Lecturer 2, 5 and 11

Gills Clement is a Horticultural engineer, landscape architect, author, gardener, and teacher at the « Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage » in Versailles (ENSP). In additional to his activity as a creator of parks, gardens , public and private areas, he pursues his theoretical and practical investigations in three directions : The Garden in Motion,  a concept derived from experiments in his own garden in the Creuse, and applied to public areas in France and abroad beginning in 1983. The initial description of this work was published in 1991 with four successive reprints by Sens and Tonka in Paris. The idea was put into practice for the first time in a public space in 1986 at the André Citroën Park in Paris, inaugurated in 1999. Numerous projects based on this principle of management have since been carried out, in particular at the “Lycée Agriculturel Jules Rieffel” in Saint Herblain (Loire Atlantique) between 2004 and 2009. The Planetary Garden, a political project, based on ecological humanism, first brought to public attention by a novel/essay Thomas et le Voyageur, published by Albin Michel in 1996, and by a major exhibit in the “Grande Halle de la Villette” in Paris (1999/2000) as well as by a certain number of studies: -the Planetary Garden of Shanghai -the Landscape Charter of Vassivière (Limousin) and other work in progress. The Third -Landscape -a concept developed in the course of a landscape appraisal in the Limousin, defined as a « hesitant fragment of the Planetary Garden », applied to all neglected (friche) or  left  behind spaces (délaissés) which he considers as the principal breeding area for biological diversity.

Lecturer 6

Born in La Seu d’Urgell in 1943. Has a degree in Law and be­gan his diplomatic career in 1971. Was director general of the Departamento Internacional in the cabinets of Adolfo Suárez and Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo (from 1978 to 1982). Has been an ambas­sador to Indonesia, Canada, Russia, and twice to China (an ex­ceptional case, from 1987 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2003). Also served as policy director (in charge of coordinating common for­eign policy with members of the EU) in the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores. He is currently the Ambassador of Spain to Andorra.

Lecturer 6

Helms AECOM in China and oversees the global company’s seven capabilities there: Architecture, Building Engineering, Design + Planning, Environment, Project and Program Management, Transportation, and Water and Urban Development. An advocate of AECOM’s collaborative vision, Mr. Chiao has led AECOM’s multidisciplinary experts into partnerships with local and provincial governments in China to help steer their “green growth” plans across the country. Under Mr. Chiao’s leadership, a growing base of private sector clients in China also are relying on AECOM’s local knowledge and innovation to meet their engineering, design and program management needs. Across Asia, Mr. Chiao has overseen high-density master plans for new towns and regenerations of existing urban landscapes that have drawn on sustainable themes. He has spearheaded the design and construction of several high-profile landscape master plans and major public open spaces in China and across Asia. Mr. Chiao is a member of both the AIA and the ASLA and holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University and Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Lecturer 6

Director of Wetlands International-China. Professor Chen has more than 30 years experience in wetlands conservation and management. His work at Wetlands International-China focuses on wildlife management, nature reserves and the development of comprehensive wetland conservation and wise use pro - grams within China. Professor Chen has collaborated with many international organisations including the World Bank, GEF and UNDP on projects such as the Peatlands Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change Project in the Ruoergai Marshes (Sichuan Province), the Integrated River Basin Management and Wetlands Biodiversity in Tarim River (Xinjiang region) and the Lake Dianchi Aquatic Biodiversity Restoration Program (Yunnan Province). Professor Chen assisted in the completion of China’s Wetlands Conservation Action Plan and he is also more widely involved in the North Asia region particulary in public awareness and educational activities. Professor Chen has produced numerous Chinese and English publications since 1990. Publication topics have included wetlands, migratory waterbirds, nature reserves, wildlife management and endangered species.

Lecturer 6

Senior City Planner. His current position is the Vice-Director General of China Association of National Parks and Scenic Sites which accepts instructions and supervision from both the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of People’s Republic of China. Mr Zhou got his bachelor’s degree in 1983 from the department of Architecture, Tongji University, Shanghai, majored at City Planning. After that, he worked in China Academy of Urban Planning and Design till 2001, during the years, he joined and managed some research projects, planning and design programs in the field of Urban Planning and scenic sites planning and construction.

Lecturer 6

Iñaki Ábalos and Renata Sentkiewicz founded Abalos+Sentkiewicz Arquitectos in 2006 to develop projects characterized by technical and formal soundness, coherence in theory/practice, and by integrating the disciplines of architecture, landscape, and the environment, in search of a new “thermodynamic beauty.” Their work is expanding in collaboration with the Laboratorio de Técnicas y Paisajes Contemporáneos (LTPC), which Iñaki Ábalos created in 2002 and which does work in the institutional and academic sectors. Their work has been widely disseminated and a monograph in 2G is currently being put together. Their work has been shown in solo exhibitions (Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem, 2008; Universitá Roma Tre, Rome, 2009; Fundació Tàpies, Barcelona, 2010) as well as in collective exhibitions (Ecological Urbanism, Harvard University 2009; Laboratorio Gran Vía, Fundación Telefónica 2010; Proyecto Tierra, Alhóndiga Bilbao 2010).

Iñaki Ábalos is a professor at the ETSAM (Madrid), Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor in the GSD at Harvard University, and member of the BIArch (Barcelona) steering committee. He was named RIBA International Fellow in 2009. His latest book is entitled Atlas Pintoresco Vol. I & II (GG).

Renata Sentkiewicz is an associate professor at the ETSAM, has participated in various international workshops, edited the book Cuatro Observatorios de la Energía (COAC), and is currently working on Verticalscapes (GG).