It is an art to design landscapes.
The focus lies not only on the individual vision of the designer, but primarily on the needs of the client and users. It is my aim to improve the living quality, and at the same time to integrate economic, aesthetic, ecological, cultural as well as social values.
>> References Competitions and Landscape Projects
...and others...
... arise from our imagination.
Therefore, interacting with landscapes requires:
SENSE of aesthetics and well-being,
UNDERSTANDING of complex settings and conflicts,
KNOWLEDGE of social and spatial transformations.
>> References Lectures and Guest Crits
2021 Lecture "Mediating Landscape",
Technical University of Munich
2021 Guest Crit "Oberbürg", Nuremberg Institute of Technology
2020 Talk "The urban park caught between recreational space and colonial instrument of power", with Damaris Baumann, 2. Schweizer Landschaftskongress
2020 Lecture "Cultural Laboratory Seoul: The park as a global remedy?", Technical University of Munich and APHIN e.V.
2018 Lecture "Zum Einfluss kultureller Codes. Kulturlabor Seoul", University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf
2018 Lecture "Participation", University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf
2017 Talk "Cultural Laboratory Seoul", gta Werkstattgespräche, Colloquium for Architecture, Art- and Art History, ETH Zürich
2017 Talk "Cultural Laboratory Seoul", 7. International Symposium DARA “Common Ground”,
Leibniz University Hannover
2016 Guest Crit "Quo Vadis Suburbia?",
University of Applied Sciences Munich
2016 Talk "Von Freiraumintendanten und -aktivisten", with F. Lüdicke, Symposium "Theorien der Aneignung,"
University of Kassel
2015 Lecture "Gesprächslandschaften", Lecture Series "Praxis der Landschaftsarchitektur", Technical University of Munich
2015 Guest Crit "Greenbelt of Seoul",
Technical University of Munich
2015 Talk "Cultural Laboratory Seoul", gta Werkstattgespräche, Colloquium for Architecture, Art- and Art History, ETH Zürich
2014 Talk "Kulturtransfer und Landschaftsarchitektur", Colloquium "Urbane Landschaften",
Leibniz University Hannover
...and others...
Landscapes need communication
The planning and construction process often suffers from conflicts – between the municipality and the residents or among neighbors. Especially with regard to nature, different interests and values easily collide. In view of that, it's useful to embed mediation and communication methods in the field of landscape architecture.
>> References Seminars
>> References Moderations and Mediations
2021 Seminar "Resolving Conflicts Constructively", 12./19.02.2021
Client: didactica, ETH Zürich & Uni Zürich
2020 Seminar "Integrated Discipline: Stakeholder Analysis",
01.04.-01.08.2020
Client: Technical University of Munich
2020 Seminar "Team building", 20.1.2020
Collaboration with S. Wolff
Client: Ingolstadt
2019 Seminar "Resolving Conflicts Constructively", 17.11.2019
Collaboration with C. Guter
Client: AVETH ETH Zürich
2019 Seminar "Team building", 23.7. and 23.10.2019
Collaboration with S. Wolff
Client: Ingolstadt
2019 Seminar "Resolving Conflicts Constructively", 07.05.2019
Client: didactica, ETH Zürich & Uni Zürich
2018 Seminar "Conflict Management", 20.06.2017/18.07.2017
Collaboration with M. Weinkopf
Client: GEWOFAG
2017 Workshop "Communication", 19.12.2017
Collaboration with M. Stegmeier
Client: bauchplan Munich
2017 Seminar "Conflict Management", 20.06.2017/18.07.2017
Collaboration with M. Weinkopf
Client: GEWOFAG
2017 Seminar "Conflict Management", 20.02.2017
Collaboration with A. Huber,
Client: Münchner Bildungswerk
...and others...
2021 Moderation, "Prinzenpost" Collaboration with S. Wolff
Client: GeQo - Arbeitskreis Quartierszeitung
2021 Mediation B, Munich
Collaboration with N. Disko, SteG
2020 Participation, "Holcim Sommerdialog - Dialoginsel Umwelt" Collaboration with Adribo Stuttgart,
Dr. P. Selke and M. Weinkopf
Client: Holcim Deutschland
2020 Moderation, "Online-Salon - Augenhöhe in der Wirtschaft",
Die WeiterDenker GbR
2020 Moderation "Bauverein"
Collaboration with S. Wolff
Client: Bauverein Haidhausen
2019 Moderation "Inklusionsmaschine Stadt"
Prof. A. Benze, Hochschule München, Dr. D. Rummel, TUM
2018 Moderation "Parity Talks III - Pedagogies", with G. Schaad, ETH Zürich
2018 Moderation H, Munich
Collaboration with S. Epple, NextSpaces
2018 Participation W, Munich
Collaboration with U. Ammermann, CityCom
2017-18 Economic mediation N, Munich
2016 Mediation G, Collaboration with K. Chapin, SteG
2014-2015 Participation L, Collaboration with S. Wolff, SteG
2013 Participation G, Collaboration with S. Wolff, SteG
...and others...
2009-today Advanced Trainings, among others in "Conflict Management and Brain Research", "Shuttle- and Telephone-Mediation", "Project Management", "Intercultural Communication".
2008-2009 Professional Training and Certification as Mediator, Academy Perspektivenwechsel, Munich
The synergy between design and research will help to resolve complex design tasks.
How can we deal with urban transformation processes? How is landscape perceived by different cultures? Academic research on social, cultural and historic issues can provide a strong knowledge for specific design tasks.
>> References Publications
>> Research Project
2020 "Cultural Laboratory Seoul. Emergence, Narrative and Impact of Culturally Related Landscape Meaning",
ETH Research Collection
2019 "Namsan and Yongsan - Landscape restoration as motor for urban change", in: DOMUS KOREA 1/19,
ONE O ONE Publisher
2018 "Aufgedeckte Geschichte" with Seonju Kim, in: Garten + Landschaft 11/18,
Callwey Publisher
2017 "Backflip - New Oerlikon Zurich" with Isabelle Fehlmann, in: Topos 100/2017,
Callwey Publisher
2017 "Von Freiraumintendanten und Planungsaktivisten" with Felix Lüdicke, in: Hauck et al. (Ed.): "Theorien der Aneignung von urbanen Freiräumen",
Trancript Publisher
2017 "Pamphlet 20 - Delta Dialogues" with Christophe Girot, Isabelle Fehlmann, Lara Mehling (Eds.), gta Publisher
2017 "Between the Lines" with Isabelle Fehlmann, Lara Mehling, in: Girot et al (Ed.): Pamphlet 20 - Delta Dialogues,
gta Publisher
2017 "Lost Periphery. Looking for a concept to design the greenbelt of Seoul" with Yun-Kyeong Hoh, in: Topos 98/2017, Callwey Publisher
2016 "False Nature?“ with Regine Keller, in: Girot, Christophe, Imhof, Dora (Ed.): Thinking the Contemporary Landscape,
Princeton Architectural Press
2016 "Mediation in der Planung" with Juliane Schneegans, in: Garten + Landschaft 12/2016, Callwey Publisher
2015 "The Renaissance of Nakta Mountain", in: Topos 92/2015,
Callwey Publisher
2013 "Stadt und Spiele – Das Spielkonzept des Olympischen Dorfs als partizipativer Gestaltungsprozess" with Thomas Hauck, Felix Lüdicke, Juliane Schneegans, in: Keller, Regine; Hennecke, Stephanie; Schneegans, Juliane (Ed.): Demokratisches Grün – Olympiapark,
Jovis Publisher
2013 "Superpool – Visionäre einer lebenswerten Stadt" with Juliane Schneegans, in: Baumeister, B4/2013,
Callwey Publisher
2012 "Gartenkunst im Kunstdruck", in: Garten+Landschaft, 09/2012, Callwey Publisher
2012 "Städtische Vielfalt auf Kosten der Anwohner?" with Juliane Schneegans, in: Garten+Landschaft, Blog 07/2012, Callwey Publisher
2011 "Stadtachse Wolfsburg Westhagen" with Christoph Hagenacker, in: Garten+Landschaft, 03/2011,
Callwey Publisher
...and others...
The aim of the research project is to explore thoroughly,
how cultural patterns
and historical knowledge influence contemporary landscape design in Korea.
The dissertation Cultural Laboratory Seoul examines landscape restoration projects in the South Korean capital Seoul, which have influenced the urban fabric of the Korean capital since the 1980s. The landscape restoration projects have been supported by a paradigm shift from growth-oriented to environment-oriented approaches in Korean urban planning. In this context, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has sought means to convey traditional, historical and natural values through landscape restoration. In consequence, Seoul’s landscape elements—mountains, rivers, and valleys—have been cleared of apartment buildings and urban infrastructure, and afterwards have been greened. The challenge in many of these landscape restoration projects, however, has been to convey the traditional landscape meaning of these sites while meeting today’s landscape architectural standards and requirements as well as the needs of citizens. In order to gain a deeper understanding of how to deal with these challenges, the dissertation examines existing landscape restoration projects such as the restoration of Namsan (1990–2000), the restoration of Naksan (1997–2002), and the restoration of Inwangsan’s Suseongdong Valley (2007–2012). As a result, the dissertation first outlines the social, political, and cultural contexts from which the trend towards landscape restoration has emerged and answers the question of why restoration has become a popular landscape approach in Korean urban planning and landscape architecture. Second, the dissertation analyzes how culturally rooted landscape concepts are translated into the present. By comparing the intertextuality of the landscape—related exhibitions, planning documents, and information brochures—with interviews of municipal officials, practitioners, artists, and citizens affected by the projects, the thesis identifies the transmission, erasure and the reinterpretation of distinct landscape meanings and concepts. The tensions between national and local narratives imbedded in the sites are revealed, especially as related to power structures and prevalent ideologies. Third, the dissertation clarifies the relationship between the narrative, the built space, and the visitor’s perception. It explains how the acceptance and appropriation of these projects is influenced by a complex web of meanings, resources, and conflicts grounded upon different cultural and historical interpretations. On this basis, this dissertation argues for a mediating approach in landscape architecture that includes culturally related landscape understandings in the design for the creation of a spatial identity.
Supervisor: Prof. Christophe Girot, ETH Zürich
Co-Supervisor: Prof. Sung Hong Kim, University of Seoul
Successful Defence: 29.11.2019
Project Funding/Scholarship: Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF and DARCH ETH, 2016–2019
Academic Publication: ETH Research Collection, 2020
Susann Ahn is Landscape Architect and certified Mediator. She received her Diploma at the Technical University Munich and her Doctor of Science at ETH Zürich. For several years, she conducted international projects in various offices, before founding her own office in 2013. Besides that, she worked at the TU Munich and ETH Zurich from 2011-2021. Since April 2021 she and Thomas E. Hauck were appointed as professors for Landscape Architecture and Planning at the TU Wien. Furthermore she is cofounder of amedida group Ahn Simisker Wolff.
AHN Landscape Architecture Mediation
Prof. Dr. Susann Ahn
Landscape Architect | Certified Mediator
Mail: info(at)susann-ahn.de
Telefon: +49 160 90958147
Location: Vienna | Austria & Freising | Germany
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