TAKE CARE – Planetary Landscape Architecture
Submit your abstract by January 31, 2026
Download Conference Call as PDF
We are pleased to invite you to the next edition of the annual ECLAS conference which will be held at the University of Technology Delft, from 16 to 19 September 2026.
The 2026 theme is ‘Take Care – Planetary Landscape Architecture’. In an age of ecological and environmental urgency, landscape architecture must be more than the design of space — it must become a practice of care. Take Care calls for awareness, responsibility, and action. It considers the limits of planetary systems, assuming responsibility for human interventions, and using the power of design to shape landscapes that support life. It operates at a planetary scale, but also regionally and locally.
Take Care is structured around five interconnected tracks — each offering a pathway for a knowing and doing in a planetary age. We invite contributions on theory and discourse, on ways of knowing and doing, on emerging perspectives and voices, on planetary challenges, and on transformative education. Together, they form a framework for a profession that is ethically engaged, relationally aware, and equipped to foster a regenerative future for the planet.
To foster a maximum level of learning, interaction and action around the conference theme, we invite both regular paper contributions as well as alternative contributions in formats such as visual essays. The two formats also inform the structure of the conference: day one is to be a ‘dissemination day’ for regular contributions while the alternative contributions are the input for an ‘exchange day’ on day two.
This conference edition is organised by DSL – The Dutch School of Landscape Architecture, a partnership between the Dutch Association for Garden and Landscape Architecture (NVTL) and seven educational and research institutes in the Netherlands and Flanders: Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. HAS green academy, Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts, KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT – Howest), Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, University of Technology Delft, and Wageningen University & Research.
TAKE CARE – planetary landscape architecture
In an age of ecological and environmental urgency, landscape architecture must be more than the design of space — it must be a practice of care. Take Care calls for awareness, responsibility, and action. It considers the limits of planetary systems, assuming responsibility for human interventions, and using the power of design to shape landscapes that support life — at a planetary scale, but also regionally and locally, both ecologically and socially.
Transitioning to a practice of care is about a new stewardship of the land, shaping landscapes with regard for the interconnectedness of things, and about scales of action from the global to the regional to the local to the microbial. Today we have unprecedented insights into the planet’s intricacies, and with that knowledge comes responsibility — and an urgent call to Take Care. We need to review our ways of knowing and doing, expand the foundations and agency of the discipline and widen our horizon through trans-disciplinary practice.
Through education, research, and design practice, Take Care explores how landscape architecture can collaborate with nature and respond to societal challenges. It promotes attentiveness, inclusivity, and long-term commitment, while embracing diverse perspectives, fostering equity, and recognizing the deep interconnection between environmental and social systems. At its core, Take Care affirms the power of landscape architecture to navigate these complexities and contribute to a meaningful, fair and resilient future. For in landscape there are no real boundaries — the Earth has always been a connected whole.
Take care.
Take into account.
Take responsibility.
Take action.
Design for life.
Five Tracks of Care in Landscape Architecture
Landscape architects are stewards of the land, shaping space while taking care of the planet. Turning these principles into practice, Take Care is structured around five interconnected tracks — each offering a pathway for landscape architecture in a planetary age. These tracks explore how care can be enacted through theoretical grounding, methodological innovation, inclusive dialogue, design responses to urgent challenges, and transformative education. Together, they form a framework for a profession that is ethically engaged, relationally aware, and equipped to foster regenerative futures.
Submit your abstract by January 31, 2026
For more details on the different tracks please proceed to the conference website
Conference Details
Venue: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (A+BE) TU Delft, Julianalaan 134, Delft, the Netherlands, and Lijm & Cultuur lab, Rotterdamseweg 272, Delft
Format: The conference will include both in-person and virtual participation options.
Conference dates: Wednesday 16 September to Saturday 19 September, 2026.
Conference key dates and time line
- 01.11.206: Call for abstracts opens
- 31.01.2026: Call for abstracts closes (strictly)
- 01.02. – 15.03.2026: Review process
- 16.03.- 30.03.2026: Announcement of acceptance
- 01.04. – 15.06.2026: Revised (extended) abstracts and visual essays submission
- 01.04.2026: Registration opens
- 31.05.2026: Registration deadline for presenters
- 20.08.2026: Registration deadline for non-presenting participants
Conference Programme
Wednesday 16 September, 2026: PRE-CONFERENCE DAY + OPENING
- All-day registration
- PhD doctoral colloquium
- Heads of Schools meeting
- Official opening and keynotes
- Informal dinner
Thursday 17 September, 2026: DISSEMINATION DAY
- Presentations in parallel sessions
- Keynotes
- Official dinner and award ceremonies
Friday 18 September, 2026: EXCHANGE DAY
- Parallel exchange sessions within tracks
- Parallel exchange sessions across tracks
- Plenary, formulation of call-to-action
- ECLAS General Assembly
- Afterparty
Saturday 19, 2026: EXCURSIONS & ACTIVITIES
- Thematic tours
- Project and location tours
- Workshops / design sessions
- Peer-to-peer meetings
