Bert De Jonghe (Belgian landscape architect, the founder of Transpolar Studio, a Lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway, and a Doctor of Design candidate at Harvard University)
Transpolar Futures anticipates and frames the next chapter of settlement and infrastructural development in the archipelago of Svalbard, Arctic Norway. Based on a literary, statistical, and representational analysis, this presentation looks ahead (today – 2050) and aspires to formulate a range of alternative settlement typologies and infrastructural futures for Svalbard. The foundational elements of such models include a transnational, participatory, and scenario-based design approach, as well as visions for a highly connected, inclusive, and adaptive settlement in a rapidly changing polar world. This results in design proposals for a post-Arctic settlement that transcends marginalization and critiques the discipline’s clichéd and troubled histories.
Bert De Jonghe is a Belgian landscape architect, the founder of Transpolar Studio, a Lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway, and a Doctor of Design candidate at Harvard University. He earned his Master in Design Studies degree at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) after completing a Master of Landscape Architecture at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Previously, he worked as a research assistant at Harvard GSD’s Office for Urbanization and with landscape architecture offices in Belgium, South Africa, and Norway. His research is supported by generous grants from the Penny White Project Fund, the Doctor of Design Grant, the Harvard University International Grant, and the MDes Research & Development Award. Bert’s recent publications include “Inventing Greenland - Designing an Arctic Nation” (Actar Publishers, 2022) and “The Opening of the Transpolar Sea Route: Logistical, Geopolitical, Environmental, and Socioeconomic Impacts” (Marine Policy Journal, 2020).