GREEN CITY Conference 2024 | Check out the program and meet the speakers!

The next edition of the GREEN CITY Conference will be held on September 6 to accompany the 31st International GREEN IS LIFE Fair. Experience the power of synergy! – this is the slogan, which is the theme of the program and at the same time a continuation of the discussion started last year. We finally know what challenges lie ahead. Now it remains to think together about how to face them. Cooperation, according to the organizers of the event, is the key to the proper development of the entire green industry.

Patronage of honour:

Media patronage:

Partner:

 

10:00 – 10:10 Opening

 

10:10 – 10:40 Responsible design. What does it really mean?

Greenwashing in social media is supposedly the domain of corporations? No. It’s our everyday reality. Landscaping and architectural studios are outdoing themselves with newspeak to make their projects, or implementations, on point. Cities, specifically their profiles, are dripping with greenery, proving that their projects are responsible. Only between what is on FB or IG, there is no synergy with what is around us. With what the process of creating public space is. A casual observer, a little knowledge of reality Kowalski, gets depressed, like a high school student watching celebrities and their glamorous lives. I have looked into these processes for you and would like to share my observations. I am looking for partners to take up the challenge in making sure that the word and image promised in social media are covered in reality, and to finally answer the question: what is responsible design really?

Wojciech Januszczyk, Fundacja Krajobrazy

Wojciech Januszczyk is a landscape architect, employee of the Institute of Landscape Architecture of the Catholic University of Lublin and lecturer at the Biala Academy of Applied Sciences in the Department of Landscape Architecture. Graduate of the School of Ecopoetics at the Institute of Reportage and owner of the Krajobrazy design studio. Founder of the Fundacja Krajobrazy and Supervisor of Green Areas. He has served as president of the nationwide Association of Landscape Architects and is currently an honorary member of SAK. Participant of the Festival of Gardens in Bolestraszyce, where he creates original garden realisations under the cyclical title “Protest Garden”, drawing public attention to contemporary problems related to space and landscape, as well as those resulting from climate change and human responsibility for them. Creator of the idea of ‘overgrowth’ in public and private spaces. He promotes the introduction of the principles of the circular economy into landscape architecture. His commercial activities are guided by the principle “The garden is also a home”, indicating the functional character of the space. Artistic director of IN GARDEN – Festival of Garden Art and Public Space. Coordinator of the Landart Festival since 2024. Member of the Programme Board of the magazine “Urban Greenery”, where he leads the series “Copernican Revolution”. Author of texts in “Architecture and Business”. His passion is the word and its power. Praise for laziness, overgrowth, equality in space design, dispelling myths about wasteland and tree planting in the city, unsightly aesthetics, or opposing the comparison of the modern garden to a biblical paradise are concepts on which he focuses his educational activities.

10:40 – 11:10 The importance of greenery on architectural surfaces in the era of climate change

As urbanization intensifies and climate change proceeds around the world, the implementation of green infrastructure in urban areas is becoming a key factor in sustainable development. As a result, vegetated (living) multifunctional roofs on buildings and structures are also gaining popularity as aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly solutions for the cityscape.
As a result, vegetated (living) multifunctional roofs on buildings and structures are also gaining popularity as aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly solutions for the cityscape.The establishment of vegetated (living) roofs is becoming not just a fashion trend, but already a necessary requirement for quality of life.

Jan Lukaszkiewicz, Ph.

I am a landscape architect, associated for many years with the oldest university course of landscape architecture in Poland at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. I am a member of the Polish Dendrological Society (PTD), the Polish Association of Polish Architects (SARP) and the Polish Green Roofs Association (PSDZ).
In my professional work, I conduct research, projects and expert studies on the formation and maintenance of greenery in both urban and open landscapes.
I develop greenery studies of parks and gardens, as well as linear greenery systems, e.g. avenues, green streetcar corridors, greenery along water channels, etc. I am particularly interested in the development and implementation of solutions to combine plant growth with technical infrastructure (so-called “green infrastructure”). Of particular importance for me in the era of climate change is the formation of greenery on architectural surfaces especially: vegetated roofs, green facades, green parking lots, etc.

Contact:Department of Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 St., 02-776 Warsaw; www.kak.sggw.edu.pl; e-mail:
jan_lukaszkiewicz@sggw.edu.pl

11:10 – 11:40 “Dendro Futura” – Urban trees of the future and the importance of nurseries

Trees are some of our best allies in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. Although we often think of them as forests, most of our interactions with trees take place in urban environments and private gardens, where they provide us with shade, heat control, flood avoidance, noise and pollution reduction, beauty – and much, much more. However, to maintain and enhance these diverse benefits, we need to think diligently about the selection of trees for our parks and gardens to include those species and varieties that are best suited to the environmental conditions and stresses created by a rapidly changing and unpredictable climate, the spread of pests and emerging plant diseases. To ensure resilience to current and future challenges, where the exact consequences of future scenarios cannot be predicted in advance, a commonly proposed solution is to cultivate a high diversity of trees, i.e., to increase tree diversity at multiple taxonomic levels. Achieving increased tree diversity to improve resilience to future conditions will likely require greater use of non-traditional species and unique genetic trees. This presentation provides insight into a unique research profile, focusing on how to find and evaluate the trees of tomorrow based on travels around the world to study natural environments that match urban environments and further evaluate trees for urban challenges to create first-hand guidance on finding the right tree for the right place and function, where tree nurseries play a key role.

Henrik Sjöman, curator at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden and teacher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Henrik Sjöman’s work focuses mainly on developing knowledge about the use of plants in urban environments.
How the ability of different trees will vary in the context of the urban environment and the provision of ecosystem services has become the main driver of Henrik’s work, and thus a way to expand knowledge about the diversification of the urban tree landscape. Finding the “plants of tomorrow” means combining traditional hunting for less common plant species with research and evaluation; creating a diversified approach to a resilient urban forest.

11:40 – 12:10 How to reduce watering of new plantings for the benefit of plants? Innovative solution of scientists from Wroclaw

Constant access to water is one of the most important factors for the proper development of plants in the first years after planting. Dr. Magdalena Biernacik-Rdzanek, Eng. will present an innovative solution patented at the Wroclaw University of Life Sciences – Hydrobox mats allowing to avoid negative effects resulting from periodic water shortages. The solution is particularly useful for plants planted in public spaces. We will learn about the mechanism of action of Hydrobox, the possibilities of using it during various types of plantings and the natural and economic benefits, among others, for investors, managers and contractors, resulting from the use of this solution.

Magdalena Biernacik-Rdzanek, PhD, is the Brand Manager of Hydrobox, an innovative product patented at Wroclaw University of Life Sciences. She pursued her PhD at the Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production at Wrocław University of Life Sciences. In her daily work she combines scientific knowledge with the practical challenges of the landscaping industry.

12:10 – 12:50 Synergistic cooperation in transforming industrial sites into green oases

The Emscher River Transformation Project and the “Klima-Werk” initiative in the Ruhr region are having a huge impact on improving the quality of life and the resilience of cities to climate change. With an investment of more than 5.5 billion euros since 1992, the Emscher River’s life has been restored to its natural state, eliminating wastewater discharges and creating new urban spaces.
“Klima-Werk” focuses on adapting to climate change through measures such as green roofs and facades and increasing rainwater infiltration.
The project not only improves living conditions, but also relies on a participatory approach to regional management, which can be a model for other areas of urban transformation as well.

Dr Stephan Treuke

Research fellow at the Technical University of Dortmund. Member of World Urban Parks and the German Academy for Spatial Planning and Housing. Specializes in working on large-scale green infrastructure programs, regional planning and urban climate change adaptation. He works as an advisor on international cooperation in European and non-European countries, focusing on integral water management solutions and transformative governance in public administration.

12:50 – 13:20 How to design night in urban green areas? Will there be lighting standards in cities of the future?

We are currently facing the need to redefine the concept of light, signalling that the expansion of excessive lighting is an anachronistic direction. Gradually, over the last few centuries, we have led to a corruption of the concept of light, carelessly removing night from the environment in which we exist. We have overlooked the positive qualities of darkness, the need and goodness of night, the aesthetics of shadow and the sensory possibilities that darkness provides. We are currently experiencing the electrification and colonisation, of almost every patch of land with artificial lighting. Therefore, the following questions will be addressed during the lecture:

• How to arrange a nocturnal landscape ?
• How do we manage the night in urban green spaces?
• Are we ready to redefine the concept of light?
• What will green spaces look like in future cities at night?

dr inż. arch. Magdalena Zienowicz

Designer, architect, member of the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland, assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Wrocław University of Life Sciences. Coordinator, lecturer and workshop leader in the design of landscape architecture objects and illumination and lighting of urban areas. Author of scientific articles and trainings on lighting and illumination in urban space, as well as an experimenter and promoter of activities against light pollution. She is a member of the international organisation LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International), which brings together designers, research institutions and cities concerned with lighting as a tool for social, cultural and economic development. She is the originator and designer of Noctours, a project to illuminate the Botanical Garden in Wrocław, which in 2022 under the name “How dark is the night?” received an international award at the LIT Lighting Design Awards. Currently, he is focusing his research work in cooperation with the Research and Development Centre of MGGP Areo Sp.zo.o. on the development of pilot maps to support the management of lighting and lighting infrastructure in cities. As part of the cooperation, products such as: “Night Light Maps (NMS)”, “Night Collision Maps (NMK)”, “Night Lighting Odour Maps (NMOO)” and “Night Thematic Maps (NMT)”.

13:20 – 13:50 Communication in the city

The speech will be about communication in the city. Sustainable transportation in the landscape of the city, streets, squares, also suburban areas and surroundings of roads as well as transfer centers.
The role of transportation space in the system of greenery of the city will be discussed, all this on the example of leading realizations from the world and own design experience.

Urszula Forczek-Brataniec, Ph.

Graduate of the Cracow University of Technology, Doctor of Technical Sciences in the specialty of landscape architecture, Professor at the Cracow University of Technology. Designer at eM4 Pracownia Architektury Brataniec in the field of public spaces and greenery projects.
Co-author of award-winning and published projects min: Public Space nomination 2014, Landscape Architecture Europe publication 2015, Architecture Award of Polityka 2021, Design Educates Award 2022), Author of landscape studies and analysis and two monographs in this field: View from the Road, Landscape in Dynamic Perception 2008, Viewed Space. View analysis in landscape planning and design 2018 (Gaudeamus Award). Secretary General of IFLA Europe since 2016-2020, Member of the Presidium of the Scientific Council of the Pieniny National Park, and long-time board member of the Society of Landscape Architecture (SAK). Curator of international exhibitions of landscape architecture: the exhibition of the Visegrad countries CLAV 2012, 2015, and the exhibition IFLA Europe 2018 and 2022. Currently Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at PK.