Landscape architecture is emerging as a promising career in modern India, blending design, ecology and sustainable urban development.
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DIMAPUR — For many in Nagaland, the term “landscape architect” might sound unfamiliar. Yet whenever you enjoy a public park, school garden, or scenic walkway, you are experiencing the work of landscape architects. These professionals design outdoor spaces – like parks, gardens, streets, and campuses – to make them beautiful, functional, and sustainable.
What is landscape architecture?
Landscape architecture is the professional field dedicated to planning and designing outdoor environments. In simple terms, it means designing everything outside of buildings – parks, plazas, gardens, roadsides, and even natural restoration sites – so that these spaces are both useful and attractive.
Many people mistakenly think landscape architecture is only about gardening. In reality, it is a regulated design profession (like architecture or civil engineering) that requires specialised training. Landscape architects often work on diverse projects alongside architects and urban planners.
What do landscape architects do?
Landscape architects work on a wide range of projects, designing any kind of outdoor space where people and nature interact. Some typical projects and tasks include:
Public parks and gardens: Planning city parks, botanical gardens, and playgrounds. This involves deciding the placement of pathways, lawns, flower beds, benches, and fountains to create a pleasant space for recreation.
Campuses and institutional grounds: Designing the outdoor layout for school and college campuses, hospital complexes, and corporate offices. Landscape architects ensure there are comfortable walkways, green courtyards, and shade-providing trees, creating a healthy environment for students, patients, or workers.
Urban streetscapes: Beautifying city streets and neighbourhoods. This can include planting roadside trees, adding street furniture (like benches and lamps), and creating small “pocket parks” or public squares. These elements make urban areas more walkable and visually appealing.
Residential landscaping: Designing gardens and open areas for housing colonies or private homes. Landscape architects might plan lawns, driveways, kitchen gardens, boundary plantations, and drainage in a way that enhances the property and manages rainwater.
Ecological restoration: Restoring and rehabilitating damaged environments. For example, a landscape architect may help turn a former landfill or mining site into a public park or restore a polluted urban lake by redesigning its edges with wetlands and walking paths. This work improves biodiversity and environmental health.
Regional planning and infrastructure: Contributing to large-scale projects. Landscape architects are often part of teams for riverfront development, highway and railway corridors, or even new townships. They create master plans to integrate green spaces and mitigate environmental impacts of development.
Landscape architecture in India
India has a rich heritage of landscape design, even if it wasn’t called “landscape architecture” in the past. Garden art has a long tradition in India, reaching a peak during the Mughal era. The Mughal emperors of the 16th–17th centuries built famous gardens – such as the gardens around the Taj Mahal and the Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir – that carefully arranged water channels, terraces, and plantings in geometric layouts. These historic gardens were designed to evoke paradise on earth, blending natural beauty with cultural symbolism. Traditional Indian gardening practices (like the charbagh four-part garden layout or sacred groves protected by communities) show that designing with nature has deep roots in Indian culture.
However, landscape architecture as a formal profession in India is relatively new. The first academic programme in landscape architecture in India was established only about four decades ago. In the 1970s, the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) in New Delhi launched India’s first Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. Over time, other institutions followed – by the early 2000s, postgraduate programs existed in a few places, such as New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Pune. This means that each year, only a limited number of trained landscape architects enter the workforce.
To support this emerging profession, practitioners formed the Indian Society of Landscape Architects (ISOLA) in May 2003. ISOLA is the national association that represents landscape architects across India, advocating for the profession and providing a platform for knowledge exchange. ISOLA has been creating awareness about this profession through conferences, awards, and outreach.
How to become a landscape architect in India
In India, landscape architecture is typically a postgraduate specialisation within the broader field of architecture or planning. Here’s a general pathway:
Complete 10+2 with Science: Students should take science stream in higher secondary (Class 11–12), ideally with Mathematics, since architecture programmes require maths. After 12th, you usually need to clear an entrance exam for architecture (such as NATA or JEE Paper 2 for B.Arch programmes).
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or a related field: The most common route is to do a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), a 5-year degree offered at many colleges in India. Architecture undergraduate programmes introduce you to design principles, building technology, and basic site planning.
Some universities also accept related backgrounds (like a Bachelor’s in Planning, Civil Engineering, or Horticulture) for further studies in landscape architecture, but B.Arch is the standard route. During your bachelor’s, you might take introductory courses in landscape design or do internships that give exposure to environment-focused projects.
Pursue a Master’s in Landscape Architecture (M.Arch – Landscape): To become a professional landscape architect, a master’s degree in landscape architecture is highly recommended (and often required). In India, this is usually a 2-year postgraduate programme that you can apply for after completing a B.Arch or an equivalent degree. Admission typically involves an entrance exam or interview; some exams for M.Arch programmes include the GATE or CEED, or university-specific tests. Well-known colleges offering M.Arch (Landscape Architecture) include the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi; CEPT University, Ahmedabad; Anna University, Chennai; Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai; and a few others in cities like Pune, Bengaluru, and Lucknow. Seats in these programmes are limited, so it’s a competitive but rewarding pursuit.
Licensing and professional registration: In India, architecture (including landscape architecture) comes under the purview of the Council of Architecture (COA). A person with a B.Arch and M.Arch (Landscape) can register as an architect with COA. There isn’t a separate licence for landscape architects yet – most are simply registered architects who specialise in landscape. However, joining professional bodies can boost credibility. Many landscape architects become members of ISOLA, which helps with networking and staying updated. ISOLA also has a Student Chapter for those still in college. Membership in international bodies like the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) is another avenue for global exposure.
Skills development: Apart from formal degrees, aspiring landscape architects should build certain skills. These include graphic skills (sketching, CAD drafting, 3D modelling) to communicate designs, knowledge of plants and ecology, creativity in solving design problems, and an understanding of construction techniques. Since the work involves coordinating with clients, contractors, and government authorities, good communication and project management skills are important too. Internships during your studies are very useful – for example, working at a landscape design firm or with a senior landscape architect will teach you practical aspects like how to prepare working drawings or select plant species for a project.
Career prospects and opportunities
The career outlook for landscape architects in India is gradually expanding, thanks to increasing awareness of environmental issues and demand for better-planned cities. However, it is still a niche profession, which means there is a lot of scope for new talent. Let’s look at the current scenario:
Growing demand: India is urbanising rapidly, with massive investments in real estate and infrastructure. India currently has around 1,90,000 registered architects, and the demand is projected to require many more architects in the next few years. Within this broad need, the role of landscape architects is becoming more prominent as developers and governments recognise the importance of green and open spaces.
Limited talent pool: Because specialised landscape architects are still few in number, there is less competition in this field compared to general architecture. ISOLA’s membership of just a few hundred professionals across India gives an idea of how small the community currently is. This means young landscape architects often have an opportunity to make a mark quickly.
Diverse employment opportunities: A qualified landscape architect in India can work in various settings. Private design firms are a major employer – these include dedicated landscape consultancies and multidisciplinary architecture/engineering firms. Working in a design studio, one might handle projects for different clients like municipalities (for city parks), real estate developers (for landscaping around residential or commercial complexes), or institutions (for campus design). Government agencies are another avenue. Town planning departments, urban local bodies (like city corporations), development authorities, and public works departments sometimes hire landscape architects to plan public parks, road medians, institutional campuses, and tourism landscapes.
Salary and Growth: In terms of salary, landscape architecture is a specialised field, but initial pay scales are often similar to those of architects. Entry-level salaries for fresh postgraduates might start a bit lower, especially if working in smaller firms or on contract. However, with experience, the earnings can increase significantly. Senior landscape architects who lead projects or work in large multinational firms can earn salaries on par with senior architects. If one starts their own practice, income can vary widely depending on the size and number of projects.
Looking ahead
The challenges of the 21st century – from rapid urbanisation to climate change – are pressing issues in our country. Cities are expanding, often at the cost of green cover. At the same time, extreme weather events like heat waves, heavy rains, and floods are becoming more common. In this context, landscape architects are uniquely equipped to help cities and communities adapt and thrive. They plan green infrastructure that can reduce heat, absorb floodwater, and create healthier environments.
Moreover, India is placing greater emphasis on sustainable and inclusive growth. There is a growing recognition that development must go hand in hand with environmental stewardship. Government programmes and public awareness are aligning in favour of cleaner, greener cities. Under the Smart Cities Mission, many Indian cities (including smaller cities in the Northeast) have started projects to improve liveability by adding parks, open gyms, tree-lined streets, and better pedestrian spaces. Even in Nagaland, we can see this trend.
Another area for future growth is ecotourism and regional landscape planning. States like Nagaland, with their stunning natural landscapes, can benefit from landscape architects when developing tourist facilities like viewpoints, nature trails, and park facilities in an environmentally sensitive way. By planning footpaths, interpretive centres, and landscaping that blends with the local ecology, landscape architects can help promote tourism while conserving nature. Similarly, as India invests in highways, industrial parks, and new cities, there will be a need to address their environmental footprint.
As cities continue to grow and the challenges of sustainable development intensify, landscape architects will play a pivotal role in shaping a balance between development and nature. For the school and college students of today, this field presents an exciting opportunity to make a tangible, positive difference in the world around us.