Sylvie Van Damme

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

Sylvie Van Damme, Ph.D. is a Belgian landscape ecologist and spatial planner specializing in landscape analysis, planning, and design. As a researcher and scientific coordinator at the Research Institute for Nature and Forest, the University of Antwerp and the Ghent University of Applied Sciences and Arts, she integrates theoretical concepts with practical applications in policy, management, and design. Her work focuses on landscapes as holistic, multifunctional systems, exploring innovative, nature-based solutions for sustainable landscape development. Guided by the principle of "conservation through development," she develops strategies to sustainably preserve historic estates within their broader natural and cultural contexts.