Wandering through Lisbon do you know about Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles? He was more than just a name. Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles was a visionary. He shaped Portugal’s landscape and political scene.
Gonçalo Pereira Ribeiro Telles was born in Lisbon in 1922. He died there in 2020 at the age of 98. Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles wasn’t just a politician. He was also a renowned landscape architect.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles graduated in Agronomy Engineering. He completed a course in Landscape Architecture. This was at the Higher Institute of Agronomy of the Technical University of Lisbon.
Immediately after finishing his studies, Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles began working for the Lisbon City Council. He also taught at the Higher Institute of Agronomy. Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles became a disciple of Francisco Caldeira Cabral. Caldeira Cabral was a pioneer of landscape architecture in Portugal. Together they published “A Árvore in Portugal” in 1960. It became a key reference work on tree species.
Within the Lisbon City Council, Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles contributed to the Division of Arborisation and Gardening. Later he became a Landscape Architect in the Office of Urbanisation Studies.
From 1971 to 1974 Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles directed the Biophysical planning and Green Spaces Sector. This was part of the Housing Development Fund.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles’s most recognized project is the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s garden. He designed it with António Viana Barreto. The garden earned them the Valmor Prize in 1975. Between 1998 and 2002 Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles conceived the main green structures of Metropolitan Lisbon. This included the Alcântara Valley and Radial de Benfica. It included the Chelas Valley and the Monsanto Green Corridor.
Other notable projects include the public space of the Estacas District in Alvalade. Also he designed the gardens of the Chapel of St. Jerome in Restelo. He created the vegetation cover of the hill of The Castle of St. George. The Amália Rodrigues Garden next to Eduardo VII Park was designed in 1996.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles taught at the University of Évora. He created degrees in Landscape Architecture and Biophysical Engineering there. In 2013 he received the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Prize. It is the most important international distinction in landscape architecture.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles was a founder of the People’s Monarchist Party in 1974. He led it until 1992. In 1993 he co-founded the Earth Party Movement.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles served as Minister for Quality of Life. He was one of the first Portuguese politicians to address ecological issues. He was Undersecretary of State for the Environment. He was Secretary of State of the same portfolio. In 1979, he allied with Francisco Sá Carneiro in the Democratic Alliance.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles played a role in establishing land use and spatial planning. He helped create the protected areas of the National Agricultural Reserve. He helped create the National Ecological Reserve and the Municipal Master Plan.
In 1984, Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles founded the Alfacinha Movement. He became a councillor in the City Council of Lisbon. In 1985, he returned to the Assembly of the Republic. He was elected on the lists of the Socialist Party.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles received several commendations. He was made an Officer of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ. He received the Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty. He was given the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry.
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles’s legacy lives on. He shaped Lisbon’s green spaces. He influenced Portuguese politics. He remains a visionary figure.