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Quito blog 3: The emancipation of Ecuadorian landscape architecture
_COLUMN_ door Abel Coenen Ecuador is a country with some of the most diverse landscapes and environments in the world. However, its practice of landscape architecture is relatively young and underdeveloped. Instead of a mature profession as it is for instance in the Netherlands, in Ecuador landscape architecture is often considered as a subcategory of architecture. Yet, there are indications that Ecuadorian landscape architecture as an independent field is growing.
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Quito blog 2: The mobility challenges of an Andean city
_ARTIKEL_ door Abel Coenen With almost 2 million inhabitants Quito is a big city. Its dense historical centre proves to be the perfect location for a tourist visit. Many people move around through the city by car or taxi but, as Dutch as I am, I’d rather go for a walk. When one day I almost got run over by a car I realized that the culture of car driving is rather special here.
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Quito blog 1: The new world of Ecuador
_ARTIKEL_ door Abel Coenen From February until August I will be staying in Quito, the capital of Ecuador – a country where landscape architecture or planning are no common professions at all. For these next months, I will live and work in the city as a true quiteño and explore the landscape of Ecuador. I will try to elaborate on the role and position of landscape architecture in this new world country, in a few exclusive blogs for TOPOS.
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Sublime design of the everyday work landscape in the Hamerstraatgebied
_AFSTUDEERWERK_ door Abel Coenen en Sascha Geneste In landscape architecture, ‘beauty’ is often considered as the ultimate design goal. However, the landscape architecture profession deals with many more issues than only beautiful landscapes, such as water safety, brownfield restoration and human engagement – issues that touch upon a deeper relation between man and landscape. In this relation we recognize the mechanism of ‘the sublime’, a concept emphasizing deep human emotions.
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Mooi! – Wandering through landscape
_COLUMN_ door Abel Coenen Working all days indoors behind our desktops, we students tend to forget the reason we all chose to study landscape architecture or planning. Often the landscape is only visible on our computer screen or through the window. And that while wandering through landscape can offer us so much richer experiences.
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De festivalbeleving van landschap
_ARTIKEL_ door Abel Coenen Recent werd op landgoed Doornik het Festival van het Landschap georganiseerd, hét feest voor de Nederlandse tuin- en landschapsarchitectuur. Met muziek, eten, kampvuur en lokaal gebrouwen bier werd het landschap en het vakgebied gevierd. Hiermee lijkt de NVTL bewust in te springen op de trend dat festivals en evenementen steeds populairder worden.
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Extensive portrait of a landscape
_BOEKRECENSIE_ door Abel Coenen The 2012 book A Photographic Portrait of a Landscape emphasizes on the meaning of the terms landscape and land ownership. Despite its ambitious title it presents an easily readable collection of texts and images, showing the different aspects of Dutch landscape. By both a photo study on the Frisian village Wjelsryp and an extensive essay this philosophical topic is researched thoroughly. A must-read for those who work with landscapes.
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Why experiences matter to landscape architecture
_ARTIKEL_ door Abel Coenen en Sascha Geneste Landscapes and activities within the landscape have always evoked strong emotions and experiences from people, due to their relevance to human life. Landscapes can evoke fear and fright but can touch deeper feelings of existence and self-awareness at the same time.
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Flexibele oplossingen voor leegstand en krimp
_BOEKRECENSIE_ door Abel Coenen In de flexibele stad is het ruimtelijk aanbod beter afgestemd op de ruimtelijke vraag, dan in de inflexibele stad. Deze is meer adaptief, slimmer en minder star. Juist die flexibiliteit is volgens de auteurs het wondermiddel om krimp en leegstand aan te pakken.
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Krimp en participatie vragen om nieuwe rollen
_OVERIGE_ door Abel Coenen De studievereniging van Landschapsarchitectuur en Ruimtelijke Planning wil verder kijken dan de traditionele inhoud van het onderwijs. Dat bewees het door studenten georganiseerde symposium over krimp en participatie. Op woensdagavond 27 november kwamen zo’n dertig studenten bij elkaar voor een inhoudelijke stand van zaken van de ruimtelijke ordening. Een fijne avond met goede sprekers, interessante topics, en even zo scherpe reacties van het publiek.
