Ms. Giesbrecht is a principal with HTFC Planning Design in Winnipeg where she has practiced for her 20+ year career. An immigrant who moved to Canada at the age of nine from Romania, Monica is a passionate advocate for inclusive design and development. Trained at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture and by her extensive travels around the globe, Monica is fascinated by the symbiotic relationships between people and nature and the infusion of these interrelationships in the designed landscape. Her ongoing investigations into the social, physical and psychological relationships between landscapes and youth, immigrants, marginalized groups, and seniors, serve as a foundation for her progressive work on healthy communities, integrated recreation networks, liveable neighbourhoods, vibrant urban environments, sustainable landscapes, and culturally sensitive lands.
While her global travels shape her work Monica has selected to focus her practice on the prairie, boreal and tundra landscapes of Canada. Monica’s most impactful works include the Winnipeg Humane Society, Millennium Library Park, Gimli Viking Park, Victoria Hospital Miracle Garden, Variety Heritage Adventure Playground at the Forks National Historic Site, Interlake Regional Health Care Campus, Meno-Ya-Win Healthcare Campus, Brandon Assiniboine River Corridor Master Plan, Women’s Correctional Centre Healing Campus, the Sioux-Lookout Sustainable Community Growth Plan and the Manitoba Legislature Grounds Landscape Framework Plan. Monica is currently leading the site design for three of Manitoba’s most significant projects, Canada’s Diversity Gardens at Assiniboine Park, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Inuit Art Centre, and the Norway House Health Centre of Excellence.
Monica’s community service commitments are focused on cultural inclusion, advocating for the profession, and fostering strong female designers. Monica has donated her time and expertise to organizations such as the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects, Cancer Care Manitoba, Siloam Mission, Winnipeg Arts Council, Spark Canada, Storefront Manitoba, Building Equality in Architecture Prairies Chapter, CSA Nature Playground Standards Committee, and the Environmental Design Research Association Inclusive Public Space Research Group.
Read the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation's Profile of this Landscape Architect
