The XII Barcelona International Landscape Biennal – The Poetics of Remediation was organised by The Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), The Oficina de Paisatge, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and Nature-based Solutions (NbS-BCN) from the 24th to the 28th of November.

Several speakers presented their projects and research in a rich event programme, accompanied by the International Landscape School’s Prize Exhibition, Book Launch and technical site visits.

Among nominees for the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Prize, the following projects were selected by the jury:

– Winner: Tangshan Quarry Park by Z+T Studio

– Special Mention: Park in the Prado Neighborhood, Colombia, by Edgar Mazo

– Special Mention: Hope Delft Cape Town by TKLA Hope Team

– Special Mention: The West Midlands National Park by Kathryn Moore

For the Ribas Piera Award for Best Architecture School Project, the jury selected:

– Winner: UiT The Arctic University of Norway

– Special Mention: Istanbul Technical University

– Special Mention: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru

Please read more from the Biennial Selection here.

“In selecting the winner, the jury was interested in a project that representing excellence in all aspects of the design process and touching on all the points above over social and environmental impact. We wanted to select a project that would inspire others and offer a model to follow. In the same way that Rosa Barba Casanovas who organized the first biennial continues to inspire this award”.

According to the jury,

“with the Tangshan Quarry Park outside Nanjing, China, Z&T Studio have created a thoughtful, poetic, and well-considered landscape architectural project that considers the integration of the site and its users: human and non-human. At all stages of the design process, we can see the integration of environmental, and the social ecologies, manifest in an exquisitely executed project. The outstanding narrative on the relationship between nature and people uncovering dynamic processes captivated the jurors”.

The Tangshan Quarry Park come from the desire to transform an old abandoned limestone quarry into a biodiversity environment, a dynamic public space where citizens can experience the recovery process of flora and fauna. The park, in which four gigantic craters stand out, is located 30 km from the city of Nanjing and on the southern slope of Tangshan Mountain, in China. The project, which has an area of 40 Ha, has made it possible to restore the ecology and becomes an example for the future sustainable development of this public area in the region, with a social, economic and environmentally sustainable project.

The jury also awarded honorable mention to three projects:

• Creating a National Park for the West Middland (United Kingdom), led by Kathryn Moore. The jury assessed that the project

“challenges the idea of a national park, to include the cities and spaces where we live and work. This radical proposal brings the idea of a national park—and landscape—closer to home and unleashes the power of landscape to shape us and policymakers. Putting the landscape first, the project wants landscape to think bigger and connect with its region, with politics and policy. The project is the voice of the everyday landscape.”

• Hope Delft to Cape Town (South Africa), by Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architect (TKLA). The jury assessed that

” At HOPE Cape Town, Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architect (TKLA) has designed a space for, as she puts it, “gathering, holding and protecting” children, youth and families affected by HIV, and other social challenges. Working in difficult and sometimes violent urban conditions, TKLA demonstrates landscape architectures’ potential and ambition to change the quality of life for the disadvantaged. Participatory design process is exemplary; local materials (brick from factory) and plants. The jurors were struck by the humility of the project. Even though it is small in scale, it has a big impact”.


• Park in the Prado neighbourhood, in Medellin (Colombia), by Edgar Mazo. The jury highlights that

“Edgar Mazo’s detailed and distinct community garden in the Prado district of Medellín, Colombia, is an abandoned residential site which becomes a place of encounter for the community. Located in a peripheric neighbourhood it is becoming a gathering place with a strong connection with nature. The opening of the inside to the outside, indoor rooms become outdoor rooms, private becomes public”.

The jurors of the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Prize 2023 are: Martha Fajardo, landscape architect; Julio Gaeta, architect, teacher and researcher; Bruno Marques, landscape architect and president of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA); Kotchakorn Voraakhom, landscape architect; and Gareth Doherty, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

The Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Prize 2023, which has a financial endowment of €15,000 contributed by the Banc Sabadell Foundation, it is awarded to a landscaping project built during the 5 years prior to its call. All selected and finalist projects are published in the Biennale’s Book-Catalogue, are part of the Prize exhibition and are included in the Biennale’s online archive. Over the years, this award constitutes a high-interest barometer of trends, social concerns and professional contributions from the world of landscaping to the needs and emergencies in relation to care and intervention in the territory. The 2023 edition of the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Prize has received 225 projects from around the world, of which 11 are finalist projects. The Award is given to a landscape built between 2017 and 2022. The projects have been presented during the Barcelona International Landscape Biennial held from November 24 to 28, 2023.

The Opinion Award, followed by all the votes of the public attending the Biennial, has awarded the Park in the Prado neighbourhood, in Medellin (Colombia), by Edgar Mazo.

International Landscape Architecture School Prize

On the other hand, the International Landscape Architecture School Prize, endowed with €1,500, and which includes the exhibition of the projects and their inclusion on the website of the Biennale, has pointed out the teaching as a whole in the field of landscape architecture summarized in the project presented by the UiT Arctic University of Norway. The jurors (Carme Ribas, Laurence Vacherot, Tim Waterman and Eulàlia Gómez-Escoda) had also awarded two special mentions to the proposal of the Technical University of Istanbul and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, respectively. The edition of the prize had the participation of 72 schools from 26 countries. The 10 finalist schools were: Technical University of Crete, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Diego Portales University, Arctic University of Norway, Technical University of Istanbul, Technical University of Munich, Chongqing University, ETH Zurich, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the School of Arts Design and Architecture of Aalto University.

Award ceremony in Barcelona

The winning projects of the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Prize and the International Architecture School Prize will be publicly announced on Tuesday 28 November in the afternoon during the closing ceremony of the 12th Biennial scheduled in Barcelona.

The event will be attended by Guim Costa, Dean of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), Jordi Ros, Vice-Chancellor of Architecture, Infrastructure and Territory of the UPC, Francesc Sutrias, Secretary of Territory, Urbanism and Urban Agenda of the Generalitat of Catalonia; and Bruno Marques, President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects IFLA.

The 12th Barcelona International Landscape Biennial is organized by the Architects’ Association of Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·BarcelonaTech (UPC) and has the institutional support of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Provincial Council, the collaboration of Banc Sabadell Foundation and the support of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), the International Federation of Landscape Architects of Europe (IFLA Europe) and the New European Bauhaus.

Published on December 5, 2023