ARE YOU A LANDSCAPE ARCHIECT
- Landscape Practice Class
- Feb 27, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 3, 2020
"Simon Go" forward the information about the key point ralated to the standrad, rules or associsation in the trajectory of the landsacpe career life in HK. The game go through five stage to show what information or points you need to pay attention or complete by creating a senario for everyone to be present on that to understand.
Career, registration, HKILA
STORYLINE
Stage 1: MLA student
mission: to graduate
1a. HKILA membership categories
total 7 memberships - Student Members shall not be eligible to vote nor be eligible for appointments to the Council, but shall be eligible for appointments to committees – benefit: familiarise themselves with the Institute's operation and encourage participation in matters relating to landscape architecture profession
1b. HKILA accredited courses
HKU MLA program is the only local course accredited by the HKILA (PDLA or Higher Diploma/BALS is not enough – they can only be Graduate Members)(suggestion: ask the class a yes/no question – whether HKU MLA is the only local course accredited by the HKILA, if answer correctly, Simon will graduate from the program with high GPA; if not, he will graduate with low GPA/need to retake the final year)
Stage 2: Fresh Grad
mission: to get the right job & experience, be a Associate Members for writing the PPE
2a. Learn about LARB & LARO
The Landscape Architects Registration Board (LARB) of Hong Kong was established on 10 September 1997 under the Landscape Architects Registration Ordinance - Cap. 516 (LARO). The Ordinance is written to provide for the registration of professional landscape architects and disciplinary control of the professional activities of registered professional landscape architects, and for related matters.
2b. Eligibility for admission to the PPE(PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE EXAMINATION)
To be accepted as a candidate for taking the PPE an applicant must have:
attained the age of 23,
been a Associate Member of the HKILA for at least 12 months,
an accredited academic qualification in Landscape Architecture (for details see the Accreditation Policy Paper)
completed a minimum of two years approved professional practice experience in the field of Landscape Architecture, of which one year must have been undertaken within the Territory Hong Kong immediately prior to taking the PPE and, submitted a Practical Training Record (PTR) covering the two years period described under (d).
Stage 3: Associate Member PART I
mission: pass the Part I “written test” of PPE – always in November
3a. Eligibility for admission to the PPE
To be accepted as a candidate for taking the PPE an applicant must have:
attained the age of 23,
been a Associate Member of the HKILA for at least 12 months,
an accredited academic qualification in Landscape Architecture (for details see the Accreditation Policy Paper),
completed a minimum of two years approved professional practice experience in the field of Landscape Architecture, of which one year must have been undertaken within the Territory of Hong Kong immediately prior to taking the PPE and,
submitted a Practical Training Record (PTR) covering the two years period described under (d).
3b. Examination Contents
Part I - Written Examination of the PPE - shall consist of:
50 Multiple Choice Questions and,
10 Essay/Note type Questions in pairs, offering a choice between “either” one “or” the other.
The candidates are expected to answer all of the questions under (a) and five of the questions under (b) within a time limit of 3 and 1/2 hours.
3c. Examination Syllabus
The syllabus of the examination is contained in the following general headings:
Section 1 – Professional responsibilities, liabilities, and ethics
Section 2 – Legal system and development control
Section 3 – Professional practice management
Section 4 – Construction contracts, and pre-tender & tendering procedures
Section 5 – Contract administration
Stage 4: Associate Member PART II
mission: pass the Part II “oral exam” of PPE – always in January & become a landscape architect
4a. Portfolio of Professional Practice Experience
Candidates will be required to prepare a portfolio of their professional practice experience and present it in the oral examination. The project portfolio will need to illustrate projects / assignments that they had worked on, and to highlight the practical experience they had gained with respect to the five sections of the syllabus of the PPE.
4b. Q&A Interview - a 30-minute interview with Examiners
The object of this Code of Professional Conduct (Code) is to promote the standard of professional conduct and self-discipline required by members of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects (The Institute). All members of the Institute, regardless of their types of membership, are governed by its Constitution, Bye-Laws and Code of Professional Conduct; they shall conduct themselves insuch a manner as will not prejudice either the objects of the Institute as set out in the Constitution or the reputation of the Institute.
4c. Can Simon call himself a “landscape architect” now?
Just because you are a Member of HKILA, doesn’t mean you are automatically registered by LARB. To be an RLA, you need to make a separate application to LARB. HKILA is a professional institute while LARB is a registration authority for landscape architects. As reconfirmed by LARB in 2012, before getting registered, LARB requires you to gain a further 1-year of “relevant professional experience” [LARO S.12(1)(b)] after you have become a Member of HKILA. Without such experience, LARB will not register you and you are still not yet a “landscape architect” in Hong Kong.
The law requires you to get registered before you become a landscape architect. If you choose not to register, you are not a landscape architect in Hong Kong, and you cannot carry out tasks specifically required by the Government, such as Self-Certificate of Compliance (SCC). Also, your clients will lose a layer of protection should you commit a disciplinary offence, and this will reduce your creditability and chance of employment.
Stage 5: RLA
mission: renew membership each year)host: as Simon became a RLA in Hong Kong, he has then received a better offer in another landscape studio, and now he works in a new office with new responsibilities
5a. Continuing Professional Development
CPD shall be "the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional and technicalduties throughout the landscape architect's working life."
CPD is a mandatory requirement of all HKILA Fellow and Professional Members starting from 1st April 2003. CPD is not mandatory of Associate Members but members are required to submit their Personal CPD Plan with each membership renewal and are strongly urged to participate in full CPD activities as this will substantially contribute to their progression to Professional membership.
The points scheme for measuring CPD activity is:
Level 1 activity category 2.0 points per contact hour
Level 2 activity category 1.0 points per contact hours
Level 3 activity category 0.5 points per contact hours
Members are required to complete a minimum of 12 CPD points during each calendar year.
5b. Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest can arise between yourself and your client either directly or through the actions of a third party. Typical situations where conflicts of interests may arise include :
Holding an interest in another party by which you might gain unfair advantage (direct or indirect) contractor / neighbour / supplier / client
Having privileged information – e.g. undisclosed information on adjoining sites which might benefit planning submissions, or privileged information regarding the fortunes of your client which might be used for financial gain
Endorsement of proprietary products in return for a fee or discount on the product
Contractor alternative of using a cheaper product when fees are percentage based (more time for yourselves in assessing and redesigning / less fee)
Basic premise is that you should anticipate potential conflicts of interest and ensure that the situation is known to all relevant parties. If you think a potential conflict of interest might arise during the course of the work you should notify your client / main consultant of all the relevant details and recommend a course of proceeding that addresses the potential conflict.
5c. Limitation Ordinance
There is always a deadline for starting a civil action against another. The deadline to start a civil action is prescribed in the Limitation Ordinance. A civil action for breach of a commercial contract must be instituted within 6 years from the date on which the breach of contract happened (section 4(1)(a) of the Limitation Ordinance, Cap. 347 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Action for employees' compensation/work-related injuries must be brought within 2 years from the date of the accident that causes the injury ( section 14(1) of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, Cap. 282).
Despite the time limits set out in the Limitation Ordinance, you should always start your claim as early as possible and should not wait until the last minute.
5d. Copyright
Under the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528), the copyright of all designs/special innovations/artwork/ photos etc. is vested with the designer or originator of the work, unless expressly agreed within the contract. Clients usually only have the right to use the design for the project that it was designed for
i.e. they can’t carry forward into other projects without permission / payment of any required fee.
5e. More questions regarding Professional Liabilities of a Landscape Architect(?)
Corruption and Bribery
Liability for Breach of Contract
Vicarious Liability: liability for wrongdoing can, under certain circumstances, be transferred from an employee to their employer.
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