20 Years of Topos, a Guest of the Biennale in Barcelona

The first edition of Topos appeared back in September 1992 as a 'European Journal of Landscape Architecture.' With the arrival of Topos 80 this September, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this now globally read publication. On this occasion Topos will be a guest of the 7th Landscape Biennale in Barcelona, taking place from the 27th - 29th of September. The programme and registration can be found here. Topos will host the third day of the event (29th of September).

The focus of the day will be with the winner of the 2012 Topos Landscape Award, Taktyk (Paris and Brussels). In addition, two other awards will be presented - the Topos Jubilee Awards, which will go toward two vastly different initiatives in the planning field.

First, the Norwegian Tourist Routes will be recognised, which was a government initiated program launched by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Architects, landscape architects and artists were responsible for construction projects at selected sections of 18 chosen tourist routes, from southern to northern Norway (see Topos 74 and Topos 77). This program provides a base for discussions around building culture and infrastructure, as well as architecture and landscape.

Image: The Trollstigen Tourist Route, Norway, by Reiulf Ramstad Architects. Photo: Robert Schäfer.

Secondly, an award will go to Abalimi Bezekhaya. Abalimi is an urban agriculture and environmental action association operating in the Socio-Economically neglected townships of Khayelitsha, Nyanga and surrounding areas on the Cape Flats near Cape Town, South Africa. Abalimi means "the Planters" in Xhosa, the predominant language among the target community. Abalimi assists individuals, groups and community based organisations to initiate and maintain permanent organic food growing and nature conservation projects as the basis for sustainable lifestyles, self-help job creation, poverty alleviation and environmental renewal. This project provides a debate on the protection and development of resources and environmental design in unprivileged urban areas.

Image: Abalimi Bezekhaya, a successful bottom-up initiative in the surrounding area of Cape Town, South Africa.

Herbert Dreiseitl and Kathryn Gustafson will also address the topics introduced above.

Both winners will be introduced in detail in Topos 80, which will also contain essays that illuminate the development of the profession over the past 20 years.

Register here