Covid doesn't stop student falling in love with NZ

The day LAA catches up with Aleksandra Roenning she’s struggling to find the words. She’s put in a late night putting the final touches to her final project for her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree at Copenhagen University and is exhausted.

“I’m really sorry,” she laughs, as she trails off half way through a sentence. “I lost my words. It was quite a rush to finish (her project). I’m Norwegian, I study in Denmark and then I also have the English on top.”

A New Zealand birthday celebration! Aleksandra turned 30 while here and her colleagues at Aitken Taylor made a suitable fuss.

The 30-year-old student is in her final year of a three year degree and jumped at the chance to do an internship at urban design consultancy Aitken Taylor in Blenheim. 

“We have an internship and bachelor writing process at the end of our bachelor's degree, so we get to try out some of the things we have learned throughout our studies, in a more real-life situation,” Roenning says. “Many of the students stay and work in Copenhagen, but it's a great opportunity to go abroad and learn how landscape architecture is carried out outside Denmark.” 

She arrived late February, just before New Zealand went into lockdown. “I didn’t think things would be this big. Everything happened very quickly.”

Despite lockdown Aleksandra managed to get some sightseeing in, visiting Isthmus Peak in Wanaka. Photo credit: Gerard O'Connell

Fortunately Roenning was able to get work trips in to Nelson and Dunedin before restrictions began. And then joined a friend in Wanaka for lockdown and worked from home. While operating remotely for Aitken Taylor worked well it was harder to make progress on her degree project, a parking lot in Nelson that occasionally experiences inundation. Roenning looked at how it could be turned into a new space for the people of Nelson, while also managing flooding. 

“It was a bit difficult to be totally new, not knowing the place you were working on, not doing site visits,” Roenning said. “I tried to use a lot of google maps, tried to get info from people who might know. But it definitely made a difference when lockdown stopped and I can make a visit to the place. So important to experience the environment, the people and the place you are designing for.

“I know you can’t always do that but I feel a very fresh student, I could feel the difference.”

Roenning says the biggest difference she’s noticed between New Zealand and Copenhagen is the amount of traffic we have. In Copenhagen she cycles everywhere, and places are set up for pedestrians. “You need cars to get around (in New Zealand) and then you need places to park them.”

While in New Zealand she’s been staying with work colleague Linnea Jacobsen. The pair are pictured at Gorge Creek on the West Coast of the South Island. Photo credit: Ian Ogden

Her internship over, Roenning is returning to Copenhagen now. But New Zealand’s been a great experience for her. 

“I have learned a lot. One of the things has been how to carry out Public Life Surveys (established by the danish architect Jan Gehl), and how these kinds of surveys, and data, gives you a clearer understanding of how people interact with public space. The data is really great for urban planning, as it gives you an understanding of the current situation, but also a direction, and great back up for why you decide to make the project you do.

“I’m really grateful that I could do this with everything that’s going on right now.”

Once back in Copenhagen she’ll begin her two year masters degree (Master of Science in Landscape Architecture). And because of her newly found love of New Zealand, she’s already looking into whether she can return here to write her thesis - if Covid-19 allows it.