The event also marks the opening of another edition of the Doctoral Program in Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology – LINK, a joint initiative by the Universities of Porto (FCUP), Lisbon (ISA), and Coimbra (FCT and FL) since 2009.
The conference will feature interventions from FCUP faculty, such as Maria José Curado, Teresa Portela Marques, and José Miguel Lameiras, who highlight Ilídio de Araújo's importance in the field's development. Also participating are Joaquim Esteves da Silva, Director of the Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Planning, and Carlos Correia Dias, President of the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects.
The inaugural lecture will be given by Teresa Andresen, founder of the Landscape Architecture course at FCUP, who will discuss the degree program and its interdisciplinary nature combining art and science. Panels will follow, dedicated to the relationship between landscape, humans, and nature, and the cultural value of landscapes.
In the afternoon, a tree will be planted to commemorate the course's 25th anniversary, with the presence of Lucinda Lima (FCUP) and João Junqueira (Botanical Garden of U.Porto). The event will conclude with a closing speech by the Director of FCUP, Ana Cristina Freire, the awarding of the Ilídio de Araújo Prize to the top-ranking student of the degree, and a musical performance by Lucas Osório.
Ilídio de Araújo (1925-2015) was a landscape architect and agronomist who left a significant legacy in the study of Portuguese cultural landscape and garden art, recognized as a key figure in the field. Naming the school prize after him aims to perpetuate his memory.
