Day in the Life: Sarah Salerni
Take a glimpse into a day in the life of a Graduate Landscape Architect at Spiire.
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What does a day in the life of a Spiire Graduate Landscape Architect look like?
Melbourne Grad Sarah Salerni shared a glimpse into the highlights of her day.
First stop: upstairs to the kitchen breakout zone to kick start the morning with an essential coffee and some casual conversation with the broader Spiire team.
Sarah then began working on AutoCAD designs and drawings for two of her current projects – an open space corridor and a multi-stage road upgrade – with her team leader Azin Emampour on hand to share some pointers.
Since joining Spiire in 2023, Sarah’s knowledge of pragmatic design has grown through on-the-job learning across a range of projects, including streetscapes, retirement villages and industrial estates. Across these different projects, Sarah enjoys seeing the impact these designs have on the community she works and lives within.
“One of the reasons I always wanted to become a Landscape Architect is the reward when you see the community enjoying and using the designs we have developed. Not only is it important to sustain our environments for the long-term, but this ensures that we are designing for future generations,” she says.
In the afternoon, Sarah joined her team in a master planning workshop for an urban plaza within a metropolitan activity centre, which will serve as a floodable skate and BMX facility. Shadowing experienced consultants, she was involved in conversations about integrating water sensitive urban design and responding to cultural heritage, water management and sustainability goals across the project.
“I enjoy concept designing and being able to strategically plan designs according to the brief. Design workshops are a great opportunity for me to understand other people’s thinking and why certain elements will or won’t work,” she says.
Sarah and her close-knit team also enjoyed an afternoon coffee run together. She values working together with her team, whether having a laugh, helping each other learn, or sound boarding ideas and sharing fresh perspectives to inform their designs.
“A real highlight for me is working within such a supportive and talented team. It is essential that we lean on each other to grow as Landscape Architects and share each other’s expertise and knowledge to form different perspectives to inform our designs,” Sarah says.
