The 2025 RDI address will be delivered by incoming Master Johanna Gibbons RDI, founding partner of J&L Gibbons and founding director of Landscape Learn.
Johanna is a Landscape Architect, Founding Partner of J&L Gibbons established in 1986 and Founding Director of social enterprise Landscape Learn. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art and is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and the RSA, and a Research Partner of Urban Mind with Kings College London with an international profile as design panellist, juror and speaker.
Jo was awarded Royal Designer for Industry in 2019 for her ‘pioneering and influential work combining design with activism, education and professional practice’. She is respected for routinely and seamlessly incorporating ecology, organismal biology, urban planning, conservation, community organising, the arts, and pedagogy, being driven by a keen awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss, and social need.
Her many award-winning, collaborative and innovative designs span over four decades of practice, mostly within the cultural and public realm sector. They range from urban regeneration, heritage and estate planning to artist collaboration and the landscapes of cathedrals and museums, including the Natural History Museum London, Inger Munch Pier Oslo, Horniman Museum and Gardens, St Albans Cathedral and The British Library.
Prior to the Address, 5 new Royal Designers for Industry (RDI) and 2 new Honorary Royal Designers for Industry will be welcomed to the Faculty.
The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ is awarded annually by the RSA to designers of all disciplines who have achieved sustained design excellence, work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society.
The RDI is the highest accolade for designers in the UK. Only 200 designers can hold the title. Non-UK designers may become honorary Royal Designers.
The ‘Royal Designers’ are responsible for designing the world around us, enriching our cultural heritage, driving innovation, inspiring creativity in others and improving our quality of life.
founding partner of J&L Gibbons and founding director of Landscape Learn
Image credit: Sarah Blee
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