Bas Smets
Landscape architect, LUMA Arles
Bas Smets, born in 1975 in Belgium, is a landscape architect with a multidisciplinary background that has shaped his unique approach to creating innovative and sustainable urban spaces. He founded his firm in 2007 in Brussels which has since built over 50 international projects, including the LUMA Parc des Ateliers in Arles, the Thurn & Taxis Park in Brussels, the Sunken Garden in London, and the Himara Waterfront in Albania. In 2022, Smets won the prestigious international competition to redesign the public space surrounding Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Smets' approach is characterized by his concept of "Augmented Landscapes," which utilizes natural processes to create new microclimates. He often collaborates with artists and scientists, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary innovation.
2023, Smets was appointed Professor in Practice at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University, where he continues to explore inventive ways to transform urban environments into ecological systems capable of mitigating climate change. His visionary approach to landscape architecture offers a promising path forward for making cities more resilient to the challenges of the climate crisis.
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On this page
- Quote(s)
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On this page
- Quote(s)
- Image(s)
- Exhibition(s) / Event(s)
- Video(s)
- Watch, read, listen
Quote(s)
"To plant trees is to believe in the future"
"I studied the wind and the sun to imagine how nature might bring roots back here in 20, 100 or 200 years. Our ambition was to accelerate that natural process.”
“We know that humans can destroy nature but this project shows that we can also create life, help nature develop in the most arid places.”
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