Landscape Architecture in British Columbia dates back to early part of the 20th Century, with such notable designs as Beacon Hill Park and the neighbourhood of Uplands in Victoria. Since then, many singular projects such as Park & Tilford Gardens, Robson Square , Van Dusen and UBC Botanical Gardens, and Whistler Village demonstrated that local landscape architects offered skills well beyond a working knowledge of plant material and residential garden design.
The BC Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA) was founded in 1964 by a group of individuals with backgrounds in landscape architecture, construction, plant science, horticulture, nursery production, and architecture. The early members of the BCSLA were instrumental in shaping the way we work today, contributing to the development of the municipal approvals process, and actively participating in the founding of Advisory Design Panels in a number of municipalities. With the introduction of provincial legislation in 1968, landscape architecture became an essential component of the development process in many municipal jurisdictions.
