Max Norman

Died: January 31, 2015.

An appreciation.

On a day of heavy snowfall in the north-west Highlands, an avalanche swept an internationally experienced expert climber and mountaineer to his death.

Max Norman, an award-winning landscape architect and father of three, died on January 31 at Torridon, Wester Ross, before rescuers could reach him. He was 41. His companion Joe Caston survived.

The Norman family moved to Fintry, West Stirlingshire, from Winchester, when Max was four years old. After Fintry Primary and Balfron High School, he progressed to Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot Watt University gaining a first class honours degree in landscape architecture, a field which neatly encompassed his passion for the outdoors and acknowledged his undoubted artistic eye and talent. One of his tutors Eelko Hoofman described him as an exceptional student and a one-off. As a mark of respect Edinburgh University flew flags at half-mast on February 10, the day of the private funeral at Inverness Crematorium.

Max's postgraduate work took him around the world to Hong Kong, Sweden and the Netherlands and in the UK for practices including Gross Max, Land Use Consultants and Gustafson Porter, where he was an associate. He was part of the original design team for the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London's Hyde Park, and project landscape architect for the Garden of Forgiveness in Beirut.

It was at Gustafson Porter that he met his wife Charlotte Martin. Much to their later amusement, they initially clashed before discovering a passion and admiration for each other based on a shared love of architecture, landscape, music and adventuring. They married in 2005, and in 2006 moved to Suffolk and set up their own practice, AREA landscape architects.

The practice has steadily gained in reputation, carving itself a niche of design excellence with a pragmatic and personal touch. Current and recent projects include landscape design for The Livity School for severely autistic children (a 2014 Civic Trust Award winner), a new children's hospice for Noah's Ark in North London, and a design to improve the setting of a 18th century town hall and square in an historic market town in Northamptonshire. Since 2007 AREA have been working for Genesis Housing with a team led by architects Pollard Thomas Edwards on a major city centre redevelopment in Chelmsford, Essex, with design responsibility for streets, squares, gardens and terraces throughout the new city quarter.

Other close collaborators and clients have included architects Arup Associates, AHMM, LEEP, Haverstock, Land Securities, Hill Partnerships, a number of local authorities and occasional private clients who had a special project which caught their imagination. Charlotte and colleagues are working hard to ensure continuity of the very high standards that clients have come to expect.

Before their wedding Max and Charlotte completed the Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours. On a visit to Fintry this Christmas the couple nipped up and down a snowy Schiehallion in an afternoon. Their shared passion for the outdoors and their other interests provided a rich backdrop to a growing family and thriving business.

In his profession Max was rightly recognised as world-class and exceptionally talented. He was a devoted husband and father, a man who cared for his many friends and his community, with a passion for life and for his adopted beloved Highlands. He will be greatly missed.