ECLAS President
Frederico Meireles Rodrigues is a landscape architect and Doctor in Landscape Architecture. He is a Professor at UTAD (Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro) in Portugal, and Head of the Department of Forest Science and Landscape Architecture. He teaches at UTAD since 2001 in the fields of landscape design, open space evaluation and design critique. His research interests are in the field of urban green park, evaluation of the outdoors, the recreation planning, the sustainable environments and people’s health and wellbeing. He is a researcher at CITAB Research Centre. Has also been involved in professional practice, cooperating with private offices and as coordinator of LOCUS, the Laboratory of Green Space, Health and Inclusion of UTAD.
ECLAS Vice President
Henrik Schultz, Germany
Henrik Schultz is a landscape architect and co-founder of the consultancies Stein+Schultz and landschaft3*. Henrik is full professor for landscape planning and regional development at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Henrik´s research and publications focus on climate-resilient city structures, sustainable mobility, transdisciplinary planning processes and walking as creative practice.
ECLAS Treasurer
Samaneh Sadat Nickayin, The Netherlands
Samaneh is an Assistant Professor at Wageningen University & Research. Previously, she worked at the Agricultural University of Iceland and Sapienza University of Rome. She worked for several landscape architecture firms, engaging in projects ranging from urban renewal to green infrastructure and water system management across different parts of the globe. She has conducted field research at UPennDesign, University of Pennsylvania (2017), and Université de Liège (2012).
ECLAS General Secretary
Alexandru Mexi, Romania
Alexandru Mexi is a Romanian landscape architect and PhD student at the University of Bucharest. He is studying the history of European and Romanian public parks and he is working in the field of garden heritage protection, restoration and conservation. In his home country he is coordinating a cultural project dedicated to green heritage (www.parcuri360.ro) and he is engaged in different cultural and educational programs.
ECLAS Executive Member
Kamila Adamczy-Mucha, Poland
Until September 2021, she was associated with the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław. Her research area is related to universal design, the environment of health facilities and the inclusion of space in rehabilitation processes. Lecturer in the field of shaping the therapeutic environment, user design in public space, building materials in landscape architecture. She implemented Tutoring and Problem-Based Learning courses. She was involved in the organization of the “Doble Diploma” courses between Hunan Agricultural University in China and the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław. He is a tutor and organizer of international and interdisciplinary student workshops and summer schools. He is a member of the design teams as a landscape architect in the following projects: Designing the concept of historic buildings for the Lower Silesian Mental Health Center and the concept of developing the Black Water Valley in Wrocław. Member of the design team of the winning Concept of land development, Recreation Center “Wodnik” in Dąbki. From October 2021 associated with the Department of Landscape Architecture at University of Environmenal Sciences in Lublin.
ECLAS Executive Member
Andrea Conti, Italy
Andrea Conti was born and raised in Italy. He studied Engineering of Building and Urban System at the University of Bologna. In 2013 he studied Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon. Since 2014, he worked as an engineer in Rimini, collaborating with various design studios and municipalities with projects on mobility planning and design. In 2018, he started a doctoral program in Landscape Architecture at the department of Urban and Rural Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), where he is currently employed as a PhD candidate. His research interests draw from curiosity toward design and its processes, addressing education and design practices as a way to create knowledge. He also collaborates with a European project ERASMUS+ called LED2LEAP on landscape democracy and education for collaborative design.rope.
ECLAS Executive Member
Mustafa Artar, Turkey
Assoc. Prof.Dr. Artar was born in 1975 in Ulus-Bartın/TR. Between 1994-1998, he completed his undergraduate education at Çukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture, and his master’s and doctoral studies at the same department. He continued his academic life, beginning from 1998 on at Çukurova University until April 2006, and continues his academic studies at Bartın University since April 2006. As a member of CTLA_TR – Chamber of Turkish Landscape Architects he had been IFLA Delegate of Turker between 2008-2014. He is a Board Member of PEMDER · Turkish Association for Landscape Architecture Education & Science and going on his studies on accreditation.
ECLAS Executive Member
Juan José Galan Vivas, Spain
Juanjo Galan is an Associate Professor of the Urban Planning Department of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain). From 2015 to 2020, he served in a similar position at the Department of Architecture of Aalto University (Finland). His teaching and research focus on landscape planning, landscape design, sustainable development, regional and urban planning, and, on a more general level, on the intersections between social and ecological systems. He coordinated the Sierra Calderona Strategic Plan (2013-2014) and the AELCLIC project for the Adaptation of European Landscapes to Climate Change (CLIMATE-KIC 2018-2020). Between 2006 and 2010 Juanjo Galan was the president of the Spanish Association of Landscape Architects (AEP) and from 2017 till 2020 he was the promoter first and Chair of the Landscape Observatory of Finland.
ECLAS Executive Member
Lei Gao, Norway
Lei Gao is an associate professor of history of landscape architecture and garden art at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Lei received her PhD in Landscape Architecture from the University of Sheffield in 2010. Prior to that she studied architecture and landscape architecture in China. Lei has been working at NMBU since 2013. Her research interests include garden history and conservation, cultural, social and spiritual meanings of gardens and designed landscapes, and the management of historical landscapes. Lei was a member of the organising committee for the 2019 ECLAS conference.
ECLAS Executive Member
Albert Fekete, Hungary
Albert FEKETE is a graduated Landscape Architect, Head of the Institute of Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning and Garden Art Budapest (MATE), founder and curator of Hungarian Garden Heritage Foundation.
He is Doctor in Landscape Architecture (PhD) and in Architecture (DLA), researcher, teacher, guest lecturer in several European and overseas universities. He is licenced landscape architect and licensed expert for renovation of heritage sites, with international design experiences, founder and owner since 2000 of the Lépték Terv Landscape Office in Budapest. He was awarded among others in 14 design competitions and is winner of several national and international professional recognitions, for instance the „Landscape Architect of the Year” prize in Hungary in 2012 and 2017, and the Europa Nostra Award for Research in 2014. He is Vice President of the Hungarian Association of Landscape Architects (HALA) and national delegate of the HALA in IFLA Europe.
ECLAS Executive Member
Beata Dreksler, Lebanon
Beata Dreksler is an assistant professor of landscape architecture at the American University of Beirut. She holds a Ph.D. in landscape architecture from Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Poland, and has over 30 years of experience across Europe, Central America, and the Middle East. Beata has contributed to projects ranging from urban revitalization to community-focused green spaces. Her current research explores landscape democracy and digital transformation, including Virtual Reality applications in design.
ECLAS Executive Member
Bianca Maria Rinaldi, Italy
Bianca Maria Rinaldi is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Politecnico di Torino, where she teaches in the interuniversity Master Program in Landscape Architecture. Before joining Politecnico di Torino, she has held assistant professorships at the University of Camerino, Italy, at the University of Technology in Graz and at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. She has held visiting positions at the National University of Singapore and at the Leibniz University Hanover. Her work has been supported with research fellowships from Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington D.C., and the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn. In 2012, her book The Chinese Garden: Garden Types for Contemporary Landscape Architecture (Birkhäuser 2011) was awarded a J.B. Jackson Prize by the Foundation for Landscape Studies. Bianca served as co-editor of the peer reviewed academic JoLA-Journal of Landscape Architecture and currently is a member of the journal’s advisory board. She serves as a member of the scientific advisory board of the Center for Garden Art and Landscape Architecture at the Leibniz University of Hanover, and as a member of the advisory board of the Landscape History Chapter within the Society of Architectural Historians.
ECLAS Executive Member
Linnéa Fridell Sweden
Linnea Fridell is a lecturer at the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU) in Alnarp, Sweden. She is mainly teaching in the Landscape Architecture Program and the Program for Sustainable Urban Development. Apart from teaching she has also been involved in several research and environmental monitoring and assessment projects. Her research interest revolve around social perspectives on the everyday landscape, where she currently has a special focus on children’s places
Executive Committee Member
Mana Taheri Estonia
Mana is an architect from Iran with extensive experience in design and construction. She holds a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the Estonian University of Life Sciences and has actively contributed to international landscape architecture projects. Her passion lies in collaborative work, particularly within diverse cultural contexts. As a programme coordinator and researcher, Mana plays a role in advancing the Landscape Architecture department, managing both bachelor’s and master’s programmes, collaborating on research projects, and lecturing. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD focused on urban green spaces and their relationship to spatial justice, with a particular emphasis on Iranian women. Through her experimental research, she aims to drive positive changes in the living environment and advocate for justice in all aspects of life.
Mana is also a member of the International Women’s Network in Estonia, where she explores the topic of landscape democracy through both research and practice.
Executive Committee Member
Magdalena Błaszczyk
Magdalena Błaszczyk is an assistant professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Poland. Magdalena received her PhD in 2014, and since then she has been working at SGGW. Prior to her doctoral program, she studied landscape architecture at Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland. Her scientific interests revolve around issues related to social and behavioral aspects of landscape and urban design, perceptions and preferences of trees, value of trees (social, psychological, and economic), and ecosystem services. Magdalena also conducts research on NBS (mainly trees) as a factor enhancing the quality of life in cities. She is involved in several research projects on climate change adaptation.
ECLAS Past Presidents
Ellen Fetzer 2018 – 2024
Simon Bell 2013 – 2018
Diedrich Bruns 2009-2013
Jeroen de Vries 2004 – 2009
Richard Stiles 1999 – 2004
