Ceylan Belek – Keynote Respondent

Ceylan Belek Ombregt is a distinguished landscape architect and urban designer who currently serves as a Partner and Studio Director at the internationally acclaimed firm Martha Schwartz Partners. With over two decades of professional experience spanning the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, she leads the firm’s London office and oversees a diverse portfolio of large-scale urban regeneration, public realm, and climate-adaptive projects. Her work is characterized by a deep integration of site-specific artistry with rigorous environmental performance, particularly in addressing urban heat island effects and carbon sequestration within densifying city centers. While she is a primary leader and strategic partner at Martha Schwartz Partners, she is not the founder of an independent studio; rather, she is a central figure in the firm’s global leadership, responsible for managing complex international design teams and bridging the gap between academic research and practical, sustainable urban infrastructure. In addition to her practice, she contributes to the field as an educator and researcher, frequently lecturing on the role of big data in landscape architecture and the necessity of nature-based solutions in the face of global climate change.