Interview with Ir. Danyan Liu

Interview door Yixin Han

In this interview, we sit down with ir. Danyan Liu, lecturer and landscape architect, to hear her reflections on her personal journey during her studies and career, as well as her advice for students navigating their own paths. She graduated with an MSc in Landscape Architecture from TU Delft and is now embarking on her PhD while also teaching the Studio Regional Design course at the WUR. She has many years of experience working at various design offices, allowing her to offer unique perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in the field. In this conversation, she discusses how students can navigate their personal journey within the field of landscape architecture, the importance of gaining new experiences, and how to stay true to your passions while adapting to the demands of the profession.

Why did you choose to study landscape architecture? 

I like art, drawing, but also ecology and geography. And then landscape architecture is like a great blend of all those interests.

Why did you decide to move to the Netherlands for your master’s?

It’s also good to switch your environment. When you just start out it’s like cold water. Everything is so new. But after you are in it, you warm up, and you get really comfortable. Because if you are always in the same university, faculty, or company, it becomes your comfort zone. If you want to grow, you have to challenge yourself into a different way of thinking and surround yourself with a different vibe. If you are good, no matter which university you choose, you will do well. But it’s important to consider what experiences you want to have in life.

What were big challenges in during your master’s and what still sticks with you in your work today? 

When I was working my the master thesis, it was a line of struggling. I see the same thing with students now, especially when they’re working on large-scale projects. It’s challenging to translate research into design, to express it through spatial interventions, and to understand how everything is connected. That’s why I think it’s so important to see the landscape as a system of synergy—where different elements work together, not in isolation.

What is the biggest advice that you can give to students?

Don't get lost in research. I spent a lot of time reading papers, and it was overwhelming. My advice is to skip the deep dive into every paper and just focus on the conclusions. What's important is how you apply the research to your design. If it's not useful, leave it out. Keep it simple, focusing on spatial interventions. It’s also crucial to visualize your ideas because the images will form a collective vision. Don’t get lost in the writing—people want to see what your design actually looks like.

I find the idea that I don’t know everything confronting and even a bit scary, when I have to make a design knowing there are knowledge gaps. But do you think it is similar to biologists who might not fully understand all the mathematical or physical models they are working with in a fundamental way, but they are still working with it? 

Exactly, I think this is also the challenge of landscape architecture – It’s such an interdisciplinary field. It’s important to understand as a landscape architect what is unique about you. You are a designer, not a researcher. You don’t have to know everything. I can relate to you that you want to understand everything. And then it’s easy to get lost in all the details, all the papers. But then, you always need to go back to the intention for your design. What question do you want to answer? Then you really have a spine, guideline. You will have something to return to, to test your design and stay focused. In a bachelor, master, or PhD thesis, what really matters is how your research connects to your design and how well you ask and answer your research question.

I feel like this is especially hard on a regional scale. I feel like on a smaller scale, it’s much easier to find your focus and to maintain one rigid storyline.

Yeah, I see it a lot in student presentations—they want to do a bit of everything, and then they end up getting lost. Like, if you're designing a chair, it’s pretty straightforward: it just needs to be comfortable and functional, and then you’re done. But in landscape architecture, there are so many layers and parameters to consider. That’s why having a clear focus is so important. Let go of what doesn’t serve your design.

As a landscape architect, your job is to understand how things work in space. You’re shaping the landscape, and you use research and functional knowledge as tools—not as things you need to solve completely. So treat research as a means to support your design, not the end goal itself.

I often feel that my friends studying forest conservation or biology at WUR tend to focus more on problems than on solutions or opportunities. When I share design ideas or landscape interventions with them, they’re often skeptical or quick to say it’s not possible. They see a lot of issues in the landscape—like invasive species or the effects of climate change—and they can be quite pessimistic about the future. It sometimes feels like they’re more focused on what can’t be done.

As a designer, you have the ability to create this new imagination, and your duty is not to be practical like an engineer. Your duty is to create a new vision that has not been created before. It requires you to think outside the box, as opposed to someone who studied biology or forest management. They have to be really evidence-based, understand why does it works like that. You are in a sense a scientist, but also an artist. You are in between. Part of the education problem is encouraging students to think outside the box. People can tell you ten thousand reasons why something would not work. But you are the designer, you have to tell them, “This is possible, and it will work.” And then you create synergies, find out how things work in space. You open up new possibilities, leaving space for imagination. For biologists, they are constantly testing, does it work, does it not work? But you are creating a vision.

It is so complex. I feel like this is harder than when I was studying physics haha.

Really?

Haha, yeah, when I spend the whole day in the studio working on designs and then shift my focus to things like what to cook for dinner or how to manage my time, everything suddenly feels so much easier compared to designing a landscape... 

I think that’s why it’s so important. This creative thinking is doesn’t work in the way that when you work harder, you will get there. Sometimes the creative energy comes from a mental space in which you are more relaxed. It comes from stepping into other fields or taking a bit of distance, allowing your mind to make connections in unexpected ways.

Yes, usually my best ideas come not from within the established ideas of the field, but when I relate it to other seemingly random things, or when I think about things that are completely different. And somehow it makes sense when applied to the concept or design.

Yes, working longer, harder... sometimes it doesn’t really work to help you get new ideas. The creative process is really intuitive. You need some headspace to let creative ideas float around in your head. But when your head is really full and you have worked all day, you won’t be able to think properly. So I would say: go out, travel, go to museums. Of course this process is really personal, and everyone has their approach to come to their design. But for me, part of the inspiration comes from going out into the field. 

Have you also done your bachelor’s in the Netherlands? 

No, in China, at Beijing Forestry University. 

How is it actually to study landscape architecture in China? Is it very different from studying it in the Netherlands?

It’s very different. I think the focus is very different. When I think back about my bachelor, it was very practical and traditional. Landscape architecture in China is it not a discipline that goes beyond parks and gardens. The role of landscape architects in China is limited and not involved in policy making and developing visions. The development of the discipline of landscape architecture is still very decades back. I think the discipline in China needs to transform, and landscape architects need to play a bigger role. The role of landscape architects in the Netherlands was also much more limited 50 or 100 years ago. It really expanded through projects like Room for the River, where landscape architects became more involved in regional planning and policymaking. In China, though, the focus is very practice-oriented. You’re often just following a project that a professor has been commissioned to do, with students working as free labour. The competition among students is intense, and it's more about getting the job done than pushing creative boundaries.

Do you have any career advice for students that are thinking about their path for the future? 

Don’t be afraid to make a choice. And don’t feel like you will miss out, because no matter what path you choose, you always learn through the journey. For example, you don’t have to rush to continue your master, but take some time to try something different, to do what you like, enjoy life, go travelling. Or you can also work somewhere. And then, when you have all these diverse experiences, and come back to the studio, you will better understand the lines you're drawing on the map, how it is related to reality. How other people experience and talk about places, how the things that we are teaching here has a relation with things in the field. The more you explore and gather different experiences, the more mature your understanding becomes. Take your time to explore different cultures, environments and situations. It will enrich your design thinking. 

As a student, you are still experimenting with what you like. It’s important to follow your heart. You can only design something that resonates with you. If something doesn’t speak to you, you cannot make it. Otherwise it’s really twitched, somehow it’s a bit itchy, not right. You can only design when it comes from your heart. When you have passion for it, your design becomes really strong. Sometimes you see that people are tired and they are drained from the work. And then it really shows in the designs, it becomes flat. It’s important to keep your vitality for design, and how you are as a person. It’s good to learn from each other, but at the same time you need to decide what you are going for. At the end it’s up to you. It’s your life. If you really want it, no one can stop you.

Sometimes I feel like I need to channel my inner child to come to a good design. Just play around a little bit, don’t take it too seriously.

Exactly. I believe that you can teach everyone to create, that everyone has this creative power. If you look at kids, they are always so creative. But when we grow a bit old, we have so many doubts, and we have so many voices conflicting with each other – this is not good, that is not good – and we get lost in them.

But especially in our practice it’s important to be experimental and have different experiences. I feel like during my master’s, I got a bit tired of studying. I found out that when took a bit of a break after, and then come back to it after some time, with different life experience, and suddenly things make more sense! It’s important fuel your energy and not to force yourself to do things. If you feel tired, it’s important to take a break.

Is it like when you read a book and don’t really like or understand the words, but when you come back after a few years and read the same passage, suddenly it resonates with you because you have grown and matured? 

Yes! You will see different things. Because you change. So your designs also change when you have different experiences.