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James G. McKay C/Diputaci, 460 4 P 08013 Barcelona Espaa

BARCELONA, 26 de Abril, 2012

Ms. Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT Parlement Europen - Rue Wiertz Altiero Spinelli 05F358 B-1047 Brussel Blgica

RE: The Inclusion of Landscape Architecture (Paisajismo) in the list of regulated professions of the EU. Dear Ms. CORAZZA BILDT My name is James McKay and I am Scottish (with both British and Canadian citizenship) and I have been periodically resident in Spain for the past several years, with the intention of permanent residence here. I am a Landscape Architect by profession, having completed a MA (Hons) in Landscape Architecture at Edinburgh College of Art, from which I graduated in July 2009. The duration of this course was five years in total. Of these five years, the first three and the final year are years of conventional study, while the fourth year requires practical placement in professional landscape architecture offices. In order to obtain this experience I worked in two different offices, one here in Barcelona and another on Hokkaido, Japan. In both offices I worked as an unpaid intern. I assumed practically all of the expenses of my degree personally. I attempted to obtain a Leonardo da Vinci scholarship, a programme which forms a part of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the EU, the objective of which is to favour European mobility, facilitating internships within European companies, thereby improving the aptitudes and competencies of the participants, and contributing to greater European competitiveness, business understanding and employability. However, due to the administrative deficiencies of my College at the point when funds should have been requested on my behalf (and that of any other students interested in taking part in the above scheme), I issed the opportu it to obtai a stude t gra t of appro i atel 4,000 for the fo urth year of my degree. As such, I had to assume the costs of this year as well, equating to thousands of pounds of investment in my education throughout five years. Due to the necessity to recover economically, and also the fact that I was urgently required to assist in our family business, I did not have the possibility to work as a Landscape Architect during the first year following my graduation. The ongoing economic crisis began to take effect seriously around this time, further reducing opportunities to find work in my profession of choice in Scotland. For personal reasons I am currently working as an English teacher in Barcelona, where, in addition to the economic crisis I have to confront the fact the profession of Landscape Architect does not exist in the form in which it does in other European countries, thereby generating a situation in which I may never recover the time and money invested in my professional training. When I say that I am a Landscape Architect (a Paisajista) , the majority of people think that I am a kind of painter. This profession, though practised by a minority, has been functioning for decades in many countries in the North of Europe, indeed as a regulated profession (in the UK, Germany, Holland, and others).

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Historically the design of urban spaces was undertaken by Architects and Engineers, but Landscape Architecture has been developed precisely to incorporate elements and processes which do not form a part of the conventional lexicon of Architecture (vegetation, sustainable urban drainage systems, and practical knowledge inherited from thousands of years of horticulture and garden design) in order to treat public space as a kind of environmental infrastructure which is integrated in the environment. Landscape Architecture considers the design of space by making reference to nature, and aims to design holistically, considering the space in question as a part of an ecosystem. In all professional sectors the tendency is towards specialisation - in Medicine there are specialists for every part of the body, for example; Engineering is divided into many different categories. However, all that is related to the design of structures, buildings and spaces, where specialisation would be logical given the fundamentally different nature of each area, is considered as one profession in Spain, up to the point where it appears to be protectionism by certain professional groups at the exclusion of others. It is common to hear that Landscape Architecture is not a true profession, but I would like to draw to your attention that an agreement was drawn up between the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and the International Union of Architects (UIA) where the distinct and complementary nature of each profession was recognised, along with the will of both to promote the quality of spaces and urban life by way of the practise of both professions. This agreement highlights the fundamentally cooperative nature of the professions of Architect and Landscape Architect, and as such I request that the Member States and the European Union act to accelerate the official and legal recognition of the profession at all European levels. The objective of this petition is to arrive at a more inclusive, more productive and more competitive situation, which would permit cooperation and multi-disciplinarity, instead of the current anachronistic situation, in which Landscape Architecture does not exist as a profession, in spite of the many valuable contributions which it can make; we see ourselves as being excluded from the professional job market immediately on crossing a political boundary. This is not an approach which favours neither mobility nor competitiveness and the reality is that Europe needs more than just Doctors and Architects: it needs all the professionals which it can train. Also, this situation draws the value of Higher education into question, if a qualification such as that which I possess has no value and becomes 'unofficial' on entering Spain. I emphasise that I do not want to demand that any Architect or Engineer should be denied the opportunity to design external spaces, parks and gardens; I only request that European Landscape Architects be granted the same opportunity to compete in equal conditions with them in the job market. I see the recognition of the profession of Landscape Architecture as a regulated profession of the EU as a fair and necessary step to permit that the quality of design of our urban environments and parks be of the highest possible standard. As such, I request that you support our petition and direct it to the pertinent bodies.

James McKay. Ma (hons) Landscape Architecture.

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James G. McKay C/Diputaci, 460 4 P 08013 Barcelona Espaa

BARCELONA, 26 de Abril, 2012

Sra. Maria BADIA i CUTCHET Parlamento Europeo - Rue Wiertz Altiero Spinelli 11G309 B-1047 Bruselas Blgica

RE: Inclusin de la Arquitectura Paisajista (Landscape Architecture) en la lista de profesiones reguladas de la UE. Estimado Sra. BADIA i CUTCHET Me llamo James McKay y soy Escocs (con ciudadana Britnica y Canadiense) y residente en el Reino de Espaa desde hace unos aos. Mi profesin es la de Arquitecto Paisajista con el ttulo Ma (hons) in Landscape Architecture por la Edinburgh College of Art, y me gradu de la carrera con ttulo de Licenciado en Julio de 2009. La duracin de esta carrera es de cinco aos en total. De estos cinco aos, tanto los tres primeros cursos como y el quinto y ltimo se realizan de manera presencial, mientras el cuarto ao consiste en la obtencin de experiencia prctica en despachos profesionales de Paisajismo. Para obtener esta experiencia trabaj en dos despachos diferentes como becario (es decir, sin percibir remuneracin alguna en ninguno de los dos) uno aqu en Barcelona y otro en Hokkaido, Japn. Asum prcticamente todos los gastos de la carrera personalmente. Intent obtener una beca Leonardo da Vinci, programa que se enmarca dentro del Programa de Aprendizaje Permanente de la UE y cuyo objetivo principal es favorecer la movilidad europea, posibilitando la realizacin de periodos de prcticas en empresas europeas, mejorando con ello las aptitudes y competencias de los participantes, y contribuyendo a una mayor competitividad, espritu empresarial y empleabilidad europeos. Sin embargo, debido a las deficiencias administrativas de mi Facultad a la hora de solicitar fondos de este programa, perd la posibilidad de acceder a la beca de estudiante de aproximadamente 4.000 para el cuarto ao de la carrera. Por tanto, me he hecho cargo de todos los gastos de mi educacin, incluido el cuarto ao de experiencia profesional, lo que equivale miles de libras esterlinas en inversin en mi educacin. Debido tanto a la necesidad de recuperarme econmicamente como a la necesidad de apoyar la empresa familiar, no tuve la posibilidad de trabajar como Arquitecto Paisajista en el ao despus de acabar la carrera. La crisis econmica empez en serio aproximadamente entonces, reduciendo las posibilidades de encontrar trabajo en este campo en Escocia. Por razones personales, ahora trabajo como profesor de lengua inglesa en Barcelona, donde, adems de la crisis econmica tengo que afrontar el hecho de que la profesin de Arquitecto Paisajista no existe como tal aqu y que es posible que nunca pueda recuperar mi inversin en tiempo y dinero en mis estudios profesionales. Al decir que soy Paisajista la mayora de la gente piensa que soy una especie de pintor. No es por nada, pero esta profesin, aunque minoritaria, lleva dcadas en funcionamiento en muchos pases del norte de Europa, incluso como profesin regulada (Reino Unido, Alemania, Holanda, Dinamarca, Francia, etc.)

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Histricamente el diseo de espacios urbanos ha sido la responsabilidad de arquitectos e ingenieros, pero el Paisajismo ha sido desarrollado precisamente para incorporar elementos y procesos que no forman parte del lxico convencional de la arquitectura (vegetacin, sistemas de drenaje sostenibles, y conocimientos prcticos heredados de milenios de experiencia en horticultura y de diseo de jardines) para tratar el espacio pblico como una infraestructura ambiental integrada en el medio ambiente. El paisajismo considera el diseo de espacios haciendo referencia a la naturaleza, y trata de disear holsticamente, considerando el espacio en cuestin como parte de un ecosistema. Esta es nuestra especialidad. En todos los sectores profesionales la especializacin es lo normal - en la medicina hay especialistas para cada parte del cuerpo, por ejemplo; la ingeniera se divide en ramas de aplicacin del conocimiento. Por lo que se refiere a algo tan obvio como el diseo de estructuras, edificios y espacios, donde la especializacin viene dada por la diferente naturaleza de cada sujeto, en Espaa se trata casi como una misma profesin, hasta un punto que parece proteccionismo de ciertos grupos profesionales y de la exclusin de otros. A menudo se escucha decir que la Arquitectura del Paisaje no es una verdadera profesin, pero me gustara destacar que existe un acuerdo entre la Federacin Internacional de Arquitectos Paisajistas (IFLA) y la Unin Internacional de Arquitectos (UIA) donde se destaca la naturaleza nica, diferenciada y complementaria de cada profesin y su voluntad de promover la calidad del espacio y de la vida urbana mediante el ejercicio de ambas profesiones. Este acuerdo destaca la naturaleza fundamentalmente cooperativa de las profesiones de Arquitecto y Paisajista, por ello solicito que los Estados y la Unin Europea acten para conseguir acelerar el reconocimiento oficial y legal de la profesin a todos los niveles europeos. El objetivo de esta peticin es llegar a una situacin ms inclusiva, ms productiva y ms competitiva, que permitira ms cooperacin y multidisciplinariedad, en lugar de la anacrnica situacin actual, en la que el Paisajismo no existe como profesin, a pesar de las innumerables y valiosas contribuciones que puede hacer; y en la que los que deseamos ejercer esta profesin, nos vemos excluidos del mercado de trabajo profesional comunitario al cruzar una frontera. Esta no es manera ni de favorecer la movilidad ni la competitividad y la realidad es que Europa necesita algo ms que Doctores y Arquitectos: necesita a todos los profesionales que puede formar. De otra manera, nos estamos engaando a nosotros mismos, hipotecando el futuro de nuestras instituciones de enseanza superior, que estn produciendo Grados y Msteres que no conducen a ninguna parte, en realidad Enfatizo que no quiero pedir que ningn arquitecto o ingeniero pierda el derecho de disear espacios externos, parques o jardines. Tan solo pido que se nos d la oportunidad a los Paisajistas europeos de competir en igualdad de condiciones en el mercado de trabajo comunitario. Veo el reconocimiento de la profesin de Paisajismo como profesin regulada dentro de la UE como justo y necesario para permitir que la calidad de diseo de nuestros ambientes urbanos y parques sea el mejor posible. Por ello le pido a Usted que apoye nuestra peticin y la dirija a los rganos pertinentes. James McKay. Ma (hons) Landscape Architecture.

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