Conference of the Landscape Architecture Team of the University of Gloucestershire

NEW ABSTRACTS SUBMISSION DEADLINE on the 23rd of APRIL!

This conference calls upon landscape architects, art and architectural historians and theorists, architects, urban planners and designers, to analyse the concept of landscape of the past, critique the present, inform the future.

Context: The conference will explore the concept of landscape from both philosophical and practical perspectives. As Professor Jonathan Hill has noted, during the first edition of this conference, inherent in the original Italian word for design – disegno – was a duality suggesting both the drawing of a line on paper as well as the drawing forth an idea. We take this dual connotation as making explicit the close relationship between thought and representation, ideas and projects. The concept of landscape in particular has always been bounded to the idea of representation, starting from its own origins. From the picturesque paintings by Claude Lorrain, until the townscapes of Gordon Cullen: the landscape is related to its depiction, is related to the human action of modelling the urban or natural environment creating a new specific aesthetic vision, experience or character. But what is happening now? How has the concept of landscape been changing? What is the landscape of the present? And what about our and its future?

Cities are constantly growing, overloaded by images and inputs, the areas between urban and rural environments are left to change without clear visions, the relationships between human beings and nature are always more hidden and complicated, natural areas are disappearing or have been transformed in protected untouchable open-air museums, even sustainability itself seems at times to already be an old fashion trend while the rhythm of our life is increasing constantly. In this context, what is the new meaning of landscape and how are human beings creating new relationships with nature? As the poet Antonio Machado noted, ‘there are no paths, paths are made by walking’ and this conference will try to answer these questions defining the landscape as social, economic, political, artistic, design, historic, and theoretical products of its own era and identifying its transformations, from the past to the future. Trying to focus on the concept of landscape broadly, the conference will produce interdisciplinary and innovative discussions related to the topic. Within this framework, the conference welcomes international and national researchers, from academic and professional environments, who are related to the concept of landscape and want to help in figuring out its future.

Key topics / Landscape Representation Methods // Sustainability // Ecology // Urban Phenomena // Rural Areas // Human Beings and Nature // Experience and Perception // Space and Time // Landscape Architecture Projects // Social Practices // Urban Fabric // History of Landscape // Tangible and Intangible Heritage /


Attending the Conference

Conference Venue: Park Campus, University of Gloucestershire, England

Registration Fee: PhD students / young / independent researchers 100 GBP, full-time academics 180 GBP

Keynote Speakers and Programme will be released shortly.

All articles will be published as part of the conference proceedings.

Selected articles will be considered for peer-review journal publication.


Deadlines

• abstract submission deadline April 2nd 2018

• final decision on papers to be presented April 30th 2018

• final payment deadline 21st May 2018

• conference dates June 21st and 22nd 2018

Proposals up to 250 words and a brief biographical note should be sent by April 2nd 2018 to: cmolinari@glos.ac.uk