International Federation of Landscape Architects, 1948

Austrian landscape architecture, 1948

In 1946, Austrian landscape architects set about establishing a new section of Garden Architects within the Association of Austrian Applied Artists (Ö.G.A) that would represent the profession.

This was an attempt to reinitiate a professional body for landscape architecture in Austria after World War Two (WWII). The previous association, Vereinigung Österreichischer Gartenarchitekten (VÖGA), which had been founded in 1912, had been dissolved and incorporated into the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste by the Nazis in 1938.

Given that the association was so newly founded, the official invitation to the first International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Congress was misdirected to the Austrian Chamber of Engineers, which appointed the architect Hanns Kunath as representative.

After several detours, the invitation finally reached Franz Nothhacksberger, who was then Head of the Ö.G.A. and successfully managed to obtain a visa to travel to the United Kingdom in the remaining time. This was required because Austria was under allied administration until 1955.

For more information about Austria in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Belgian landscape architecture, 1948

On 24 August 1930, Jules Buyssens and Georges Wachtelaer, along with a dozen other garden architects, created the Association Belge des Architectes de Jardins – ABAJ (Belgian Association of Garden Architects). Five years later in 1935, the ABAJ became an officially recognised professional association. The archives show that in some of their minutes, as early as 1934, the notion of an International Association of Garden Architecture is being discussed.

In the same year as the ABAJ was created, it exhibited the spectacular Rose Garden at the Brussels International Fair where Buyssens was the chief landscape architect for the entire exhibition site, assisted by the young René Pechère. On the Exhibition premises, the ABAJ also organised what seems to be the first International Garden Art Congress: the Congrès International d’Art des Jardins. Invitees were members of the Société Nationale d’Horticulture de France (SNHF) and of the Société Française d’Art des Jardins (SFAJ), as well as some other well known international figures within the profession. Many of these members went on to be present at the founding meeting of IFLA in Cambridge in 1948.

For more information about Belgium in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Chilean landscape architecture, 1948

In 1948 there was no training for landscape architects and no professional association of landscape architects in Chile. There was, however, an interest as well as the ongoing practice of some garden design and horticulture. The Club de Jardines de Chile (Chilean Garden Club) was founded in 1954. The Chilean Institute of Landscape Architects (ICHAP), a Chilean subsidiary of IFLA, was established in 1989; among the founding members was Marta Viveros Letelier.

For more information about Chile in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Finnish Landscape Architecture in 1948

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the first Garden Architects began to make an impact in Finland. Suomen Puutarha-arkkitehdit r.y. – Finlands Trädgårdsarkitekter r.f. was founded in 1946. The purpose of the organisation was to develop the professional skills of its members and further establish garden architecture in general. In 1947, one year before the inaugural meeting of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), the Association organised its first design competition, which was for a public square called Kolmikulmapuisto in Helsinki.

For more information about Finland in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

French Landscape Architecture in 1948

The Comité de l’art des jardins of the Société d’Horticulture de France (SNHF), was created in 1888 as a way to support and recognise professionals within the field of garden architecture. By the 1930s there were around 100 people associated with the society. In 1932, there was a publication called Jardins d’aujourd’hui written by leading designers, concerned with the profession’s engagement with urban and social matters. This preceded the creation of the Société française des architectes de jardins (SFAJ) in 1933. From its drive to develop the profession as well as related education and training, came two major events that preceded the creation of IFLA in 1948.

For more information about France in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Italian Landscape Architecture in 1948

In the mid-20th century, landscape architecture in Italy was developing as a distinct profession, influenced by broader European and global trends. In 1948, the country – including the profession of landscape architecture – was in a period of recovery and transformation, influenced by the aftermath of World War II. This marked the beginning of Italy’s reconstruction era, both physically and culturally, as the country sought to rebuild its cities, infrastructure, and national identity. This period was also a formative era for landscape architecture, characterized by the establishment of key organizations, the development of educational programmes, and significant contributions from influential practitioners. These efforts laid the groundwork for the growth and recognition of landscape architecture as a vital and distinct profession.

For more information about Italy in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Dutch landscape architecture in 1948

In 1948, garden and landscape architecture were established fields in the Netherlands. The Dutch Federation of Garden Architects BNT was founded in 1922, but education in garden architecture already existed since the late 1900s and was offered at different levels in several schools, such as Boskoop and Frederiksoord. To protect the profession, the BNT introduced an exam for the recognition of professional garden architects and landscape architects in 1947.

A full regulation came into force in 1952. In the course of the 20th century, the profession developed along two interconnected tracks. On the one hand, garden and landscape architects designed public and private urban spaces and recreation areas, often in collaboration with (modernist) architects and urban planners. On the other hand, landscape architects, mostly in public service, worked at a regional scale. They were involved in the modernisation of cultural landscapes into functional landscapes for agriculture, housing and infrastructure, and in the creation of new landscapes in reclaimed polders in the former Zuiderzee.

For more information about the Netherlands in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Norwegian Landscape Architecture in 1948

The Norwegian League of Garden Architects (Norsk Hagearkitektlag, NHL), now the Norwegian Association of Landscape Architects (Norske Landskapsarkitekters Forening, NLA), was founded in 1929 with sixteen members. The concept of Garden Architecture comes from a German tradition and means roughly the same as Landscape Architecture.

Scandinavian countries followed the German tradition when the profession was established in the early 20th century. Norway was the first country in Europe to provide landscape architecture education as a higher education qualification. In 1919, the Norwegian College of Agriculture (Norges landbrukshøgskole, NLH, later became the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, NMBU) enrolled the first group of students in the garden architecture programme.

For more information about Norway in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Spanish Landscape Architecture in 1948

Spain has a great and diverse history of garden art, spanning many centuries. The physiographic and cultural context has given rise to an extremely rich heritage of landscapes and gardens. After the Civil War, interest was reignited in garden art in Spain. This can be seen in the many general, monographic or popularised studies that appeared in a wide variety of publications.

By decree in 1941, the Board of Trustees for the Protection of the Gardens which was part of the General Directorate of Fine Arts, was formed and the official Inspector of Gardens, Javier de Winthuysen, began preparing a catalogue of Spanish artistic gardens. The development of modern garden architecture culture in Spain is not yet well understood but shows influence of designers from other countries, like Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier as well as some nationalistic, regional design tendencies. However, the formalised profession of landscape architecture had not yet established in Spain, seen in the fact that at the first international conference of landscape architects and the IFLA founders meeting in London, only Spanish architects attended.

For more information about Spain in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

Swiss Landscape Architecture in 1948

The profession in German speaking part of Switzerland started in the late 19th century when several family businesses in Switzerland designed and built gardens. Soon this group connected and shared information about where to acquire education and practical experience. Many garden designers from that era attended schools in Germany until the Horticultural School of Oeschberg, located near Bern, opened in the 1920s. The profession had developed by then, and the Federation of Swiss Landscape Architects was founded in 1925.

Within this organization, discussions focused on creating rules of practice that regulated fees and set standards. During the international exhibition and conference on landscape architecture held in London in 1948, ten participants from Switzerland were present.

For more information about Switzerland in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.

British Landscape Architecture in 1948

In 1948 there had been a formal and constitutional Institute of Landscape Architects in Britain for almost twenty years. It began in 1929 following a meeting at the Chelsea Flower Show where a number of important figures attended to discuss the future of the emerging profession. In 1948, Geofrey Jellicoe was its president, J. H. Forshaw, Thomas Sharp and Clough Williams-Ellis were vice presidents and Brenda Colvin was the honorary secretary. The Institute had around 180 members including students and probationers.

By this time in Britain, there were a range of educational courses in landscape architecture at the University of Reading, the University of Manchester, the Architectural Association and the School of Planning in London. However, it was still a period in the profession’s history where members came from a variety of training backgrounds including architecture, planning and horticulture. The year 1948 marked a change in the educational development of landscape architecture as this was when two permanent lectureships were created – Brian Hackett took on the first role at the University of Durham from which a Landscape Design course emerged soon after, and Peter Youngman at University College London.

For more information about the United Kingdom in the IFLA 1948 Conference, click here.