Vive l'architecture paysagère! News from the frontline of the IFLA Congress
Organised by the French Federation of Landscape Architects (FFP, Fédération Française du Paysage), the 61st World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architecture (IFLA) is enlivening the city of Nantes in France this week under the theme ‘Guiding Landscapes’.
This one-of-a-kind global showcase for the profession of landscape architecture is providing Nantes an opportunity to draw on its reputation as an open urban laboratory and to expose IFLA Congress participants to its innovative approaches to creating resilient urban districts, improving soil health, and developing urban biodiversity. (For examples see Phytolab).
IFLA was established by pioneering British landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe in 1948. Since then the Federation has grown by roughly one member a year with nearly 80 countries representing up to 100,000 landscape architects worldwide today.
An Aotearoa New Zealand presence is front and centre again at this year’s Congress, firstly through the serving President Bruno Marques - who when he’s not taking a lead for landscape architects worldwide is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.
In his introduction for the Congress handbook Bruno gave acknowledgement to the years of dedicated work by the FFP in bringing together this global gathering.
Bruno: “The success of this Congress lies not only in the quality of the academic discourse but also in the spirit of collaboration that defines our global community. The connections forged and the ideas exchanged in Nantes will undoubtedly inspire and empower landscape architects worldwide to continue pushing the boundaries of our profession in service of a healthier planet”.
In turn Henri Bava, Congress and FFP President, referred to the global climate change context that Nantes is taking place in “where adapting and building resilience in cities and territories requires profound and systemic transformations”.
Henri: “The profession of landscape architects plays a central role in these efforts, promoting urban approaches that prioritise living soils, biodiversity, and sustainable water management. It operates across all scales of metropolitan, agro-forestral, industrial or/and natural territories…. To support the transformation of territories, landscape architects develop nature-based solutions (and) to this end, they leverage all available sources of socio-environmental information, data systems and other digital tools”.
Ralph Johns, the new President of Tuia Pito Ora New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects, is also present as a delegate and has been able to see Bruno in action on the world stage at the World Council that precedes each Congress.
Ralph: “Seeing Bruno preside over the passionate debates and decision making on Federation issues from across all IFLA regions has been great”.
“It has been impressive to witness IFLA actively promoting the landscape architecture profession as vital for helping tackle climate change, urbanism and biodiversity loss”, says Ralph, noting also the strong advocacy that has built under Bruno’s watch via relationships with various UN agencies, the World Bank, the Ellen McArthur Foundation and more.
“There is much important work being undertaken by volunteers across the profession, and it was great to see some familiar names mentioned in IFLA’s 19 working programmes, namely the Tuia Pito Ora members who are co-leading four of these programmes: Indigenous Knowledge with Ashleigh Hunter; Urban Health and Wellbeing with Gayle Souter-Brown; International Landscape Convention with Di Menzies; and Landscapes for Cities, Settlements and Territories with Henry Crothers”.
Curator’s note: LAA will be running more contributions from
Ralph in LAA from his time in Nantes and during associated travels.
See also News on NZILA.co.nz and Debbie Tiako’s story from 2024.
61st IFLA World Congress: The Programme & the President’s Award
The full programme overview for this year’s Congress with a online guide offering detailed navigation to information on presentations and presenters is accessible at ifla2025.com.
To keep an eye on related social media posts see IFLA’s Instagram account is @iflaworld and the LinkedIn page is linkedin.com/company/iflaworld/
For a crash course of reading about what’s being delivered there is a Book of Abstracts (PDF link - 796 pages!) on the Congress website, as well as pointers to Student Activities and the Technical Tour and Excursion programmes.
Before an evening welcome reception at the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, day one of the Congress (10 September) featured the following:
An opening ceremony helmed by Karin Helms (Landscape Architect, Professor at the Oslo school of Architecture and Design, Institute of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture, Oslo, Norway)
The first Plenary Session keynotes Jacqueline Osty (France), and Charles Waldheim (USA).
A round table discussion on the topic of ‘The Role of the Landscape Architects for a Common Future’
In addition two IFLA Awards have been made: The President’s Award - which went to Dr. Maria Ignatieva in 2024 and the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award (more on this will follow in LAA this month).
The 2025 President’s Award has gone to Hal Moggridge of Colvin & Moggridge renown, as an outstanding individual who, through voluntary efforts made within IFLA, has made a fundamental difference to the global profession of landscape architecture.
The citation reads:
Throughout his career, Hal has shown a lifelong dedication to preserving important views and skylines across rural and urban contexts, historic and modern, developing methodologies of lasting value to the field. Hal’s work has spanned a remarkable range of projects - from rural industrial developments to public landscapes such as the National Botanic Garden of Wales and Whitge Horse Hill; from private parks and gardens to the restoration of historic landscapes, including Capability Brown’s masterpiece at Blenheim Park (1981-2000) with Ralph Cobham. From 1992 to 2004 Hal’s practice also served as landscape consultant to the inner London Royal Parks, overseeing major improvements.
Hal’s book Slow Growth: On the Art of Landscape Architecture was published by Unicorn in 2017.
Interested in Nantes?
Read more about the city’s status amongst Euro Cities and Energy Cities and as a Metropole. And given we’re in Local Government election season here in Aotearoa New Zealand here’s a profile of the Mayor of Nantes.