Invisible Work
Michael van Gessel Landscape Architect

Design: Reynoud Homan / Paperback / Illustrated (colour and b/w) / 348 pages / Size: 33 x 26 cm
English edition / ISBN 978-90-5662-038-7 / € 82.50
Dutch edition / ISBN 978-90-5662-519-1

In association with the International Apeldoorn Garden and Landscape Architecture Triennial
With the support of the Netherlands Architecture Fund, the Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund and the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Fonds BKVB)

Exhibition of the work of Michael van Gessel and Patrick McGabe from 11 June to 28 September 2008 in the former Nettenfabriek, Apeldoorn.

Over the last three decades, Michael van Gessel (b. 1948) has amply demonstrated his exceptional talent as a landscape architect. His work is highly varied in nature and embraces a diversity of typologies, ranging from private gardens to urban planning projects. He oversaw the renovation of the park of Castle Groeneveld, Valkenberg Park in Breda, Artis Zoo in Amsterdam and the Twickel country estate. He also supervised the renovation of Amsterdam's Vondel Park and drew up the master plan for the restoration of the park and the landscaping around Castle De Haar. He has devised urban development plans for Prinsenland (Rotterdam), Ede town centre and Ruskenveen (Hoogkerk). Other important designs that bear his signature include the Kromhout Park (Tilburg), the inner courtyards of the Ministry of Agriculture in The Hague and its integration into the urban fabric, and the concept for the reorganization of the Camp Vught National Monument. As a supervisor for the public space, Van Gessel was involved in plans for IJburg, the Southern Banks of the IJ in Amsterdam and Almere city centre.

This comprehensive publication about the work of Michael van Gessel and the context and significance of his 30-year career as a landscape designer is pivotal to gaining an understanding of the tradition of landscape architecture in the Netherlands. This is not simply because of the historical significance of Van Gessel's work, but also because an analysis and contextualization of this oeuvre sheds light on landscape architecture as a discipline.

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