Violaine Vera Charlotte Forsberg Mussault

Assistant Professor Institute of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture

Email: violaine.mussault@aho.no
Phone: +47 23 52 61 60

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Background and experience

Violaine Forsberg Mussault is a French-Norwegian landscape-architect and a PhD research fellow. She is interested in exploring the intersection of design methods, participation, and living processes. Her PhD research, titled "Unraveling multi-actor agencies in hazardous cultural landscapes," investigates cartography with a posthuman and transdisciplinary approach. The PhD is part of the NATURACT research project.

For the past 15 years, Violaine has been a partner with the collaborative design studio Les Saprophytes, where she led projects around the Commons and urban ecology through bottom-up processes in post-industrial peripheries. Additionally, she has taught community engagement, agroecology, and design studio courses at the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape in Lille (Fr). Alongside her research, she is a landscape-architect adviser for the French State.

Projects

Nature‐based solutions for climate change: upscaling landscape‐based climate mitigation and adaptation actions (NATURACT)

Research groups

Co-Regenerative Landscapes

Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2025). Unravelling Multi-Actor Agencies in a Fragile Landscape. In Toft, Anne Elisabeth & Rönn, Magnus (Ed.), Creation of New Knowledge: Dialogues Inside and Between Disciplines. Nordic Academic Press of Architectural Research. ISSN 9789198379785. p. 97–127. doi: https:/arkitekturforskning.net/files/journals/1/issues/133/133-41-PB.pdf. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Cultural landscapes embody the intricate interrelation between cultural practices and the inherent natural features of a place, evolving gradually over time. They have been carefully shaped by human adaptation to the geomorphological conditions, strategically harnessing site dynamics and natural processes. However, these vernacular landscapes are increasingly being disrupted by the accelerating and unpredictable effects of climate change. Natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and landslides are becoming more frequent and severe in Norway, as in many places worldwide, posing new threats to cultural practices and the resilience of the communities that maintain them. This article examines transdisciplinary methodologies for uncovering the complex dynamics of a hazardous environment through a comprehensive reading of a site in the Undredal valley in Western Norway. Through emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and the incorporation of community perspectives, the study proposes approaches and methods for integrating geological, hydrological, and ecological sciences with local knowledge. It also seeks to read and explore influential nonhuman forces that shape the landscape—such as water and rocks—and examine the relational dimensions that connect these entities to the local community. The article introduces four key analytical approaches to engaging with such complex sites: deciphering forces, unravelling interwoven relationships, understanding community attachments, and exploring more-than-human socialities. In doing so, the paper highlights ways to engage with site knowledge production that acknowledge the plurality and entanglements of the human and nonhuman agencies at play. This in-depth analysis aims to serve as a steppingstone towards nuanced and integrative approaches to adaptation strategies that extend care to nonhuman beings.
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2025). What Slides, Crumbles, Drifts… Drawing Cartography into Movements and Flows. SPOOL. ISSN 2215-0897. 12(2), p. 55–78. doi: 10.47982/spool.2025.2.05. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
In the urgent context of climate adaptation, enhancing representational and design tools within the landscape discipline is crucial for building a comprehensive understanding of the natural processes driving phenomena in hazardous landscapes. Moreover, the context of the more-than-human paradigm poses new challenges. If we view water, soil, and rocks as lively processes and nonhuman actants—agents with their own agencies and rights—how can mapping practices help us better understand, interpret, and recognize their processes, movements, and behaviors? Based on an interpretative cartographic technique using LiDAR imagery, this paper introduces a series of cartographic experiments that depict water and rock as dynamic, lively processes. The resulting maps aim to enrich our representations of the forces driving natural hazards and provide a new “language” that enhances our understanding of their multiple agencies.
Helms, Karin; Mussault, Violaine Forsberg & Sjödahl, Elisabeth Ulrika (2025). Participative actions and co-adaptive solutions in large-scale cultural landscapes under hazard threat: rockfall and flood hazards areas in Norwegian valley. In Fetzer, Ellen (Eds.), Regenerative Landscapes: Designing the Transition. Cuvillier Verlag. ISSN 9783689523084. p. 310–317. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Five Norwegian research institutes (NGI, AHO, NIKU, NTNU, and NORCE), representing diverse academic disciplines such as risk management, landscape architecture, design, heritage, ecology, and earth systems science, have collaborated in multidisciplinary teams. Using system-oriented design processes, these teams work alongside local communities to mitigate hazard risks. The NATURACT research aims to develop landscape-based transition plans utilising Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to adapt to and mitigate climate-induced hazards. At the midpoint of this research, preliminary findings suggest the approach serves as a model for Regenerative Landscape Design. This integrative process provides a framework for sustainable, long-term hazard mitigation planning, grounded in landscape-based perspectives that facilitate spatial connectivity, soil understanding, and crosssectoral collaboration.

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Toft, Anne Elisabeth; Rönn, Magnus; Anstey, Tim Ainsworth; Ashton, Matthew; Mussault, Violaine Forsberg & Helgason, Vignir Freyr [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2025). Creation of New Knowledge: Dialogues Inside and Between Disciplines. Nordic Academic Press of Architectural Research. ISBN 9789198379785. 246 p. doi: https:/arkitekturforskning.net/files/journals/1/issues/133/133-41-PB.pdf. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This anthology is the proceedings publication from the 2023 NAF Symposium Creation of New Knowledge: Dialogues Inside and Between Disciplines. Addressing PhD-education in the Nordic countries this volume is part of a small thematic series on this topic published by NAF/NAAR. The book focuses on transdisciplinarity and its relevance to architecture and its knowledge production. Editors: Anne Elisabeth Toft and Magnus Rönn Contributing authors: Tim Anstey, Matthew Ashton, Violaine Forsberg Mussault, Vignir Freyr Helgason, Saija Hollmén, Matilde Kautsky, Magnus Rönn, Siv Marit Stavem, Béatrice Stolz, Anne Elisabeth Toft, Albena Yaneva
Fetzer, Ellen; Addor, Maurício; Albatici, Rossano; Albertsen, Niels; Andreucci, Maria Beatrice & Apfel, Dorothee [Show all 129 contributors for this article] (2025). Regenerative Landscapes: Designing the Transition. Cuvillier Verlag. ISBN 9783689523084. 364 p. doi: https:/cuvillier.de/en/shop/publications/9281-regenerative-landscapes. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
As President of the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools (ECLAS) it is my great pleasure to introduce these selected proceedings of the ECLAS Conference 2024, hosted at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels. The conference theme, Regenerative Landscapes – Designing the Transition, has underscored the critical role of landscape architecture in navigating the complexities of climate change, biodiversity loss, and societal transformation. We have gathered with almost 300 people in Brussels at a pivotal moment. Our landscapes -both urban and rural- are under unprecedented pressure, with six of nine planetary boundaries already exceeded. This conference provided an opportunity to reimagine landscapes not merely as spaces of adaptation but as active agents of regeneration. The contributions in this volume reflect a shared commitment to fostering landscapes that restore ecological function, enhance social equity, and inspire cultural renewal. Our thematic tracks have explored the diverse facets of regeneration: from energy and mobility landscapes to foodscapes, hidden landscapes of the global value chain, biodiversity regeneration and democratic landscape transformation. Each theme represents a vital component of the transition towards resilient, equitable, and thriving landscapes. The discussions initiated here will be crucial in shaping the future of landscape education, research, and practice. I extend my sincere gratitude to the organising team, our hosts at ULB and CIVA Brussels, and the dedicated researchers, educators, and practitioners contributing to this conference. Further, the conference and these proceedings would not have been possible without the TELOS ERASMUS project and its team. TELOS provided the conceptual framework for designing our call for papers guiding the discourse of this conference. I hope that our 2024 gathering has served as a catalyst for new collaborations and bold ideas, driving the discipline of landscape architecture toward a regenerative future. Dr. Ellen Fetzer ECLAS President 2018-2024 European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools.

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Mohr, Franziska; Chapman, Mollie; Pohl, Christian; Schöbitz, Lars; Tilley, Elizabeth & Vienni-Baptista, Bianca [Show all 23 contributors for this article] (2025). dataitd24: FAIRqual Workshop Data from ITD24. doi: 10.5281/ZENODO.17473502. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Et datasett fra FAIRqual-workshopen basert på sesjon på konferansen "International Transdisciplinary Conference" (ITD24) i Utrecht, Nederland (4.–8. november 2024). Workshopen hadde som mål å samle erfaringer og perspektiver på deling av kvalitative data i transdisciplinærfaglige forskningssammenhenger.
Helms, Karin; Sjödahl, Elisabeth Ulrika & Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Participative actions and co-adaptive solutions in large-scale cultural landscapes under hazard threat. Case studies: rock fall and flood hazards areas in Norwegian territories. Full text in Research Archive
Sjödahl, Elisabeth Ulrika; Helms, Karin & Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Past, Present and Future Visions on Hazardous Landscapes . Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Unraveling multi-actor agencies in hazardous cultural landscapes: experimental cartography into movements and flows. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Transdisciplinary cartographic practices. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Of Hooves, Trails, and Grass: post-anthropocentric cartography in a hazardous pastoral landscape. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2024). Unraveling multi-actor agencies in hazardous cultural landscapes: critical cartography into movements and flows - Midway Presentation. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2023). Weaving multi-actor sites and processes, the landscape architect´s know-how in the frame of climate action. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2023). Renewing mapping tools in light of the more-than-human turn. Full text in Research Archive
Mussault, Violaine Forsberg (2023). “Can cartographic practices contribute to building a more-than-human approach to design ?”. Full text in Research Archive
Sjödahl, Elisabeth Ulrika; Helms, Karin; Mussault, Violaine Forsberg & Oen, Amy M P (2023). Nature-based solutions in large-scale climate adaptation and mitigation projects. Full text in Research Archive

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Tags: landscape-architecture - site analysis - cartography - more-than-human approaches

Published Aug. 20, 2024 4:29 PM - Last modified Feb. 14, 2025 2:58 PM