Cristina Castel Branco and Mónica Luengo in conversation with Sofía Barroso

The history of tiles and the aesthetic of water have no mysteries for Cristina Castel-Branco. The historical gardens of Portugal are one of the specializations of this landscape architect, who graduated from the Higher Institute of Agronomy in Lisbon, obtained a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts after studying at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University. She has written numerous papers in her field of expertise and was elected as a voting member of the International Scientific Committee of Cultural Landscapes for the International Council on Monuments and Sites of the Unesco’s World Heritage. In 1989, she established the ACB Arquitectura Paisagista practice with Teresa Andresen, to promote contemporary gardens and parks integrating solutions learned in historical garden restoration projects. She’s been a lecturer at the Higher Institute of Agronomy in Lisbon since 1989 and her papers are published in specialised journals in Europe, the United States and Japan. The French government has bestowed her with the Officier des Arts et des Letres. She speaks with Sofía Barroso, culture manager, specialist in art and gardens.

Mónica Luengo is an historian and landscape architect. Honorary member of the International Scientific Committee of Cultural Landscapes ICOMOS-IFLA, of which she was president between 2009 and 2015. She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Institut Européen de Jardins et Paysages, the European Network of Historic Gardens and the Institute of Madrilenian Studies (CSIC). Vice President of ICOMOS Spain. She has collaborated with several universities and international organizations, and directed and participated in numerous courses and conferences on cultural landscapes and historic gardens. Consultant on issues related to World Heritage. Coordinator of the candidacy file of El Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, landscape of arts and sciences, founding partner of Arquitectura, Territorio y Landscape, S.L., which focuses on the realization of landscaping projects and rehabilitation of historic gardens.

This session will be streamed live at YouTube

Photography: courtesy of Around Art