Sven Stremke appointed personal professor Post-carbon Landscape Design

Prof. Stremke (1976) aims to develop the scientific foundations for landscape architecture that no longer contributes to climate change but fosters post-carbon practices. In his vision for his personal chair he combines research on carbon emission reduction with the study of landscapes. Stremke: “While we are well into the 21^st century there is little evidence of new cultural landscapes that arise in response to climate change. Decarbonization, commonly depicted as societal challenge, present a wonderful opportunity to co-create the cultural landscape of the 21^st century.”

Post-carbon landscapes

Our landscapes have developed over hundreds of years. They are dynamic in nature and genuine representation of human values from the past and the present. Much like previous socio-economic transitions, decarbonization (moving to an economy without CO₂ emissions) will affect our living environment. “The transition will give rise to ‘post-carbon landscapes’”, explains Stremke. “Post-carbon landscapes are socially inclusive, biodiverse and climate-positive components of the living environment. They host a magnitude of land use functions, and are sustained through dynamic human and natural processes.”

What makes the development of post-carbon landscapes different from earlier transitions is that a timely decarbonization implies fast landscape transformations. The unprecedented pace of change is met with reservation by many landscape users. Landscape architects are equipped to address these concerns during the design, planning and management of the environment and, in doing so, play a pivotal role in just landscape transformations. Landscape architecture research at Wageningen University & Research will generate critical knowledge and build bridges between the global climate crisis and the local quality of life.

Stremke’s vision builds upon his expertise on energy landscapes and systemic design, and provides a clear direction that unifies academic interests with societal urgency. His ambitions align with the goal of the International Federation of Landscape Architects to attain global net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Short biography

Stremke started working for Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and joined the WIMEK research school in 2006. In 2010, he defended his PhD thesis entitled ‘Designing Sustainable Energy Landscapes: Concepts, Principles and Procedures’ after which he joined the Tenure Track programme at WUR.

Before joining Wageningen University & Research, he worked as a landscape architect in the United States, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands. Later positions included Principal Investigator for the Amsterdam institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) and Professor for Landscape Architecture at the Amsterdam University of the Arts.

In 2012 Stremke became founding director of NRGlab, a laboratory devoted to research on the spatial dimension of energy transition. In Wageningen he has co-initiated both the Solar Research Programme, an initiative to consolidate and boost research on solar energy at WUR, and the WUR Energy Alliance, a platform for more than 70 researchers and teachers from WUR working on energy transition.