Landscape planning in urban areas

Workshop 3

Location: Ås, Norway
Dates: 12–13 and 27 February 2024
Host: NMBU and ANLA (Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn, Lei Gao, and colleagues)

The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and its Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture (ANLA) organized the third workshop as an online event, which focused on the changing profession of landscape architecture in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when urbanization and environmental issues became increasingly dominant topics.

The participants of the workshop observed the landscape architecture practitioners and trends of that period from two different perspectives.

Read the Insights Public symposium

Panel discussion, © Ingrid Merete Ødegård

Workshop part 2, © Lei Gao

Insights into the profession’s history

Archival studies

In this part of the workshops the trends in landscape architecture in the 1960s and 1970s were explored using archival material. Altogether, seven presentations from NELA members and guest speakers—Nina Marie Andersen (NO), Bernadette Blanchon (FR), Niek Hazendonk (NL), David Jacques (UK), Ulrike Krippner (AT), Indra Purs (LV), and Jan Woudstra (UK)—showed the perspective of their country and included trends, notable landscape architects, projects, and international cooperations.

Insights into the profession’s history

Oral history studies

Unwritten sources like the memories of those who worked in the field of landscape architecture in that decade can only be explored through conversations and interviews with the individuals concerned. These valuable oral histories can deepen the understanding of the context and influences of that period, enable an exchange of experiences, and stimulate a dialogue between different generations. With this in mind, four senior landscape architects and educators were invited and interviewed by Anne-Katrine Geelmuyden:

Mette Eggen (retired associate professor at NMBU and Riksantikvaren, NO)
Roland Gustavsson (retired professor at SLU, SE)
Kine Halvorsen Thorén (retired professor at NMBU, NO)
Einar Berg (Norconsult, NO)

Later all the participants, including staff from the School of Landscape Architecture at the NMBU and NELA members (online) were invited to join a discussion. The conversation was recorded to preserve the oral material for the future.

Public symposium

“Landscape Architects as an Environment’s Healer? Before and Now”

More than 140 participants joined the public symposium organized as part of the third workshop on 27 February 2024. The thematic background and the title of the symposium allude to the 13th IFLA Congress “The Gardener of the Earth Is the Environment’s Healer”, held in Brussels in 1972. More than 50 years have passed since then, but the environmental issues are still a global challenge and a key topic for landscape architects.

The symposium aimed not only to connect historical research with contemporary debates about the role of landscape architects in a time of environmental crises but also to share the knowledge with a broader audience. Nina Berre and Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn moderated the event and also gave a talk. Altogether five speakers presented and discussed the trends and challenges of landscape architecture in the 1960s and 1970s as well as shared their approach to contemporary landscape architecture and future vision for the profession:

Peder Anker (philosopher, professor of history of science, New York University, USA): “Can Friluftsliv be a Healer?” (based on his book Livet er best ute: Friluftslivets Historie og filosofi [Life Is Best Outside: The History and Philosophy of Outdoor Life])
Nina Berre (architectural historian, NMBU, NO): “Rhetoric and Practice: Shifts in the Norwegian Architectural Profession 1960–1970”
Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn (landscape architect and historian, NMBU, NELA member, NO): “From Garden Art to Landscape Architecture: Trends in Norway during the 1960s and 70s”
Johanna Gibbons (landscape architect, founding partner of J&L Gibbons, UK): “Taking Care”
Dirk Sijmons (landscape architect, senior consultant, co-founder of H+N+S, NL): “Four Escape Routes from Modernism”
Luca Csepely-Knorr and Imke van Hellemondt (both co-leads) joined the speakers for a final panel discussion

You can find more detailed information about this workshop in the ANLA blog article “Changing Profession of Landscape Architecture in the 1960s–70s” by Lei Gao and Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn