Landschaftsplaner Peter Latz als europäischer „Heritage Champion“ ausgezeichnet
In einem großangelegten Festakt verlieh Europa Nostra, die Denkmalpflege-Abteilung des Europarates, im Herbst in Brüssel seine diesjährigen, in verschiedenen Kategorien vergebenen Denkmalpflege-Preise. Zum „Heritage Champion 2025“ ließ Europa Nostra bei Bekanntgabe der Auszeichnung im Juni 2025 verlauten:
Peter Latz is a pioneer in the field of industrial heritage and landscape architecture in Europe. Through landmark projects, writing, and advocacy, he showed how history, ecology and design can reshape post-industrial landscapes into places of cultural and civic renewal.
Peter Latz, born in 1939, is one of Europe’s most influential landscape architects and a visionary in the field of industrial heritage. Over more than five decades, he has shown how abandoned industrial sites can be reimagined as vibrant places for culture, ecology, and public life.
His most iconic project, the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, transformed a decommissioned blast furnace plant in Germany’s Ruhr region into a multifunctional landscape. Completed in the 1990s as part of the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park, the site retains blast furnaces, cooling towers and ore bunkers, reinterpreted as gardens, play areas, climbing walls and observation platforms. Today, the park attracts 1.2 million visitors annually and serves as a flagship of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
Across other major projects – including the Harbour Island in Saarbrücken (Germany), Parco Dora in Turin (Italy) and the Plateau de Kirchberg (Luxembourg) – Latz and his studio Latz + Partner integrated history, functionality, and environmental renewal. He pioneered the use of ecological strategies, such as rainwater harvesting, green roofs, and passive solar energy, long before these became standard practice. His former private estate in Kassel served as a testing ground for such methods as early as the 1970s.
Latz has also been a passionate educator, holding long-term professorships in Kassel and Munich, and guest positions at Harvard and Penn. He inspired generations of landscape architects, not only through teaching but through writings such as Rustred, 250 Things a Landscape Architect Should Know, and The Landscape Architecture of Peter Latz and Partners.
Known for his interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, Latz has worked closely with local communities and environmental groups. His designs emphasise evolution and adaptability, favouring layered, time-based solutions over static forms. As he once wrote, “Derelict sites have their own history, poetry and dignity”. His work demonstrates that transforming industrial ruins is not only possible, but essential to reimagining the urban and ecological future of Europe.
He received the IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award, the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize, and the Friedrich-Ludwig-von-Sckell Ring.
“Peter Latz is a pioneer in industrial heritage and landscape reuse, integrating cultural memory with ecological renewal to transform disused sites into vibrant public spaces,” the Awards’ Jury stated. “His influence extends far beyond Germany – through global teaching, strong community engagement, and a lasting impact on how post-industrial landscapes are preserved and reimagined,” the Jury added.
Contact: Anneliese Latz and Silke Wieber | Latz + Partner | a.latz@latzundpartner.de and s.wieber@latzundpartner.de | www.latzundpartner.de
Prof. em. Peter Latz – European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards
Meldung von bauwende-news.de Pionier des industriellen Erbes: European Heritage Award für Peter Latz – Bauwende-Blog
