Wk8 Adriaan Geuze (Professional Practise)

 In Adrian Geuze's acceptance of the IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award in 2022, he spoke about his practise, West 8, being deeply rooted in a systems approach to designing spaces for the public. 'engineer meets poet'. He identifies landscape architecture as a prominent defender of public space, to mitigate and create places for people which deal with the social environment and economic demands of the age.

Maxima Park, in Utrecht in the Netherlands, is one such example to systems thinking landscape architecture. Maxima park is weaved through the settlement of Ulrecht, creating a multitude of spaces for the public to use, engage with and get lost amongst. The park is interlink through the waterways and wetlands which conceal and reveal different landscaping in which a great variety of social activities can be done. The freezing over of this waterway conjoins the landscape in a new way, the park and people able to adapt and enjoy the vast seasonal shifts. The public space here is extensive, and defends the public from urban development which, in its conception in the 1990s as a new settlement, had the ability to encroach completely on the lives of it's residents as many developments have and still do today. 

West.Com/projects/maximapark

West.com/adriaan-geuze-announced-as-winner-of-2022-ifla-sir-geoffrey-jellicoe-award/