Edward Flaherty Class of 1964
Landscape Architect & Author Three decades of international landscape architecture across the Middle East, North Africa and Western Europe
The International School of Brussels
Edward Flaherty | Class of 1964 After an international career as a landscape architect, working and living across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the USA, Edward Flaherty has turned his attention to writing. He recently completed his six-novel series, The Landscape Architect. While the books are not a memoir, they draw on the same geography and experiences as his expatriate career, combining landscape architecture, cultural insights, romance, resilience and what Edward describes as “landscape mysteries.” You recently completed your six-novel series, The Landscape Architect. What inspired you to write it? My international career as an expatriate landscape architect prompted my focus on several different readers: people who enjoy exotic travel adventures and unusual landscape and cultural insights; professionals wondering about international work; young adults on their way to and through university; and people who enjoy romance and how personal resilience can overcome emotional shocks and hardships. The stories are based on real-life events, sprinkled with Thurberesque touches. And the protagonist, Christopher Janus, is on a journey — a quest that he didn’t know he was on. Looking back, how did your time at ISB shape the person and professional you became? I did not know anything about “international” before my senior year at ISB. International life experience at ISB gave me the confidence to be “international.” The students and instructors, despite their diverse origins, showed by example that dedication and commitment to hard work and learning could actually be fun and inspiring. They provided the root strength, the firm foundation on which I built my professional and expatriate career.
How did living in Brussels and attending ISB shape your view of the world? I boarded with a French-only-speaking family in Boitsfort and, together with my French language courses at ISB, that set me up for successes both in Tangier and Istanbul. It opened the world to me in a way I had never imagined — gave me personal confidence and enabled a more broad-minded approach to life. What is the first memory that comes to mind when you think of ISB? Two memories. First day at Denyer, fully decked out in his British academia robes, bellowing, “Take your hands out of your pockets!” Later, in the springtime of our senior year, Bernie Robinson and I skipped class to play golf at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium. In 1963, the green fees were essentially free for foreign visitors, including access to all facilities. We walked those 18 holes with no other golfers — a first step to my becoming a landscape architect. Isn’t it strange — what causes decisions and changes in life? Was there a particular person or moment that made you feel at home at ISB? ISB never was my proper home because my parents lived in Hasselt. But my English and homeroom teacher, Mrs. Johnson, wrote on one of my projects that I had good writing skills — well, maybe they have in time deserted me. You should read any of my books and then tell me! But at the time, her encouragement made me feel at home. What does ISB mean to you today? It gave me the confidence and foundation to become “international” — something I knew nothing about before coming to ISB. That experience stayed with me throughout my career and ultimately found its way into my writing.
The International School of Brussels
THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
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