Every space is full of relationships. Individual elements, such as vehicular transportation routes, pedestrian traffic paths, recreation areas or water networks, influence each other. When designed well, with the cooperation of architects and landscape architects, they create the common ground on which life thrives. This is what the exhibition "Landscape Architecture as a Common Ground - IFLA Europe Exhibition 2018" is about.
The exhibition is an international project created within the International Federation of Landscape Architects Europe on the initiative of Dr. Eng. arch. Urszula Forczek-Brataniec, prof. of PK and secretary general of the federation. It presents the most interesting achievements from all 24 IFLA member countries. This gives us a cross-section through different regions and centers and different approaches to landscape architecture.
Guests at the finissage of the exhibition in Cracow
photo from the editorial office archives
a journey without a carbon footprint
"Landscape Architecture as a Common Ground" is a traveling exhibition. However, in this time of climate crisis, this journey is made ecologically, without increasing the carbon footprint. Unlike in similar cases, this is not a single, physical exhibition shipped from country to country. Such an arrangement is costly and requires complicated transportation logistics. Instead, the organizers provided all members with digital materials for their own production. This allows the exhibition to travel simultaneously across multiple locations. While the show in Krakow was going on, the exhibition was also held simultaneously at the Landscape Festival in Prague. It had also previously been presented in the Netherlands, Beliga, Spain and Lithuania, among other places. The Polish presentation, prepared by the Association of Landscape Architects and the Cracow branch of SARP, is also visiting various corners of Poland. After the presentation in Krakow, it will go to Zielona Gora.
Urszula Forczek-Brataniec, curator of the exhibition, and Marek Kaszyński, president of the Cracow branch of SARP
photo from the editorial archives
multiplicity of attitudes
The exhibition presents a wide variety of projects with different characters. They have been grouped into the following sections: post-industrial areas, suburbs, city centers and open landscape and rural areas. They deal with very different situations and show how, it is possible to deal with a space that no longer functions well and needs repair. A great example of such activities is the renaturalization of rivers, which is richly represented in the exhibition. Worth mentioning, for example, is Bjerkedalen Park on the outskirts of Oslo, where an urban river was renaturated, having previously been let into a concrete channel. The areas around it were also developed in such a way that they became attractive to residents. Such projects could be a model for Polish cities. In Cracow, the Bialucha or Wigla could be developed in this way.
discussion of the environment
The exhibition, as if by the way, raises the important topic of the position of landscape architects and their cooperation with architects. According to the curator of the exhibition Urszula Forczek-Brataniec
If buildings are the positive of space, and the free spaces between them are the negative, then we are dealing with the negative. But you have to work together, because the positive and the negative cannot exist without each other.
In many European countries the position of landscape architects is well established. Here the Netherlands and Germany lead the way. In the latter country, the Chamber of Landscape Architects is almost a century old, which is similar in seniority to the chamber of architects. Similarly, in France, the profession is very well established there and cooperation between architects and landscape architects is common practice. In Poland, we also have a long tradition of such cooperation. It is worth recalling here the figure of Halina Scholtz, who cooperated with Roman Gutt. Currently, the main body representing this professional group is the Association of Landscape Architects.
Helena Postawka-Lech
Hear about one of the projects shown in the exhibition. It is told by the curator, Urszula Forczek-Brataniec
