Cornelia’s Chat at Urbanspace Gallery

Cornelia’s Chat is an opportunity to instigate new ways of thinking about the role of landscape architecture in the future of our contemporary urban environment. A discussion in two parts, explore Cornelia’s working process through the eyes of two architects she has collaborated with: Eva Matsuzaki and Gino Pin. Next, hear the response from two landscape architects, Gail Shillingford and Zara Brown, who are deeply embedded in the challenges of practice today.

Over the course of seven decades, Canadian landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander left a legacy of inspiring work addressing human, social and ecological concerns within the built environment. How can we invite more natural life into our cities? What makes a place liveable…and for whom? Her playgrounds found ways for children to connect with nature and with “unselfconscious concentration”. She worked to ensure equitable access to trees for public housing residents. She worked to advance definitions of landscape architecture that embraced a wider public.

Cornelia defined landscape architecture as the “art of the possible.” City-builders, engineers, community leaders, planners and architects all had a role. How can we pick up from where Cornelia left off?

This event kicks off the opening of the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci exhibition at our gallery.