LA Guest Lecture: Peter Veenstra of LOLA

University of Guelph - Landscape Architecture Guest Lecture Series presents:

Peter Veenstra, Principal and Founder of LOLA (LOst LAndscapes), The Netherlands

Landscape architect and co-founder of LOLA Landscape Architects in Rotterdam and Shenzhen, Peter Veenstra leads many international design and research projects and is active as a guest lecturer and co-curator. In design projects, he strives to turn innovative ideas into achievable designs.

Even though LOLA is an acronym for Lost Landscapes, which was born out of a fascination for the adventurous fringe, poetic leftover space, and spontaneous nature, the natural development of the office led him to design places like the Adidas HQ campus and Shenzhen’s main waterfront, Shenzhen Bay Park. With self-initiated studies and design research, he keeps on working on topics that deserve more attention in the field of (landscape) architecture. Examples of his designs are Park Vijversburg in Tytsjerk, Singelpark in Leiden, Forest Sports Park in Shenzhen, and Composed Nature in Neerpelt. Recent research focused on post-disaster landscapes, carbon-positive land use, afforestation, and climate adaptation in the urban environment.

In 2013, Peter Veenstra received the Rotterdam Maaskant Prize for Young Architects,in 2014, the TOPOS landscape award, and in 2020, WAF China Awards for both Excellent Design and Best Landscape. He co-wrote the first monograph on LOLA, titled ‘Lost Landscapes’, and the second, titled ‘In Search of Sharawadgi.’

Image:  Peter Veenstra

This lecture is supported by an SSHRC Grant and the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Contacts:  Landscape Architecture Guest Lecture Coordinator:  Nadia Amoroso, Associate Professor and LA Speaker Series Student Assistant: Sana Al-Naseri