Martí Franch « Landezine International Landscape Award LILA

Martí Franch of EMF Studio won the first ever LILA office award in 2016. In 2020, his project Girona Shores won LILA in infrastructure category. In 2021, he is for the second time in the LILA jury.

Landscape Architect by the University of Greenwich and Horticulturalist by ETSAB in Barcelona, is the founder & principal of ‘EMF landscape architecture’. EMF is an interdisciplinary practice of independent experts in the field of urban and environmental design, exercising internationally. ‘EMF’ was settled in 1999 after professional and academic training in Amsterdam, London and Berlin. Ever since, Franch explores hybrid ways between ecological systems & cultural constructs to inform projects and build up new realities. Since 2001 Franch teaches in ETSAB Barcelona, and has been visiting teacher at ENSPV Versailles, RMIT Melbourne or LU Lund. Representing ETSAB Barcelona, Franch contributed to the conception of EMiLA, the European Master in Landscape Architecture a join Master Degree between ENSPV Versailles, AvB Amsterdam, LUH Hannover, UE Edinburgh and ETSAB. His work has been internationally published and awarded with LILA – Landezine International Landscape Award 2016, ASLA American Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award 2012 , European Landscape Biennal – Rosa Barba Prize 2012, as well as selected finalist in FAD 2012, Rosa Barba Prize 2010, CCCB European Prize of Public Space 2012 among others. Currently Franch is doing a Design Practice Research PhD by RMIT Melbourne (Europe) and is an ADAPT’r fellow at GSA for a period of 18 months.

See Marti’s presentation of his works at the first Landezine LIVE or see EMF’s projects on Landezine.

more by EMF

This on-going project was self-initiated by landscape architecture office EMF - Estudi Marti Franch - in the midst of the global financial crisis. The goal was to make it "big and cheap", so that the model can be repeated and adapted to many sites. It began by using vegetation maintenance to design public spaces in Girona. In this case, the landscape architect is not just the designer, but also a social catalyst who enables positive change. The jury recognized not only the process, but especially the result, which is a system of low-cost, modest, poetic and above all useful spaces that greatly enrich the quality of life for the people of Girona.

Girona’s Shores

Marti Franch is in his projects not only successfully solving spatial, environmental and physical problems concerning the sites he works on but with very respectful interventions manages to nurture landscape architecture also as a cultural discipline. His landscapes offer educational and experiential richness, often in fragile environments.

EMF designed landscapes are a result of a curious design approach that emphasises the curiosity also in the visitor by leaving landscape features and stories hidden enough to be discovered rather than just put on display. The narrative in Cap de Creus projects awaits the user in suggestion and not in the direct message. This way the user interacts with the meaning, making the experience far more intense and memorable.

La Tancada Salt Fields and Cap de Creus, are blending ecology, natural and cultural memory into harmonious and at the same time very powerful experience. The grounds of Can Framis museum illustrate EMF’s ability to intervene in dense urban fabric. A green, almost forest like ambience in the middle of Barcelona, again with a direct connection to the site’s past and ecological measures for cooling down the site with dense planting.

With Les Echasses project Marti Franch is effectively using natural processes to create a lake for a nature like resort. Instead of just creating a lake the landscape is proposed that first creates natural conditions for a lake to take place as a consequence.

EMF is practicing excellent scientific and technical work, but most importantly also proves well manifested paradigm that visiting landscapes must mean a culturally fulfilling experience. In the times when ecosystems are constantly being challenged by the consequences of human activity preservation and restoration of nature are vital for the wellbeing of all species. Marti Franch is aware that promoting subtle change in order to emphasise overwhelming natural forces and features left ‘as they are’ in nature plays a very important role in establishing a bond between the user and the landscape – people and environment.

EMF – Estudi Marti Franch

Martí Franch

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