Steven Heyde

Abstract

Estate landscapes in Europe face the challenge of conserving heritage and nature, while adapting to contemporary issues as climate change, sustainable food production, energy transitions, sustainable tourism, social inclusiveness and finding new sources of revenue. Yet conservation and new interventions don’t need to be mutually exclusive. By finding the right design solutions, new interventions can contribute to conservation practices in unforeseen ways.

This presentation will firstly give an in-depth understanding of estate landscapes as an integrated model of land management and its relevance for contemporary challenges in society. Secondly, the presentation will explore exemplary design projects from Europe that succeed in merging conservation practices with new transformations, offering valuable lessons for conservation practices, policy makers and design professionals.

Biography

Steven Heyde is a scientific researcher at the Research Center Futures through Design of the Ghent University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Belgium). His research activities are focused upon the future of historic estates in Europe including different policy measures, new innovations and the role of design in the future of these places. The book The Future of Estate Landscapes in Europe is one of the outcomes of the research.  

Currently Heyde is involved with the preparation of new policy measures to stimulate innovative solutions on historic estates in the Flanders region (Belgium). Alongside his research activities, Heyde is also involved with the redevelopment of a historic estate in the region of Bruges (Belgium) including the creation of a gastronomic food forest.