23 December 2015

Catherine Mosbach is graduated from the lanscape architecture school of Versailles, she founded with Marc Claramunt, Pascale Jacotot and Vincent Tricaud the magazine Pages Paysage and opened her studio in Paris in 1987. 

"Most often one starts building a landscape with an idea, a draft, a project raising several questions I would like to address through the sampling of some of the experimentation I have followed. One question is general. It points at the process through which a landscape design project is shaped, from the first moments of its existence to its long-awaited emancipation and interaction with the public sphere. Another one is more specific. It lies in the complex dialectics of breaks and continuity challenging the project-making behind the scenes.

What is the nature, impact, of incidents occurring at different stages of a project: the commission's fragmentation; political, cultural, and socioeconomic conjuncture; the failure of some well-established mechanisms in project-making? Despite all such incidents or thanks to them, the project?which never exists in a pure state?transcends, at some point, ideas to become reality. I would like to evaluate what is at stake in such a metamorphosis. And finally, I would like to highlight the ways a landscape comes to be designed and built through desire. I will share with you some of the avenues of my own aspiration to landscape: stepping outside the typical framework of conceptual and technical aims and limits to reach the liberty of forms and the new social and cultural realities it opens to."

Edith Katz, critically aware landscape architect, recently completed advanced studies in Landscape Urbanism at the Architectural Association of London that is combined with a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A Senior Designer at Martha Schwartz Partners for the last 3 years, Edith is engaged at a variety of levels that span conceptualizing, writing, design, curation and project management on various scaled complex international projects that often require sustainable urban strategies.

"More than half of the planet’s population are now living in cities. This vast global trend towards urbanization that is underway encompasses a surge of new and old metropolises that are in the process of developing. Decisive to the city’s performance, liveability and sustainability for future generations and underwriting this development is the urban landscape.

The work of MSP demonstrates a deep commitment to this realm, both public and private, yet raises the ante to propose that the contemporary urban landscape must go beyond the traditional typologies and embrace all aspects, sectors and territories of urban life especially the utilitarian spaces that characterize the city. The whole idea of landscape in the city needs to be expanded beyond the normal idea of parks and decoration or even green roofs. We must consider that most of our urban environments consist of streets, sidewalks, utility corridors, parking lots and everything outside the buildings. Little value is invested into them.

MSP through their design practice urges these settings to become humane and imaginatively detailed so that in the process we positively activate public and private territories with design qualities that bring delight, beauty, nature and playfulness to the city. "