Our core team

In the course of the years Climatelier has grown and through our projects and publication activities we were able to build up a strong network. Each team member contributed to building this network by creating their own niches and expertise that attract new collaborators. We cooperate with many colleagues within academia, local governance, non-governmental organisations, urban design and consultancy practice on an international level.

The Climatelier was founded by Sanda Lenzholzer who started to work on the topic of urban climate within the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University in 2004. She soon extended the activities on her own PhD research about thermal perception in urban public spaces into teaching and consultancy projects. From 2010 onwards research projects on urban climate and design were acquired and the core team was extended. Sanda is a Full Professor and Chair Holder Landscape Architecture at Wageningen University and Principal Investigator at the Advanced Metropolitan Solutions Institute (AMS).
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João joined the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University to work on the REALCOOL (2016-2018) . He is now an assistant professor (tenure track) and works on the DeSIRE project at our group, embedded in a large consortium of the four Dutch technical universities. See more information and publications.

Sjoerd is a researcher and lecturer at the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University. He is collaborating with the Municipality of Amsterdam to improve the practice of shaping urban climates. By doing research-through-design he is working on the effectiveness and challenges of microclimate improvement in ongoing projects. 
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Ivana is a researcher and a project coordinator at the Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning group of Wageningen University. By profession, she is an architect and urban planner specialised in Urban Environment and Climate Change from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Since 2011 she worked internationally in fields of architecture, urban planning and urban policy while her research focuses on urban morphology, smart cities as well as sustainability and climate change challenges in urban settings.
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Dimitri is a PhD researcher within the research group for urban developments at the University of Antwerp. He holds a master's degree in architecture (UHasselt) and in urban design and spatial planning (KU Leuven). In 2017, Dimitri became the laureate of the VRP graduation prize in Flanders. Within his current research, Dimitri focusses on the potential contribution of urban design to increase air quality in the narrow streets in the urban environment.

Yehan is a PhD candidate at the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University and now works on the project “Solutions for outdoor climate adaption” (SOLOCLIM). With a master’s degree in Sustainability Science from the University of Tokyo, Yehan had research experience about public perceptions of green infrastructure and urban mobility from a sustainability perspective. Her current research interest lies in green infrastructure and urban climate for resilient cities.
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Maricruz has joined the group as a researcher for the European Industrial doctorate project SOLOCLIM. Previously, she obtained an MSc in Sustainable Building Performance and Design from Oxford Brookes University where she received the Hodgkinson award scholarship. Maricruz has worked in architecture on a wide range of projects in London and Costa Rica. She has a great interest in exploring the potential of green walls systems and its effect on the urban climate.
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Michiel received a master degree in Landscape Architecture at Wageningen University. For his MSc thesis he studied historical landscape elements for urban microclimate control. In 2020 he started working as a junior researcher and lecturer at the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University.

Wiebke joined the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University in 2011 to conduct her PhD research on urban green infrastructure and urban heat alleviation within the project ‘Climate Proof Cities’, part of the Dutch Knowledge for Climate programme. She defended her PhD thesis in November 2018 and now acts as a senior policy advisor at the municipality of The Hague.

René assisted us in making and editing the results of the Climate analysis and adaptation study for Tiel in 2011/12. René graduated in 2012 and works in design practice, within Utrecht municipality.

Jeroen was a student assistant for the Designing atmospheres project in 2009. He helped drawing and designing solutions for small scale urban climate-responsive interventions. Jeroen has been working in international design practices after his graduation in 2010.