Abstract
What makes us feel comfortable in the city? Landscape architect Helle Nebelong circle around that question and focus on multisensory qualities when we plan and design urban environments. With inspiration from United Nationsâs Sustainable Development Goals and the transversal promise "Leave No One Behind", she recommends design based on an inclusive mindset, that will embrace everybody and strengthen the collective urban memory built by âarchaeologicalâ layers over the centuries. She argues that an approach to the design of urban spaces focusing on our senses makes us feel welcome and familiar within the city. Fragrance also plays a role while scent has a special connection to our emotions and identity.
See how an empty Danish city hall square was turned into a sensory garden in seven days and get to know some of the design strategies that characterizes Helle Nebelongâs projects.
Bio
Helle Nebelong is a Danish Landscape Architect MAA, MDL and Master of Public Management, MPM. She runs her own private practice specialized in Health Design and focuses on how to improve the city for everyday life. She is internationally recognized as a key pioneer of the natural playground movement. Some of her best-known projects in Copenhagen are The Garden of Senses in Faelledparken and the Nature Playground in Valbyparken. The latter is Copenhagenâs most popular playground and is referred to as âone of the best-designed playgrounds for children in the worldâ in the Encyclopedia of Play in Todayâs Society by Rodney P. Carlisle (SAGE 2009). MurergĂĽrden's playground is referred to as âan icon for natural playâ in The Science of Play by Susan G. Solomons (UPNE 2014). In 2023 a huge park - Ilse and Charles Jobson Natural Play Park â designed by Helle was inaugurated in Illinois, USA.
For more than ten years Helle was employed by the City of Copenhagen (1994-2006). Among others as the team leader of an interdisciplinary team responsible for developing an action plan to improve accessibility in Copenhagen. The Technical and Environmental Administrationâs strategy âCity for All â Improving the accessibility of the Urban Spaces in Copenhagenâ was politically adopted in 2005.
Recent papers:
âWalking with the Senses Openâ in URBAN DESIGN vol. 165 Winter 2023
âWhen Thereâs Nothing but Nature: The Danish Experience with Natural Playscapesâ in BUILT ENVIRONMENT vol. 47 number 2, 2021
Seminar Day Tickets
We are so very happy to welcome you to our seminars on the 3rd and 6th of July at the congress center Kalmarsalen in Kalmar. This will be a unique occasion for all of you who have roses as your special interest to learn more.
This will also be a very good chance for you who work with roses, or perhaps with tending and planning urban environment, to attend seminars where rose experts from all over the world will share their knowledge on different aspects according to the rose.
Starting at 1 195 SEK.