AIDAN J. FFRENCH MILI, REGISTERED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTNature Based Placemaking Urban Placemaking |Urban Forestry A past president of the Irish Landscape Institute (ILI),
Aidan led a distinct rise in the profession’s growth and national profile (2005-2009), as the first landscape architect on Ireland’s leading current affairs radio show,
Morning Ireland (RTE Radio 1). He wrote
‘Manifesto for Irish Landscapes’ (ILI, 2007), calling on the State to make significant commitments to landscape and parks policies, legislation and the profession.
The document, alongside ILI’s lobbying activities led to the first legal definition of “landscape” in Irish law (2010). Ahead of the 2007 general election, he co-authored the
Irish Urban Forum’s cross-disciplinary manifesto ‘A Better Quality of Life for All’, which lobbied all political parties on a range of critical issues. These remain deeply relevant and urgent today.
Aidan’s Master’s thesis on
urban landscape hydrology led to a strong interest in Sustainable Drainage, especially Rain Gardens. With 35 years in public and private sectors, including spells with Mitchell & Associates and the London Borough of Ealing,
his portfolio comprises design projects, parks master-planning, urban planning, play provision, social-housing and strategies for Green Infrastructure and Trees/Urban Forestry. In 2022, Aidan retired from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (Dlr Parks & Landscape Services), after 28 years working on a diverse portfolio that concluded as project manager/lead author of the Dlr’s new
Urban Forestry Strategy (2022-2031).Aidan remains active in advocating Landscape Architecture and quality Urban Placemaking.
He focuses on Nature-based Solutions and Urban Forestry, applying
co-design, ethical philosophies and best practices. In 2023 he established a small private consultancy, NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS, as a largely pro-bono professional services consultancy. Aidan is also an active member of several environmental NGOs, including CRANN, the Native Woodland Trust,
Rewilding Wicklow and
An Taisce. Central to his activity is his role as a Laudato Si’ Animator (Catholic Climate Movement, ref. Pope Franci’s seminal ‘eco-encyclical’, Laudato Si’ - On Care for Our Common Home, 2015). He has spoken at Irish and international conferences, and written articles for several journals, including CRANN and Village magazines. He is currently writing the first book on Irish Urban Forestry.
An outdoor enthusiast (hiking, sea-swimmer), photographer, singer and amateur actor, when not designing places, you’ll find Aidan relaxing in one, usually by/in the sea!
www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-ffrench-a7405417/www.instagram.com/aidanjff/
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