About
LOLA
LOLA Landscape Architects studies and designs spatial transitions of LOst LAndscapes. With thoughtful ideas and targeted interventions, we aim to design sublime places that are beautiful, surprising and thriving. Adding unique and memorable experiences is key to all of our projects.
Basic facts
LOLA was founded in 2006 by landscape architects Eric-Jan Pleijster, Cees van der Veeken and Peter Veenstra. A team of over 40 people now work in the office, ranging from landscape architects to architects and urban designers. Being designers with an integrated approach to projects, we continuously partner with other offices and institutions with specific knowledge and experience. LOLA is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and has got a second office in Shenzen, China. We operate worldwide for governments, provinces, municipalities, non-governmental organizations and project developers.
Beliefs
LOLA believes in a combination of continuous research, experiment and design. We’ve got an optimistic and conceptual approach to landscapes in transition and a fascination for new spatial phenomena, whether in the city center, at city edges or in the countryside. We match knowledge of landscapes and large-scale ecosystems with contemporary ideas about people, space and nature.
Body of work
LOLA designs public spaces such as parks and squares, works on redevelopment plans in the city and countryside, and develops landscape transformation strategies and spatial researches. LOLA’s projects have been built and/or published around the world. For our body of work LOLA received the Rotterdam-Maaskant Prize for Young Architects and the TOPOS Landscape Award.
Feyenoord Stadium, view from Mallegat Park
Approach
1. Living communities
The world is undergoing massive urbanization at an unprecedented rate. LOLA strongly believes in creating a living landscape that stimulates people’s sense of well-being, identity and belonging within their built environment. Landscape architecture’s role is holistic; creating exterior rooms where people gather, communicate and interact with each other is one of the main design keys of LOLA.
2. Parks and Public space
Being one of the core themes for any Landscape Architect, it is important to have a unique approach to the design of these important places. It is essential for a park to be rooted in its context. LOLA designs parks with strong links to the context, whether that’s historical or more contemporary, like the context of water systems, forest structures or the urban tissue. What we add to those parks might be unconventional, like a star maze or a hot pool right next to an old power plant.
3. Resiliency and Biodiversity
Being a country partly made below sea level, the effect of rising sea levels is alarming. As Landscape Architects we are driven to deal with the effects of climate change in all of our projects, trying to minimize sea level rise and counter heat-stress effect and damage from severe rainfall. The decline of biodiversity is a severe threat to ecosystems all over the world and in the end to our well-being. Our projects are designed to be nature-inclusive, biodiverse (even hyper-diverse). At the same time we also try to bring people closer to nature and offer them a unique encounter with all things living on this beautiful planet.
4. Sports and Health
It’s a simple equation, but sometimes easily forgotten: our health is crucial for our happiness. The more healthy we are, the more happy. And that results in a strong society and economy. Health in public space design is partly about people moving. LOLA wants to challenge people to get moving and be sportive in surprising ways in unexpected places. Our designs aim to integrate ways of moving and sporting in public space, parks and nature in a pleasing and challenging way.
Timeline
> 2006
LOLA Landscape Architects was founded in 2006 by landscape architects Eric-Jan Pleijster, Cees van der Veeken and Peter Veenstra. The Rotterdam based office starts to work on projects in the city center, the city edges and the countryside.
> 2014
LOLA had a huge kickstart in 2013-2014 when we received both the Rotterdam Maaskant award and the TOPOS Landscape Award for our body of work with a one year time-span. Because of that, we got the opportunity to write our little LOLA ‘bible’ Lost Landscapes.
> 2016
LOLA’s park design (ic.w. Piet Oudolf and Deltavormgroep) in Tytsjerk is officially opened! Central element in the winning design is the ‘Star Maze’, a remix of two historic park figures: the star shaped forest and the labyrinth.
> 2018
LOLA’s first project in China. In collaboration with TALLER and L+CC we won the international competition for a 600 hectare forest and sports park in Guang Ming, Shenzhen, China. The jury praised the winning proposal for its fresh approach and being highly attentive to local ecology meanwhile incorporating romantic techniques and realistic urban functions.
> 2020
LOLA always had a heart for ecology, but after the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 the focus of the office is more than ever on restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, whether for whole countries like Luxembourg or local pocket parks like Stadhuispromenade in Almere.
> 2022
In the end landscape architecture is about what is happening on the ground. Constructing landscape is a slow and lengthy process, but after 16 years we can proudly say we turned over 20 of our designs into real landscapes to be experienced by all senses. Sometimes extra large – such as the 600 ha Forest Sports Park in Shenzen, sometimes extra small like the Abrasive Paradise installation in Amersfoort.
Track record
We know a thing or two about Dutch Dikes
2 offices
42 employees
12 nationalities
17 years
5 continents
20 countries
399 projects
Urban life and nature go hand in hand in our nature-inclusive design for Bajes Kwartier
With 21 ha, Park Poelzone is our largest completed park to date.
Contact
+31 10 414 13 68
Het Industriegebouw
Goudsesingel 92
3011 KD Rotterdam
The Netherlands
info@lola.land
Recent news
LOLA presenteert voorstel voor een groen Stadhuisplein Eindhoven
De ‘Stadhuisweide’ is het Stadhuisplein in Eindhoven, maar dan groen! Onze visie Stadhuisweide staat nu op de website van de gemeente Eindhoven. LOLA Landscape Architects maakte in samenwerking met Donker Groep, Rotterdamse Dakendagen en Bioto een voorstel voor het Stadhuisplein en omgeving.… More
Uniting memory and history: LOLA and IWA win transformation design of Bilbao Begoña cemetery
Begoña cemetery is transitioning into a generous urban garden, while putting into value its accumulated heritage and history. The Municipality of Bilbao selected LOLA and IWA Studio to design the transformation of the 0.6 ha Begoña cemetery in Bilbao.… More
LOLA joins Hartree Cambridge quarter development
LOLA Landscape Architects was selected by Landsec U+I and developer TOWN as landscape designers for the transformative 48-ha Hartree development plan in North East Cambridge, United Kingdom.… More