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| THE OBSERVER
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Ariadna Rodríguez i Iñaki Álvarez
Artists and promoters of Espai Nyamnyam (Mieres, Girona), dedicated to research and creation in contemporary arts and culture, in the area of degrowth.
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The trust that the Landscape Observatory team has given to us has prompted us to write about the landscape without being experts, but rather to take up a place in the world of experimentation, of trial and error, of listening, of ‘doing while it happens’. These are spaces that we recognise as our own in contemporary artistic practice.[+]
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| MOSAIC
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| Seminar on 5 April 2024: 'El paisatge i el color. Percepció, significats i intervenció' ('Landscape and colour: perception, meanings and intervention') |
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The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia is organising a conference on landscape and colour this upcoming 5 April at the Espai Crater in Olot. Colour is always a feature of the landscape. We often detect changes and transformations in the landscape through variations in colour that awaken emotions in us. Colour also gives character to a place and helps us to identify it collectively. It is also well known that cultures have attributed a lot of meanings to colours, changing in time and space. How does all this affect our interaction with the landscapes of everyday life? How can we use colour more and better when intervening in the landscape? What does art have to say? The seminar is accompanied by the photographic exhibition “Horitzó 256” (“Horizon 256”) by the students of the Advanced Training Course in Photography of the Art School of Olot and the exhibition “Desenfocar l’anècdota” (“Taking focus off the anecdote”) by Espai Nyamnyam. Organised with the support of Bòlit Centre d’Art Contemporani and Olot City Council, the seminar aims to provide new ideas for thinking about and discussing the role of colour in perceiving, managing and intervening in the landscape. The programme will be available soon.
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| Exhibition 'Dues pedres. Paisatges persistents' at Palau Robert, curated by the Landscape Observatory |
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The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia is the curator of the exhibition “Dues Pedres. Paisatges Persistents” (“Two stones: persistent landscapes”), which opened on 19 December 2023 at Palau Robert in Barcelona, promoted by the Catalan Ministry of the Presidency and Palau Robert, in collaboration with the Catalan Ministry of Culture’s General Directorate of Popular Culture and Cultural Associations. The exhibition explains that most Catalan rural landscapes are influenced by dry stone. This extraordinary heritage and legacy is a genuine and exceptional source of inspiration and values that will serve us so well to cope with the challenges of today’s world. This exhibition aims both to show the richness and diversity of dry stone landscapes and above all to claim its validity and persistence. The exhibition can be visited until 2 June 2024 and Palau Robert is planning to send it to several other Catalan cities in the second half of 2024 and in 2025. As part of the exhibition, educational activities have been planned and a specific issue of Arrels magazine on dry stone landscapes has also been published.[+]
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| 'Som agents del paisatge', the Observatory's new educational workshop |
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The Landscape Observatory has designed a new workshop called “Som agents del paisatge” (“We are landscape agents”), aimed at students enrolled in compulsory secondary education and secondary school. The workshop allows students to learn about the landscape and to discover its values while becoming aware of some of the dynamics currently affecting the landscapes of Catalonia. The activity uses the educational methodology called “learning by doing”, which views learning as a significant and practical action. It starts with a brief initial explanation. Later, it uses gamification to pose some challenges that students have to solve. The activity was initially shared with students of La Garrotxa and in the years to come it will be possible to assess whether it can be expanded to other schools.[+]
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| Registration of landscape units in the Cartographic Register of Catalonia |
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In November 2023, the Cartographic Coordination Commission of Catalonia (C4) of the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) approved the technical specifications of the cartographic layer of the landscape units made by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. The landscape units have therefore been registered in the Cartographic Register of Catalonia, making them a part of the official cartography of Catalonia and listing them in the Spatial Data Infrastructure of Catalonia (IDEC) catalogue. The result of the landscape catalogues created by the Landscape Observatory, the map was published by the ICGC in 2018. With 134 landscapes, the map shows the great diversity and richness of Catalonia’s landscapes, some of the most diverse and richest in Europe, turning the landscape into a first-rate heritage in Catalonia.
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| Vins de Foc |
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The project Vins de Foc (“Wines of Fire”) was launched last October. Promoted by the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Vins de Foc aims to bolster initiatives that stimulate the creation of landscapes that can withstand forest fires, especially in areas where vine cultivation and forests are combined. It is based on the idea that the vine is an effective crop for stopping fires, both for its use as a firebreak and for the need to reduce the volume of forest fuel in the face of the risk of sixth-generation fires. That is why Vins de Foc seeks to share tools and models that stimulate the creation of landscapes prepared to prevent fires with wine estates located in agroforestry areas and to recover while reducing losses caused by fires. It also aims to create a label to distinguish the wineries involved in improving forest management models that are located in areas with a greater risk of fire. Vins de Foc is an initiative that is part of the European technological innovation project FIRE-RES.
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| Berlin hosts the next edition of The Nature of Cities Festival |
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A new edition of The Natures of Cities Festival will be held from April to June 2024, under the title “La distància entre el somni i la realitat és l’acció” (“Action is the distance between dreams and reality”). This edition focuses on how knowledge can be translated into results on the ground. The international association TNOC aims to imagine the cities of the future through science, practice and art, promoting exchange, learning, exploration and action towards communities that are resilient, sustainable, liveable and fair. The festival is structured in two parts: 10 days of virtual programming in April and a four-day programme in Berlin focused on workshops. The spirit of the festival is to facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue, learning, working in small groups, direct participation in the arts and the fostering of a creative and collaborative spirit around solutions that are better for nature and people. The director of the Observatory is part of the festival’s Advisory Board. Registration is open.
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| 2023 Rosa Barba International Landscape Architecture Prize |
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The Tangshan Quarry Park (China) received the 2023 Rosa Barba International Landscape Architecture Prize as part of the 12th International Landscape Biennial of Barcelona, promoted by the Professional Architects’ Association of Catalonia and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, which was held from 24 to 28 November 2023. The jury highlighted that the project “represents excellence in all areas of the design process and covers all aspects of social and environmental impact”. Located 30 km from the city of Nanjing, the park transformed an abandoned limestone quarry into a dynamic public space where visitors can experience the process of recovering its biodiversity. The jury also awarded honourable mentions to three more projects: Creating a National Park for the West Midlands (United Kingdom), Hope Delft in Cape Town (South Africa) and Park in the Prado neighbourhood in Medellín (Colombia).
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| The Observatory collaborates with the exhibition 'Desenfocar l'anècdota' ('Taking focus off the anecdote') |
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The landscape is both signified and signifier, content and container, reality and fiction. Based on a re-reading of the paintings of the Olot school, the exhibition, prepared by Espai Nyam-nyam, proposes “taking focus off the anecdote” to reposition the gaze. The exhibition focuses on a videographic work in dialogue with various paintings from the collection of La Garrotxa Museum and the National Museum. It is an invitation to reorientation from more horizontal views and through the subjectivity of colour, landscape and the construction of images. Josep Caldes, Pau Castejón Úbeda, Eduard Roigé, Anna Dot, Daniel Moreno Roldán, Joan Nogué, Xevi Roura, Amor Rumor, Jordi Zapata and the Landscape Observatory are all involved in the exhibition. It can be visited from 10 February to 21 April in La Garrotxa Museum’s Sala Oberta (Olot).
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| Palma Declaration on Cultural Landscapes |
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From 17 to 20 October 2023, Palma de Mallorca hosted the European Technical Conference on Cultural Landscape. Under the title “Cultural landscapes as a paradigm of resilience and sustainability”, it was structured in six roundtable discussions. The director of the Landscape Observatory was one of the guests at the conference, in which 33 more experts from various national and international administrations (Council of Europe, ICOMOS, etc.) participated. One of the immediate results of the conference was the “Palma Declaration”, presented as a preliminary statement on the conclusions. These will be collected in a publication that the Spanish Ministry of Culture is planning for spring-summer 2024.
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| The Ribeira Sacra Declaration encourages the preservation, promotion and enhancement of waterscapes and their heritage |
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From 6 to 8 November 2023, the Ribeira Sacra (Galicia) hosted the international event “Waterscapes – Paisatges aquàtics: unir el passat amb el future” (“Waterscapes: joining the past and the future”), which brought together around 30 internationally prestigious experts and gave rise to the Ribeira Sacra Declaration, aimed at preserving, spreading and enhancing waterscapes and cultural heritage linked to water. The Declaration includes 20 recommendations, such as the need to continue promoting intersectoral dialogue, forums, meetings and specific scientific contributions to preserve the legacy of these aesthetically valuable landscapes that combine agricultural biodiversity with resilient ecosystems and a first-rate cultural heritage.
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| 6th Working Meeting of Territories for the Landscape, in Senan |
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On 23 November 2023, the 6th Working Meeting of Territories for the Landscape was held in the old Abbey of Senan (Conca de Barberà). The aim of the event was to reflect on how to move ahead with local landscape projects and initiatives. The meeting was attended by 25 political and technical representatives of various landscape initiatives in the local area of Catalonia, Alt Empordà, Conca de Barberà, Les Garrigues, Lleida, Priorat, Terra Alta and from Tarragona Provincial Council. A representative of the government of Andorra was also present. In the morning, the meeting focused on landscape-related actions with the intervention of Christelle Frau and Lucie Julien, employees of the Regional Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees. In the afternoon, the mayor of L’Espluga de Francolí, Josep M. Vidal, explained efforts to restore the landscape of the Francolí River in situ after the major flooding in October 2019.
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| The Lleida Landscape Foundation promotes new actions |
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Established in 2006, the Lleida Landscape Foundation aims to protect, maintain and improve the landscape values that make up the image of Lleida, including its urban spaces and the open spaces of the Horta de Lleida. In 2024, it plans to continue to ensure compliance with the landscape ordinance (approved in 2018), continue with the “Espais Singulars” ideas competition and begin preparations for a Municipal Landscape Plan to serve as a roadmap for the entire city council.
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| PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST
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| Turismo. Paisaje. Futuro. Hacia una transición turística en Canarias |
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Marina Romero, Francesc Muñoz, Antero Cantador (coord.) [Gran Canaria]: Dirección General de Ordenación y Promoción Turística, Consejería de Turismo, Industria y Comercio, Gobierno de Canarias, 2023.
The nearly 50 contributions to this book, including that of Pere Sala i Martí, are organised in five thematic sections coming from many different points of view and different disciplines. They discuss ways to rethink the models that associated tourism with territory in the 20th century and propose new thresholds and formats for an activity that must change, even if only to ensure its own existence.
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| Arido progetti e azioni per paesaggi lungimiranti |
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Ludovica Marinaro, Stefano Melli, Maria Livia Oliveti. IASLA, 2023. ISBN:978-88-6548-508-8.
With this book, the Italian Scientific Landscape Architecture Association (IASLA) investigates aridity at different scales. It reinterprets and verifies how landscape architecture can be a prudent and regenerative practice, even for extreme scenarios in the past, present and future. The book reflects on what the “landscapes of the future” are like, with completely original scientific and educational experiences and research.
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| Façades & couleurs du bâti ancien dans les Pyrénées-Orientales |
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Perpignan: Conseil d’architecture, d’urbanisme et de l’environnement, 2020. ISBN: 978-2-9575637-0-8. Available here.
The aim of this publication is to synthesise the main characteristics of the façades of pre-industrial buildings found in the Pyrénées-Orientales that make up a specific identify of each of its territories. It is not intended to be a guide of recommendations or architectural prescriptions, but a support for cultural and technical observation to raise public awareness and complement the exhibition panels on the same subject.
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| Paisagem e planejamento territorial. Estratégias e instrumentos de gestâo integrada |
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Laura Beatriz Lage; Isabelle Cury (orgs.). Rio de Janeiro: Paisagens Hibridas. ISBN: 978-6587833781.
This book deals with the relationship between landscape and spatial planning as part of ICOMOS Brazil’s International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes and explores various possibilities for addressing landscape management within spatial planning, qualifying our environments and helping to improve people’s quality of life. One of the authors is Landscape Observatory employee Laura Puigbert.
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| Guía de buenas prácticas en materia de paisaje. Espacios urbanos fluviales |
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Aida López, Lara del Valle, Arturo Azpeitia, Agustín Azkarate. [Leioa]: Universidad del País Vasco, 2023. ISBN: 978-84-1319-586-5. Available here.
This book is a practical tool that helps public administrations and technical teams to understand the characteristics and values of river landscapes in terms of regeneration, restoration or naturalisation. Through a comparative analysis of case studies, it shows how the challenges that rivers and streams currently face as they pass through towns and cities can be approached from a diverse perspective. This all takes place amidst a climate emergency where river landscapes become spaces of opportunity that can deal with challenges and contribute to more resilient and sustainable urban environments.
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Narcís Sastre Fulcarà (coord.). Dins Revista de Girona, núm. 342, Gener-Febrer 2023.
This report presents around 20 projects implemented during the 2010s in the counties of the Girona region that stand out for their uniqueness and quality: from avant-garde buildings to new generation urban plans that propose a new way of seeing and acting on the territory and the landscape. The director of the Landscape Observatory, Pere Sala i Martí, also contributed to the report with his article “El Pla de paisatge transfronterer de la Cerdanya. El valor d’un territori que traspassa fronteres” (“The transfrontier landscape plan of Cerdanya: the value of a territory that crosses borders”).
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