Back to nature
The new Gulbenkian Garden, by Vladimir Djurovic
There is an urgent need to reconsider our relation with nature. Respecting, reestablishing and regenerating balanced natural systems is nowadays more relevant than ever. Furthermore, we need to bring nature back into our cities, challenging the current anthropocentric urban models.
The expansion of the Gulbenkian Garden proposes a seamless extension to the exceptional landscape designed by Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles and António Viana Barreto, continuing their strategy of establishing a model for rewilding our urban grounds with native species. The project develops and implements characteristic local ecologies, starting a process that ultimately aims to transform a typical ornamental garden into an autochthonous natural environment.
With Vladimir Djurovic (landscape architect), Paula Côrte-Real (landscape architect – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation) and Luís Ribeiro (professor at Instituto Superior de Agronomia and member of the jury for the Vértice Sul competition).
Of Montenegrin descent, Vladimir Djurovic was born in Lebanon in 1967 and pursued his studies abroad. He received his Undergraduate Degree in Horticulture from Reading University in England and his Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia in the U.S. After working in the U.S. for several years, he returned to Lebanon to establish his landscape architectural practice in 1995. Since its inception, Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture has been committed to the creation of landscapes that draw out the uniqueness of environments with a simplicity of gesture that gives nature the stage. For over 25 years, they have been working closely with select clients and architects, slowly developing a notable body of work throughout the world. More recently, they have focused their mission towards projects that address the pressing environmental and social issues facing us today. Projects that partner up with nature and pave the way for a much-needed change in the way we relate to it. Djurovic has lectured extensively in several venues and has been granted numerous international awards.