire to achieve thoughtful integration of new buildings into the landscape has led to an enthusiasm for the LVIA process and her appraisals have supported successful planning applications for development within the Chilterns AONB, the Cotswolds AONB, Areas of High Landscape Value and other designated landscapes.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0)1367 860225
c.paige@colmog.co.uk

Martin Bhatia, Director, BA(Hons) MA CMLI

Martin specialises in highly sensitive landscape settings. Early on in his career he successfully overturned the then National Rivers Authority’s objection to a proposed Sculpture Gallery and park on a floodplain site. How? By proposing a floodable landscape that celebrated the dynamic characteristics of floodwaters, shaping the ground to create sculptural forms that changed as the floods advanced and receded, thereby turning a design constraint into an opportunity. More recently he has used the same approach to help secure planning consent for new developments within landscapes designated for their scenic beauty including the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; Areas of Great Landscape Value; Green Belts and Metropolitan Open Land. Projects of particular note are the recently completed Beaverbrook and The Langley, both country house hotels and spas set in sensitive landscapes. Martin is also fascinated by the analysis of views and the design of skylines.  Working with Hal, he successfully fended off proposals for overly tall buildings that would spoil special views, or intrude upon areas of seclusion within the Royal Parks.  A citywide study of views and skylines in Edinburgh has informed a review of the city’s High Buildings Policy and now forms part of the planning authority’s guidance for developers. Recent work has focussed on delivering infrastructure improvements at several National Trust properties where he has acted as lead consultant.

London Office
The Old House, 2 Wellesley Court Road
Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1LE
+44 (0) 20 8688 9083
m.bhatia@colmog.co.uk

Hal Moggridge, Consultant, OBE VMH PPLI FIHORT RIBA AADIP

Working in the office of Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe inspired Hal to change professions, from architecture to landscape architecture, and his opportunity came in 1969 when Brenda Colvin asked him to join her as partner – she was in her 70s and he only 33. The success of the public enquiries that often preceded consent for the large industrial landscape projects the practice became renowned for can, in part, be attributed to Hal’s encyclopaedic knowledge of each and every site. To quote Hal himself: “if, under hostile cross examination, it is possible to name the species of a specific tree or remember the condition of a particular gate, then conviction is given to opinions about more strategic matters”. Indeed he fervently believes that a complete empathy with the site lies at the heart of successful landscape design. In the 1970s Hal played a key role in restoring the Capability Brown masterpiece at Blenheim, thus reviving the national interest in Brown and the Georgian natural landscape garden. Hal has never lost his feeling for the importance of views that his rediscovery of Brown inspired, and more recently, his pioneering work defining the spatial character of important urban views in Edinburgh and London has won him international acclaim. Like Brenda before him, Hal was honoured for his unique thinking and work in landscape architecture.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225
h.moggridge@colmog.co.uk

Bojana Koleva, Chartered Landscape Architect and BIM Coordinator

After graduating from university, Bojana had hands-on experience in gardening, both in the UK and abroad. Working closely with plants and observing their cycle of life allowed her to recognise the impact they have on people’s perception of a space. The opportunity to change our surroundings in a positive way, benefiting both people and nature, is what inspired Bojana to choose Landscape Architecture as way of contributing to society; with the aim of creating inspiring places and preserving landscapes for future generations. Since joining Colvin & Moggridge in 2017 Bojana has worked on wide spectrum of projects ranging from detailed planting plans to large scale designs for private estates and National Trust properties. This invaluable experience has made her part of the almost century long tradition of landscape design within the practice which she is proud to be a part of.

London Office
The Old House, 2 Wellesley Court Road
Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1LE
+44 (0) 20 8688 9083

Indi Bhatia, Office administrator/Landscape Assistant, MA Landscape Architecture

Indi graduated from the University of Greenwich. Her MA thesis exploring how culturally aware landscape architects can create spaces that reflect diverse communities formed the basis of a joint paper with Hal Moggridge that was presented at the 2001 IFLA conference in Singapore. She currently ensures the smooth running of the London office.

London Office
The Old House, 2 Wellesley Court Road
Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1LE
+44 (0) 20 8688 9083

Chris Carter, Consultant, DIPLA CMLI

A peripatetic childhood and his grandmother’s Devon garden instilled in Chris an acute awareness of places and the defining differences between them. He believes atmosphere is the key, but not always the acknowledged, element in landscape design and garden making. To every project Chris brings his vast knowledge of plants, planting and horticulture. Among his many undertakings has been a substantial coastal garden in Brittany for the holiday house of a German client who required maximum flower power during his holiday season. When Leeds Castle asked for a memorable new garden overlooking the Great Water, Chris made exuberant use of terrace levels, sunny walls and pergolas to fully exploit the brilliance of the setting. And the Rose Garden at Hyde Park Corner, once a featureless and waterlogged area, is now a fanfare and popular place to pause as one enters Hyde Park. Chris holds that a true expert is unafraid to admit to not knowing everything. He believes that the more you know in your field of expertise, the more you realise there is still to learn.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225
c.carter@colmog.co.uk

Quinn Craughwell, Associate, CMLI ASLA

Combining a background in natural sciences with a master of landscape architecture, Quinn utilizes scientific and natural systems as the foundation for thoughtful, sensitive designs. She enjoys working closely with her clients and with design teams to create landscapes that are the result of a shared vision with the most informed results possible. Having worked in the Mid-Atlantic and South Eastern regions of the United States for fourteen years, she was part of a design team for the prestigious Blackberry Farm resort in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, as well as developing the masterplan for a new vineyard and event centre in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. Both projects were examples of carefully integrating new development within an area of natural beauty. Since joining Colvin & Moggridge, she has been involved in returning a Grade I listed country house hotel back into a family home, where meadows, orchards and formal gardens are replacing austere lawns and oversized parking areas. Quinn is currently part of a multidisciplinary design team working on the major redevelopment of an expansive walled estate. The estate lost both its mansion house and formal gardens in the 1950s, but retains much of the 19th C. landscape features and notable garden structures. The setting of these historic structures will be revitalised by the return of a prominent mansion and formal gardens, as well as by estate wide projects such as parkland tree planting, estate fencing, drive realignments, and a conservation management plan.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225

Anna Burch, Senior Associate, BA(Hons) MA(Cantab) MA MSc CMLI

Anna is a highly qualified Landscape Architect, with a broad educational background in Geography, Architectural History, Construction Law and Arbitration. At Portland House, she designed and implemented a richly detailed urban garden for a young and active family, incorporating a walled kitchen garden, tennis court, croquet lawn and beautiful tree-house complex set in ornamental woodland. Working with Mark at Castletown House in Ireland, Anna oversaw major changes to the existing parkland including several miles of new drives and railings, new landforms and the addition of a 750m long re-circulated ‘river’ complete with stone bridges. And now, a little-used part of the Daylesford Estate is graced by a small stream, complete with waterfalls, lake and waterside planting that appear to have always been part of the Estate’s waterways. In all projects, whether working as part of a multi-disciplinary team on large scale, complex project, or creating detailed planting designs for a smaller private gardens, Anna brings huge experience, knowledge, and an intuitive sensitivity to the natural and built environment. Her aim is simple: to make every landscape design sit comfortably and elegantly in its surroundings.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225
a.burch@colmog.co.uk

Lindsay Sullivan, Senior Landscape Architect, BA(Hons) DipPSGD CMLI

Having worked in the graphic design industry for 10 years, Lindsay launched a career change in 2007 by studying garden design. She won the inaugural Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship the following year which included training at RHS Wisley, working closely with sponsors Bradstone and even appearing on Gardeners’ World. Lindsay won two RHS medals for show gardens during this time: a gold medal at the Malvern Autumn Show and a silver gilt for a small garden at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. Lindsay went on to further her plant knowledge through training at the Bristol Botanic Garden. Before joining Colvin & Moggridge in 2016, Lindsay was involved in projects both in the UK and abroad. Highlights include creation of a 10,000m² wildflower meadow; project management and implementation of a build for a boutique hotel restoration in Exeter; and design concepts for a facility investigating planting and water in arid climates for the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research in Kuwait City. Since joining the practice, Lindsay has run the implementation of a private memorial garden. The challenge of the exposed rural site with expansive views was to create an area of shelter, tranquil yet teaming with life whilst integrating naturally with the setting and maintaining the views. Another, very different, planting project involved the design of an extensive tree planting scheme for a new golf course at JCB world headquarters in Staffordshire. Views were fundamental to this design: blocking some and enhancing others depending on the direction of play.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225

Chloe Andrews, Landscape Assistant, BA(Hons)

With a background and undergraduate degree in Geography, Chloe was introduced to the underpinning relationship of people and landscapes. Through mobilities and cultural geographies, Chloe developed an interest in how and why different individuals relate to spaces on a local and global scale. This highlighted the importance of the design and layout for a variety of spaces, from spaces with deep rooted historical or cultural connections to spaces reflecting health and wellbeing. Chloe has a passion for the inclusion of sustainable green infrastructure within the built and natural environment, whilst preserving or enhancing landscapes with a historical or cultural importance. This inspired her to embark on a career in Landscape Architecture. Chloe has completed the Landscape Architecture conversion year, and is now studying for the MA whilst working at Colvin and Moggridge.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225

Joanna Wall, Associate, MA CMLI

Joanna believes every creation, however small and seemingly insignificant, needs its own story and narrative to become meaningful and alive. She is a chartered landscape architect and garden designer with 15 years experience of designing and implementing private, commercial, heritage and ecological landscapes across the UK and overseas. Over the past 10 years she has worked on over 60 projects ranging from small London gardens, through to the rejuvenation of walled gardens, masterplanning and garden design for large estates. Joanna has also created themed landscapes for glamping sites, designed new playgrounds and public parks. Joanna has had the most exciting career with fantastic opportunities to work on unusual and fun projects where she could collaborate with some of the best architects, landscape architects and garden designers. Notable examples include gardens for a new contemporary house designed to float on a lake, formal gardens of a Jacobean hall that used to be a cheese making factory and wedding venue to help the new owner to convert bare grounds into family gardens once again. She sees through intuition and her design for a HEADSPACE border won a gold medal at the BBC Gardeners World Show in 2019.

Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0) 1367 860225