The urbanism of the future is landscape

Since the 1980’s Andreas Kipar calls Milan his home, and so he is very glad to see how the city is becoming greener and allowing for reconnecting people with nature. His involvement started with Bosco in Città, then Parco Nord, then came the concept of the Green Rays, aiming at an ecological urbanity to bring Milan closer to the ideal of a city made to human measure where public administration and private initiatives open new spaces for cooperation in an interplay of culture and nature.

In LAND, we are currently working on 23 projects in Milan, always with other outstanding architects, like RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Mario Cucinella Architects, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, Metrogramma, Migliore+Servetto, Diller Scofidio + Renfro to name a few.

The interview is about breaking up the rigidity of the existing urban spaces and how to allow for their different uses in different seasons as well. And, of course, about the shift towards a city full of unstandardized, fragmented, accidental places in tune with a new sociality. This happens in Milano but also in cities with 100-120,000 inhabitants, like Vercelli Vercelli, Bolzano, Lecco, Trieste and Cagliari. These cities, led by mature and not ideological mayors who are thinking about improving their residents’ quality of life, are showing how you can transform public space into welcoming, resilient places.

“At one time urban planning was entrusted to engineers, architects and sociologists. Today the ball is in the court of landscape designers. Their job is to establish relations between the parts”

When reading the magazine, you fully understand that our claims – Leading with LANDscape and Reconnecting People with Nature – are the true heart of all the efforts we see in architecture and urbanism to mitigate the impact of and adapt to climate change. Because we have to act, and to act now!Enjoy the magazine!