Curious about: Landscape Architecture

What would you say is the importance of Landscape Architecture in society at large?

- As the world looks today, Landscape Architecture is more important than ever when it comes to the planning of our society. We are in the beginning of a climate crisis and we stand before a mass extinction event and a range of other challenges within sustainability. We Landscape Architects have already thought about what is required for a transformation to a sustainable society, and now that must be followed through in practice and be realised. We are, for example, experts in biology diversity, social sustainability and stormwater management. Especially in large city regions where there is high density, we meet difficult challenges with the buildable land that is available. It requires knowledge of many fields – everything from the technical to the aesthetic – to make best use of the land in large city regions, and it is there that Landscape Architecture can make a big difference.

How did you become interested in Landscape Architecture?

- I was seventeen or eighteen and wanted to work with something that was artistic in combination with technology and biology. At the time people had already begun to talk about the climate threat and environmental degradation and that was something that I wanted to engage myself in. The combination of natural science, images, form and design attracted me to Landscape Architecture

How do you think the Landscape Architecture Team at ETTELVA will be working in five years?

- I think that we will have more employees with different skillsets and a wide range of experience and backgrounds. We are going to be generalists and work with different types of projects and assignments, that cross-pollinate each other in a positive way and give the best exchange in all stages and in every type of project.

As landscape architects at ETTELVA we want to work in a team. The project always becomes better when we work in a team, as well as being a question of work environment. It is a more enjoyable and more secure when you work together! Every person should get to make their own impression on the project. That which is produced by an firm can’t always look exactly the same, especially as our projects are often site-specific.

How do you see the future of the Landscape Architecture profession?

- We have an important role to take when our large cities grow. Technology and economics are important questions, as well as the consequences of the pandemic. We are going to see more focus on social aspects. We also have a challenge with insecurity and segregation in our society. Personally, I don’t think that you can build away segregation and social inequality – that is to have too much faith in Urban Planning’s role. I don’t think that the problem begins with Urban Planning’s challenges, but we can contribute to a better society, even if it is not the whole solution. It is going to become very important for us to ponder and to learn more about these types of questions.