Landscape as Urban Foundation, IoArch’s Dossier Verde

In the Dossier Verde of IoArch issue 122, Andreas Kipar, CEO and co-founder of LAND, reflects on the evolving role of landscape in Italy and beyond. Recognised by the European Landscape Convention of 2000, landscape is no longer a backdrop, it is the basis of a new urbanism, a driver of ecological transition, and a connector of people, places, and identities.

Kipar argues that landscape architects today act as social mediators: working across disciplines, listening to communities, and pushing beyond regulatory limits. In cities, landscape becomes an organism, a tool for inclusion, wellbeing, and climate resilience. The challenge ahead is systemic: building a “convivial conservation” of Nature, shared between governments, businesses, and citizens, guided by the logic of Natural Capital.