The Berlin Art Prize – Grand Prize 2025 goes to French garden and landscape architect Gilles Clément.

In the view of the jury, which includes Kees Christiaanse, Dorte Mandrup and Jörn Walter, Gilles Clément ranks as one of the most influential contemporary landscape thinkers and architects, though he likes to describe himself as a gardener. At an early stage of his career, he turned his back on the idea of wanting to dominate or control nature; instead, he sees it as his role to design gardens in partnership with natural processes.

What characterises Clément is his unique approach – he works at the intersection of philosophy, ecology, art, horticulture and landscape architecture – his deep respect for the power of nature and the humility he feels in the face of it. As the jury put it, “In a world locked in a struggle with climate change, the loss of biodiversity and ecocide, Clément’s work is a beacon of hope and a call to action.”

Born in Argenton-sur-Creuse in 1943, Gilles Clément, has been designing parks, gardens and public and private spaces since 1972. He is the author of numerous texts. He teaches, runs workshops and gives seminars around the world. His best-known parks include Parc Henri Matisse in Lille; the former submarine base in Saint Nazaire; and the Quai Branly museum garden and the garden at La Défense, both in Paris.