Partner Institutions
Contact Channels
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Project partner and grant coordinator
Norwegian University of Life Sciences | Ås, Norway
Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning
Contact person: Prof. Deni Ruggeri
Dr. Deni Ruggeri is Associate Professor and Landscape Architecture Section Leader in the Institute for Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Norway. His research focuses on social dimensions of landscape and urban design. He is particularly interested in the influence landscapes have on people’s place identity and attachment, and in developing new tools and processes for engaging communities in the design of places that are conducive to sustainable lifestyles, physical and mental well-being, ecological health, economic viability, identity, delight, and biophilia.
Deni Ruggeri’s education includes a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and graduate degrees in both Landscape Architecture and City Planning from Cornell University. He has practiced landscape architecture in California and Colorado, and has international experience in leading community design and visioning processes. Before joining NMBU, Deni has taught in the USA at the University of Oregon and Cornell University.
Project partners
Nürtingen-Geislingen University | Nürtingen, Germany
Competence Centre for University Didactics
Contact person: Dr Ellen Fetzer
Ellen Fetzer holds a diploma and a doctoral degree in landscape planning from Kassel University, Germany. Since 2001 she has been working at the school for landscape architecture, environmental and urban planning in Nürtigen (Stuttgart area, Germany). She is primarly coordinating an international master degree in landscape architecture (IMLA). The second focus of her work is in the Centre for University Didactics as an e-learning coordinator. Ellen works a lot in the field of computer-supported collaborative learning and facilitates online seminars in international cooperations. She is president of ECLAS, the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools.
University of Kassel | Kassel, Germany
School of Architecture, Urban and Landscape Planning, Landscape Planning Group, Kassel, Germany
Contact person: Prof. Dr. Diedrich Bruns
Diedrich Bruns is Full Professor and chair of Landscape Planning and Land Use at Kassel University, Germany. He worked in Africa, Asia, North America and on several European projects and has many years of experience in landscape planning practice, teaching and research. Planning methods is his main area of expertise, with a focus on participatory methods, particularly with respect to inclusiveness and early public involvement in landscape decision making. Dr Bruns has published several peer reviewed journal papers, book chapters and books.
University of Bologna | Bologna, Italy
Contact person: Prof. Luigi Bartolomei
Luigi Bartolomei, Architectural Engineer, obtained his PhD in Design and Architectural Composition at the University of Bologna with a thesis regarding the Phenomenology of Sacred Space. With this body of reserarch he promoted an analysis of archetypal figures in relation to the contemporary landscape and church architecture. He has worked at the School of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Bologna since 2007 among various roles. Luigi Bartolomei began as a tutor in History of Architecture (AA.2007/08 and 08/09) and later as a contract professor teaching Design and Architectural Composition (AA. 2009/10) and Landscape and Infrastructure Design (AA. 2010/11, 2011/12). The later course resulted in superior work between him and his students and was selected among the best projects regarding infrastructures in Italy by UrbanPromo. He is responsible for the Agreement between the Department of Architecture and FTER-Theological Faculty of Emilia-Romagna and subsequent courses that have derived from this collaborative partnership. He is a collaborator of the “The Journal of Architecture” [Il Giornale dell’Architettura] since 2008, where he has found a place for his architectural critic to be fully expressed. More specifically, Bartolomei was the editor of an investigative report regarding the city of Bologna (January 2012), and on the architecture of churches in the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council (December 2012). In 2009 he won, in collaboration with Prof. Giorgio Praderio, a research project PRIN – Research of Relevant National Interest on the preservation and valorization of the landscape in small towns. Bartolomei is also actively involved with the Commission for Sacred Art and Architecture of Bologna Diocese, since 2008. He is currently responsible for the Project of Census of all Catholic Churches in the territory of Bologna’s Archdiocese (which involves more than 690 buildings). Since 2014 he is the director of “IN_BO, Ricerche e progetti per il territorio, la città e l’architettura”, (IN_BO, Researches and projects on territory, towns and architecture), an open-access and peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Department of Architecture at the University of Bologna.
Szent István University | Budapest, Hungary
Contact person: Albert Fekete, PhD
Graduated Landscape Architect, Head of Department of Garden Art and Dean of the Faculty of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism Budapest, Szent István University. He is an active landscape designer with European design experiences, having since 2000 his own office (Lépték Terv Landscape Office) in Budapest/Hungary and since 2007 the AB PLAN Design Office in Romania. He is working in Germany, Holland and Spain as well, having more than 50 realized landscape and open space design projects. He is member of the stearing commitee of the Hungarian Association of Landscape Architects. Being leader of several research projects in the last 15 years, he has a rich international scientifical experience as well. He was awarded among other in more than 15 design competitions, and won several national and international awards, for instance the „Landscape Architect of the Year 2012” prize in Hungary, and the „Europa Nostra Prize” of the EU in 2014.
LE:NOTRE Institute
LE:NOTRE Institute an international foundation based in Wageningen, Netherlands.
Contact person: M.Eng. Anna Szilágyi-Nagy
Anna Szilágyi-Nagy is a Hungarian MSc landscape architect graduated at the HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen, Germany. As board member of the Le:Notre Institute is in charge of the development of the international certification system in the LED project. In her diploma she focused on collaborative revitalization strategy of the Hosszúréti-creek, emphasizing the role of public involvement and environmental education in the suburb of Budapest. Later she helped to facilitate the community planning process of Normafa Közösen and was a tutor of online courses provided by HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen. Currently she is working for the Town Hall of Törökbálint to continue to propel creek revitalization process in her community and to smoothen cooperation between private and public sector. She is vice-president of the kultúrAktív Association, an NGO boosting playful tools and methods to support active citizenship and participation in urban life among children, and coordinates the development processes of the live board game Urbanity and the international action based project #playhellocity. She is also a guest lecturer at the Szent István University focusing on storytelling in creekside landscape.
Associate Faculty
Nürtingen-Geislingen University | Nürtingen, Germany
Eva Schwab, PhD, visiting lecturer
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Eva Schwab currently is a lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Landscape Architecture (ILA) at the University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources in Vienna, Austria. She holds a diploma and PhD in Landscape Architecture from the same university. Before entering a career in research, she practiced as a landscape architect for several years. Eva’s research focuses on socio-spatial urban research, the politics of public space production and socio-cultural aspects in open space use. She is particularly interested in the power positions of different actors in the production of urban space and processes of in- and exclusion. Over the past few years, Eva was engaged in a number of inter- and transdisciplinary research projects in Austria, Argentina and Colombia as well as at the EU-level.
Representative of the School of Landscape Architecture, Environmental and Urban Design:
Prof. Dr. Birgit Kröniger
Birgit Kröniger is Full Professor of design in landscape architecture at the HfWU Nürtingen since 2014. In 2000 she founded the design firm ver.de landschaftsarchitektur located in Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany, together with two partners. Working interdisciplinary with a team consisting of up to ten landscape architects and students, Birgit and her partners have taken part succesfully in numerous design competitions for open spaces and designed and realized public urban spaces, courtyards and residential neighbourhoods which won several design awards. Birgit holds a diploma in landscape architecture and a doctoral degree from Technische Universität München. She worked for the landscape architect Peter Latz several years before she founded her own firm.
Tutors
Eliza Salman Nürtingen-Geislingen University
Eliza Salman is a master student of International Landscape Architecture at the University of Applied Science Weihenstephan-Triesdorf in Freising-Germany. She had a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture and Design from Jordan University of Science and Technology in Jordan. She has been a tutor at the 2017 and 2018 LED Seminars and participated in Zingonia Intensive Program in Italy in 2016. As her master thesis, Eliza has explored different optimisation methods of the development strategies of a small community in the terraced landscape in the Ardeche region in France. Moreover, Eliza, along with her team, have won the LE:Notre Institute student competition titles "All Inclusive - Upgrading the Landscape of Munich North". Eliza is interested in regional and rural development strategies and how they are impacted by Landscape planning.
Kjersti Børve Skjelbreid Norwegian University of Life Science (NMBU)
Kjersti Børve Skjelbreid is a master student in landscape architecture at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway. She lives in Oslo and is a tutor at the 2018 online LED seminar and the workshop in Törökbálint, Budapest. She participated in the LED online seminar and on-site workshop in Zingonia, Italy in 2016. She is active in the Oslo-based student-driven magazine Kote and is engaged in subjects as environmental city development, participation in planning and new non-commercial types of housing.
Anita Reith Szent István University of Budapest
Anita Reith is freelancer landscape architect, graduated from the Szent Istvan University of Budapest. She was a student of Kristin Faurest when she was first involved in participatory planning. During her Masters, with an international scholarship she had the chance to work for an architectural firm who is specialized in participatory planning and community-oriented design in Canada. After their influence, Anita decided to prepare her final thesis based on the newly gained experience and to create a showcase to explore the Canadian firm’s designing method in practice in Hungary. Her thesis has received several recognitions – from the Hungarian Architectural Association and from the Hungarian Urbanist Association for instance. In 2016 Anita won the competition for the Junior Landscape Architect of the Year. Anita has been a guest lecturer at the Szent István University of Budapest and also at the Central European University since 2014.
Niels De Couvreur Nürtingen-Geislingen University
After finishing a Bachelor in Landscape architecture and a Bachelor after Bachelor in Landscape Development at the University College Ghent, Belgium; Niels moved to Germany. Here he is currently based for his International Master in Landscape architecture (IMLA). Niels is an active member from the European Landscape Architecture Student Association (ELASA), where he became Belgian Representative from 2014. Further, he embraced the function of European representative for the Emerging Professional Advocate workgroup of IFLA World. His master program in combination with the ELASA commitment made the European landscape and its diversity his field of interest. Due to personal practice experience in Brussels (BE) and Breda (NL), themes like Spatial Adaptation and Landscape Perception fascinate him strongly.
Sahar Aghakhani University of Bologna
Sahar Aghakhani is a PhD candidate of architecture, Working on “embodied energy of building materials” toward sustainable construction, in Tabriz Islamic art University, Iran. She has the bachelor of architecture and master of educational spaces design. And Also has been working in the field of green space in landscape design for about 8 years in the private sector as consultant engineers company. She won the 3rd place of the competition about neighbourhood design in the city of Tehran. Sahar researched in Bologna university as a visiting PhD student for one year. She Participated in the 3rd year of the LED project in online courses and also intensive program in Hungary as a tutor from Unibo university.
Nicolas Reibel Nürtingen-Geislingen University
Nicolas Reibel, is a multi-disciplinary visual artist working in public space and community engagement. He considers the social role of art the catalyst for action and agency, making communities more accessible. LED project experiences over the past few years, as a student in 2016 and supplemental project support during the 2017 intensive, compliment how he views public space - seeing the space between spaces as a spiritual and experiment place, as well as, an open opportunity. HIs artistic focus continues to further the aims of promoting access, stewardship and identity across a spectrum of stakeholders..
He carries a double degree in Sculpture and Mixed-Media Installation from Western Washington University in the USA, with a broad background in art history. He has been exhibiting work for international audiences since 2000 while concurrently leading a number of public installations. Recently, he has stepped into the field of art mediation by facilitating discussions for Documenta 14 in Kassel and leading mediation workshops for Adidas, throughout Germany.
Aylin Yörükoglu University of Kassel
Aylin is a master student of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Kassel. She Works for Prof. Diedrich Bruns chair of Landscape Planning and Land Use as his student assistant for LED Seminar. During her Bachelor in Urban Studies in the University of Kassel, she has worked on projects related to the topics of communication and participation in fields Landscape Planning, Urban Planning and Regional Planning. For her, as an Urban and Regional Planning student, it is also interesting to learn more about interdisciplinary planning processes in areas of Landscape planning.
Former LED-project partners
M-LA Tonje Cecile Stordalen Norwegian University of Life Science (NMBU)
Tonje Cecilie Stordalen is a Ph.D. candidate of the Faculty of Landscape and Society at NMBU. The primary focus of her research is the democratization of everyday landscapes through community participation, and to develop an evaluative framework for assessing the performance of community-based processes. Tonje holds a Master in Landscape Architecture from NMBU. She is passionate about participatory processes inspiring design and is mainly concerned with topics such as historical development, place identity and attachment, equality and right to landscape in a multicultural context.
Federica Fuligini
Federica Fuligni is tutor of the LED program for the University of Bologna, where she graduated in the combined Bachelor and Master of Architecture and Building Engineering in 2016. Within the Erasmus+ program she studied at the Technical University in Munich and at the Wroclaw University of Technology. Federica is engaged to architecture as a social problem and developed her master thesis about the influences that common spaces in a co-housing solution might have in supporting integration and dignity among residents.
Pia Bültmann
Pia is a master student of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Kassel. She works for Prof. Diedrich Bruns chair of Landscape Planning and Land Use as his student assistant for LED. During her Bachelor in Urban Studies at the University of Bauhaus in Weimar, she spent one year in Mexico in 2013/14 studying Urbanismo at the UNAM in Mexico City. During that time she did an internship in a social organisation which is dedicated to participatory and sustainable community development. Her current major fields of studies are sustainable and democratic food systems and policies.
Kristin Faurest
Kristin Faurest is director of cultural institution at the Portland Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. For 14 years she has managed her own design firm, Artemisia Landscape Design, specializing in gardens for small urban spaces and special needs populations. Her studies include time spent at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, London, and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa. She was employed as associate professor of landscape architecture at Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary during her engagement in the LED-project.
Irene Jackson Gil
Irene is studying the International Master of Landscape Architecture in the HfWU where is student assistant for the LED program under the supervision of Dr. Ellen Fetzer. She did her bachelor degree in Architecture in the Unversidad Central de Venezuela. Currently she is writing her Master thesis, the topic is Non verbal communication in participatory design.
Mirsa Gishti
Mirsa is since October 2015 a tutor of LED online course assisting Dr. Ellen Fetzer and participates at the same time at the ERASMUS+ Project ‘Social Entrepreneurship for Local Change’. She is keen on social dimensions of landscape and urban design and as well on developing appropriate means of including disadvantaged social groups. She holds a previous Master Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania. Currently she is an IMLA Master student in the 4th semester at Nürtingen-Geislingen University in Germany and she is doing her internship at Faktorgruen in Freiburg (Germany) as landscape architect.
Sophie Bittner
Sophie is a master student in landscape planning at the University of Kassel. She works at Prof. Diedrich Bruns chair landscape planning and land use as his student assistant for LED. In the year 2015 she studied one semester at the NMBU in Norway as an Erasmus student. At the moment she writes her master thesis, where participation as a democratic aspect is a great issue as well.
Ivana Lilikj
Ivana Lilikj is currently enrolled in the IMLA (International Master of Landscape Architecture) at Nürtingen-Geislingen University, Germany in the last semester, working on a Master Thesis: Green Infrastructure potentials for Ohrid region. Under the supervision of Dr. Ellen Fetzer she is student assistant in the LED online seminar. She holds a Bachelor diploma at the Faculty of Architecture and Society at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Ivana is interested in transboundary/international collaborations in the context of design/planning ranging from theory to practice.