The Powers Changing the Landscape: Interview with Professor Dirk Sijmons

Our living environment is facing many challenges today, including the climate change, biodiversity loss, limited unoccupied land for development, etc. In such an era, Dirk Sijmons, former State Landscape Architect of the Netherlands, believes that we must look at the powers which can change the landscape, no matter water management, tourism, agriculture or energy transition. In this article, Sijmons introduced his starting point of this process oriented methodology, and illustrated how did he applied it in his awarded projects. He also emphasized that conservation and repair of ecosystems is one of the greatest missions of our generation. And research by design is our powerful tool. We landscape architects must look beyond property lines, and be critical about the whole urbanization process.