Manuela Casado: “Landscape architecture is the art of making the relationship between people and their surroundings visible.”
Landscape is part of our daily lives. It’s in the streets we walk down, the parks where we gather, and the public spaces where we work, relax, or interact with others. Although it often goes unnoticed, it directly influences our well-being, the health of our cities, and the way we connect with our surroundings.
To bring this discipline to a wider audience, we spoke with Manuela Casado, IDOM’s director of landscape architecture, about the role of landscape architecture in building more livable, resilient, and sustainable cities.
Throughout the interview, Casado explains why landscape architecture is much more than an aesthetic issue and how it has become a strategic tool for addressing major environmental, social, and urban challenges. From fostering social interaction and community life to promoting green infrastructure that improves urban comfort and enhances biodiversity, landscape architecture plays an increasingly important role in people’s quality of life.
The conversation also reviews projects and experiences that shaped her professional career. These include the traditional oases of Saudi Arabia, which integrate nature, water, human activity, and community, and urban integration initiatives linked to major transportation infrastructure. In these initiatives, landscape architecture, urban planning, and mobility must work together to create a shared vision of the city.
Manuela also reflects on the future of the profession, emphasizing the need to combine ecology, technology, and design to address the challenges of the coming decades while maintaining focus on the ultimate goal of landscape architecture: strengthening the relationship between people and the places they inhabit.
👉 You can read the full interview here.
