Udo Weilacher Explained

Dr. Udo Weilacher (born 1963 in Kaiserslautern) is a German landscape architect, author and Professor for Landscape Architecture.

Biography

Udo Weilacher was educated as a gardener in 1984. He studied landscape architecture at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan and at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona between 1986 and 1993. Since 1995, Weilacher has been an officially registered Garden- and Landscape Architect at the Chamber of Architecture in Germany. At the Technical University of Munich he received his diploma from the German landscape architect and professor Peter Latz. He worked with the renowned Swiss landscape architect Dieter Kienast as a scientific assistant and a lecturer at the University of Karlsruhe and the ETH Zürich, where he gained his distinguished doctorate (Dr. sc. ETH Zurich) in 2001.^[1]

In 2002 Weilacher became full professor for Landscape Architecture and Design ^[2] at the Leibniz University Hannover and, in 2006-08, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Sciences. Since April 2009 Udo Weilacher has been a full professor for Landscape Architecture and Transformation^[3] at the Technische Universität München, Department of Architecture, TUM School of Engineering and Design.^[4]

Weilacher worked from 1998 to 2002 as a freelance journalist for NZZ FOLIO, the monthly magazine of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He does extensive research on the relationship between art and landscape, on the theory and history of contemporary landscape architecture, and on the transformation of former cultural landscapes, e.g. industrial landscapes in the Alps.^[5] He published his works internationally, is a member of international juries and scientific advisor in editorial boards of scientific magazines^[6] and research institutes.^[7]

Academic Memberships

Udo Weilacher is or was a member of national and international scientific and professional organizations:

• BDLA, German Association of Landscape Architects
• DGGL, German Society of Garden Architecture and Landscape Culture
• CGL, Centre of Garden Art and Landscape Architecture^[8] at the Leibniz University Hannover
• Deutscher Werkbund, German Association of Craftsmen
• International Doctoral College "Spatial Research Lab"^[9]

Honors and awards

• 1990 Special Recognition by the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona for excellent program achievement
• 1995 Peter Joseph Lenné-Award in Germany for outstanding landscape design project
• 1995 Schinkel-Award in Germany for outstanding landscape design project
• 2001 Medal of the ETH Zurich for outstanding dissertation
• 2011 John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize by the Foundation of Landscape Studies in New York^[10] for the book Syntax of Landscape. The Landscape Architecture by Peter Latz und Partners
• 2017 Mellon Practitioner Resident^[11] at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.

Publications (selection)

• Full list of publications at the Technical University of Munich https://www.arc.ed.tum.de/en/lat/publications/
• Weilacher, Udo (1996/1999): Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art. Basel Berlin Boston: Birkhauser;
• Weilacher, Udo (2005): Visionary Gardens. Modern Landscapes by Ernst Cramer. Basel Berlin Boston: Birkhauser;
• Weilacher, Udo (2005): In Gardens. Profiles of contemporary European Landscape Architecture. Basel Berlin Boston: Birkhauser;
• Weilacher, Udo (2006): Promises instead of ready-made answers. in: Quart Verlag, Luzern (ed.): Schweingruber Zulauf. Volume 3 of the Series Arcadia 2006. 8-49. Luzern: Quart Verlag;
• Udo Weilacher: Switzerland und approximately 18 other contributions in: Taylor, Patrick (ed.): The Oxford Companion to the Garden. Oxford University Press, New York 2006;
• Udo Weilacher (2007): The Garden as the Last Luxury Today: Thought-Provoking Garden Projects by Dieter Kienast. in: Conan, Michel (ed.): Contemporary Garden Aesthetics, Creations and Interpretations. 81-95. Harvard University Press
• Udo Weilacher (2007): Land Art in: Colafranceschi, Daniela (ed.): Landscape + 100 words to inhabit it. Land&ScapeSeries. 108-110. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili SL.
• Weilacher, Udo (2008): Syntax of Landscape. The Landscape Architecture by Peter Latz and Partners. Basel Berlin Boston: Birkhauser;
• Weilacher, Udo (2020): Garden Thinking in Cities of Tomorrow. in: SPOOL. Journal of Architecture and the Built Environment, vol. 6; doi:https://doi.org/10.7480/spool.2020.1.5484
• Weilacher, Udo et.al.(2023): Waterways transformation in the vulnerable port city of Alexandria. in: Cities, vol. 141, Oct. 2023; doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104426

External links

• Landscape Architecture at the Technical University of Munich
• List of publications by Udo Weilacher at mediaTUM, the digital mediaserver at the TU München
• ORCID profile of Udo Weilacher
• ResearchGate profile of Udo Weilacher

Notes and References

1. https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/145203 PDF-Abstract of dissertation at ETH Zurich
2. https://www.ila.uni-hannover.de/en/ Landscape Architecture and Design at Leibniz University Hannover
3. https://www.arc.ed.tum.de/en/lat/home/ Landscape Architecture and Transformation, Technische Universität München
4. https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/weilacher-udo professional profile at the Technical University of Munich
5. https://www.alpine-space.eu/project/trails/ EU-Projekt: trAILs, Alpine Industrial Landscapes Transformation (2014–2020)
6. https://www.jola-lab.eu/about/editorial-board/ c.f. JoLA Journal of Landscape Architecture
7. https://www.cgl.uni-hannover.de/de/organisation/personen-und-organisation c.f. CGL, Centre of Garden Art and Landscape Architecture
8. https://www.cgl.uni-hannover.de/cgl.html?&L=1/
9. Web site: IDC - Spatial Research Lab: Startseite.
10. Web site: Foundation for Landscape Studies.
11. Web site: Udo Weilacher Joins Garden and Landscape Studies as the 2017 Mellon Practitioner Resident.