a new application for urban green - studio meek€¦ · urban greenery and propose a new typology...

How can a social designer help to create a green urban landscape adapted to contemporary needs ?

A NEW APPLICATION FOR URBAN GREEN

Bennie Meek: Social Design: Design Academy Eindhoven [email protected]+31 64882576

Man-made nature

WALKING IN EINDHOVEN

I started this master course after having developed a new

perspective on the Dutch landscape for my graduation project

in the bachelor program. During my bachelors I developed a

method to make cross sections of the landscape by walking in

straight lines. Sometimes lasting for up to 22 days, showing the

landscape in a moving vignette1. Initially, these walks started

out of a general interest in the landscape. I was attracted by the

relationship between individuals and their surroundings2. In a

systematic way I looked at the different qualities in the

landscape and searched for a place in the Netherlands that had

not been designed, a place without the intervention of human

hand. It was upon discovering that the undesigned was not

present in the Netherlands that my fascination changed.

I realized that the Dutch countryside was a reflection of our

identity. A fabricated landscape that through its strangely twisted

modification, reveals its true identity. I realized that the conscious

experience of the Dutch landscape is no longer about the initial

confrontation of the individual with an autonomous landscape,

but rather a confrontation with human cultural development

over time. The landscape became a text in which one can delve

into the cultural identity of Dutch society.3

In the Netherlands greenery has evolved into “cultural” nature

that is usable and appreciable for people, however the use

recently changed. The de-stressing and relaxing qualities of

greenery have become important in the functioning of modern

society and are most needed in urban areas. The design of

contemporary city greenery is not sufficiently addressing this

demand. In this thesis I explore new applications and uses of

urban greenery and propose a new typology of city greenery.

This proposal includes a new kind of open pavement that will

improve the inner city climate in Eindhoven. Furthermore, it

will help reducing the pollution of the Dommel river that is

connected to the overuse of the drainage system.

Nature in the Netherlands is created according to two main

concepts. There is nature, created through a concept, where the

absence of human influence is organized. And there is nature

created through an aesthetic idea, an image that we recognize

and enjoy as natural . This greenery created through aesthetics,

gradually entered the western cities during the development

of its culture. The western medieval city did not contain any

green, whereas in today’s urbanized metropolis, it has become

a necessity. In this thesis I will examine the creation of this

urbanized green. The western culture has a special relation to

the natural landscape which distinguishes us from other

cultures. This relation is complex, and has intrinsic conflicts.

In the Netherlands all nature is created, we put effort into it.

We create it in such a way that we can enjoy it. Once we had

more contact with the natural world but as cities urbanized, we

became more and more distanced to nature. Gradually, nature

became something one should only look at. This undermines a

sustainable relationship with the green, complicating apprecia-

tion for it. It is in contrast with the original motivation to create

it. My goal is to establish new relations with this city green.

In this project I do this by developing a new typology of green.

In daily transit it will function as an endpoint. Before entering a

house one will move through a green space instead of next to it.

PrefaceAbstract Background

Origin of city green: Important developments in the

application of city green

An overview of statements

Evolution of the word nature

A new application for urban green: Gardening the wild

New city green

Creating new relations

Environmental management

Landscaping the wilderness

A new application for urban green: Adapting

Context: liquid times

As a design

Conclusion

List of references: books, articles

Notes

Landscape-scan N. 51 ̊ 59.873 is an execution of this method in which I

scanned the Dutch country over this latitude by walking in one straight

line from the sea to the Dutch-German border. Every 10 steps I made

a photo straight ahead. By putting these photos behind each other in

a stop-motion movie I show the country seen from a straight, moving

perspective, without following any cultural or natural infrastructure

such as roads or waters. The scans functioned as an implementation of

cartography. Which relates to time based mapping and experience based

mapping.

An interesting reason is given in: Afhankelijk van de legenda kan kortom

alles een kaart zijn (2008) . Fink, C. & Moring, M. & Van Schuppen, C.

(2008), p. 48.

“Three times a man is born: first physically, from his mother; then out of himself

(out his solipsism and in his consciousness: this is me, here am I, this is the world),

and finally from his ancestral home, if one leaves it to live a life of his own with

work, love, maybe children, an expectation of the future and the inevitable death.”

[ Marcel Moring ]

Schama writes about the landscape as a text on which cultures write

their recurring obsessions.

Schama, S. (1995). Landscape and Memory, p. 29.

“Before a landscape ever can be a relaxation for the senses, it is a work of the

mind. The decor is equally composed of layers of memory as from layers of rock.”

Perspective What do we make of nature?

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Man-made nature in the highway junction of the A50 in the north of Eindhoven (the location is shown on the map in the next page).

Table of contents

Walking in Eindhoven: Man-made nature

Abstract

Preface: perspective

Background: what do we make of nature?

Walking in Eindhoven: Scanning the reality of city green

Walking a line

Categorization of city green: Different kinds of use

Analysis of greenery in Eindhoven

Summary of arguments

The western attitude towards nature

Conflict in nature design

The creation of a decor

This thesis will explore topics regarding the understanding, typology, possibilities and relations to Dutch green. In western culture, there is a unique and sometimes conflicting relation to greenery and the natural landscape. This relationship has gone through several phases or trends during the last centuries as society has developed. Particularly regarding the Dutch landscape, extensive efforts have been made to design and manipulate all aspects of the Dutch countryside. This project is not about the “authenticity” nor the reality of nature but, rather the imagination and drive behind the natural world that westerners have invented.

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WALKING IN EINDHOVEN Scanning the reality of city green

As a starting point for the research of this thesis I scanned

the natural green in the city of Eindhoven. I used a method I

developed prior to this study.1 The scans are created by walking

along straight lines through the city. When walking these

lines every ten meters a photo is made, faced forwards. These

photos are presented in a stop-motion movie where one sees the

landscape from this in-line perspective moving through the city

without following any cultural or natural infrastructure such as

roads or waters.

By walking along these lines I was able to review the city that I

was already familiar with, but from a new perspective. This new

perspective forced me to encounter not only the familiar, but

also things that were outside of my daily interaction with nature

and the city. The line now functions as a cross section of the city,

offering a view different from my normal perception.

By gathering first hand information, I can start to generate my

ideal map. Making a map is subjective in its presentation of

reality, it shows a specific selection of reality. The purpose of a

map is to reduce the complexity of something and to clarify it.2

However, in order to do this the cartographer has to make

choices and by doing so selects a specific perspective. For my

research I chose an unfiltered perspective, collecting the

images myself. It led me to new conclusions, based on an

objective viewpoint.

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Highway junction

Urban area

Line of scan

Walked line

Greenery (overview next page)33

Notes

See description Landscape-scan N. 51 ̊ 59.873 in the previous page.

This is a general remark and is not always the case. Artist and

cartographer Christofer Fink is interesting in this context because he is

doing the opposite. By creating maps out of notes which he makes during

journeys he shows the complexity of the experience of time and space.

Walking a line

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Highway junction from previous page, positioned in-between the city and the forest

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Leftover space

designed in the floor

plan of this avenue.

Ring road of

Eindhoven.

Wasteland aside

the road.

Leftover space

aside a train track

with a recently

built sound wall.

Plants beside the

wall due to lack

of interest.

Work Green on a

parking lot close to

residential area.

Hedges: a mixture of

natural and human

work.

River and tree

composed to create a

natural image.

Tree clashing with

a building. The tree

does the opposite of

the roof-window - it

blocks the light.

Lawn between flats

with footbridges over

it because it is not

intended that you walk

over the grass.

New hedge and tree

planted in older

neighbourhood.

A place to visit and

enter.

Different kinds of use

Plants beside the

wall of this enclosed

parking area due to

vacancy.

Public plant

container

integrated in

the wall.

Construction for

green.

A new street

decorated by

birch.

Disordered plants

due to vacancy.

Plants beside the

wall of the house.

Disordered plants;

maybe due to

vacancy of the ad-

joining building.

Imported stone to

give a natural look

to this

new developed

natural area.

Pollarded olive tree

which is labour

intensive but what

paradoxically ap-

pears very

natural.

Tree with high

pruned crown. Trees

are pruned to let the

traffic pass under.

Even though its

unnaturally pruned

trees became stereo-

typical.

Lawn for the

surrounding

houses.

CATEGORIZATION OF CITY GREEN

Tree with high

pruned crown. Trees

are pruned to let the

traffic pass under.

Even though its

unnaturally pruned

trees became stereo-

typical.

Natural looking

garden.

The aesthetic nature that we construct is easy to enjoy. The way

we create this nature is much related to the way we enjoy a

romantic landscape painting.10

We reshape the landscape into a

decor, much like landscape paintings. Maarten Doorman

describes this process according to the following points.11

1st “The painting becomes a landscape.” In romanticism we paint the

landscape as if the frame of the painting is a window and we look

out of it. Before romanticism, nature was not mentioned. Door-

man refers to Don Quichote. Even though the story takes place in

a natural landscape, it is never described.

2ad “The landscape as a garden becomes nature.” The definition of

the word nature is changing. What we perceive as nature is shift-

ing. Gardens, which where originally seen as cultivated areas are

now viewed as being part of the natural world.

3rd “Nature is romanticized.” Nature becomes associated with be-

ing true, honest, authentic ect.

4th “The (real) landscape becomes a painting.” We change the land-

scape into an image that we enjoy. It becomes a decor which is no

longer authentic but sometimes made to look authentic.

Notes

The municipality of Eindhoven is using categories that are relevant for

the intensity of maintenance, stated in the main report green policy of

the municipality of Eindhoven. They divide the green into decorative

greenery, standard culture green, landscape green and nature green. In

this sequence decorative greenery is the most maintenance-intensive

and landscape green the least. See: Department of Urban Development

and Management (2001). Hoofdrapport groenbeleidsplan: Naar een

hoogwaardig palet van “rood” en “Groen” (Main report green policy:

Towards a high pallet of “red” and “Green”). Municipality Eindhoven.

Limited published in December 2011. Kämena, R. & Themans, M.

(2011). Den Haag, een zee van groen .

For an analysis of the development in garden design see: Steenbergen,

C. & Reh, W. (2003). Architectuur en Landschap.

Schama, S. (1995). Landschap en Herinering, p. 29.

“For those eyes, so we will discover, are rarely free from coercion of

memory. And its not only memories of his rural excursions.”

For an analysis of the difference in experience of the natural landscape

Lemaire, T. (1970). Filosofie van het landschap,

p. 87, part 1 chapter 4: Eastern and western landscape.

Lemaire, T. (1970) . Filosofie van het landschap, p. 218,

part four chapter 1: The horror of noon:

“A culture that has not yet broken with the rhythms of nature,

lacks the need to go out and look for nature as a separately entity[…]”

Emergency Debate in the Second Chamber the first of january 2010.

For an image of the reality of nature and its cultural

complications see: Bade, T. et al., (2005). Dood doet leven:

De natuur van dode dieren (Death gives life: The nature of dead

animals).

Schama, S. (1995). Landschap en Herinering

Dirk Sijmons (director at H+N+S) at lecture Backside and

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Hinterlands at KADE in Amersfoort (2012) is stating that every body is

sensitive for romantic landscape images:

“Deep inside everybody is a romanticist”

At the lecture Backside and Hinterlands , KADE Amersfoort (2012).

Numbers of photo’s previous page.

Affiliate professor Van den Berg claims that a motivation to create

such an image can be the fact that we originally come from the African

savannah. Van den Berg, A.E & Koole S.L.(2006). New wilderness in the

Netherlands: An investigation of visual preferences for nature

development landscapes. Science Direct: Landscape and Urban Planning.

The selection of the Front-yard Green photographs is reduced. Because

of the public visibility of this green, the section contains a lot of

Frond-garden Green, more than I can show here.

The creation of a decor

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A by-product of the vast and complex road network in the

Netherlands are leftover spaces. These are spaces aside or

enclosed by roads. Often these areas get a natural design

because they are unsuitable for other purposes. Or the

natural functions are usable for example for drainage.

Infrastructure Green is used by the traveller. Roads are

used intensively and as a result this greenery is viewed

intensively.

Everything that is not maintained will eventually relapse

to Neglected Green. Neglected green is the absence of

human intervention which coincides with one of the

definitions of what nature is.

Neglected Green is the way green develops on its own.

Work Green is built into areas of business. Nobody is

living in these areas. Therefore there is no personal

connection or responsibility towards it. The responsi-

bility does not lie at the consumer nor is it created out of

direct personal involvement. Like the company buildings,

Work Green is created through a business process. The

lack of personal binding with a local community makes

the distinction with Community Green.

Brokers Green is designed as a reflection of the

neighbourhood in which it resides. Designed in a unique

and distinctive way, tailored to the residents needs, with

the purpose of convincing new residents to join into the

lifestyle. Brokers Green is designed to get the affection of

the consumer.

Green on the front side of a house visible from the public

space. Front-yard Green is used to distinguish a house.

In many streets houses have the same design. Therefore

houses are difficult to distinguish. Front yard green is used

to give identity to a house. In contrast with other

categories, front-yard green is sometimes used to show

intensive labour and pride.14

Vegetable gardens at the backside of houses have lost their

original use. Sometimes these gardens are now used to

enjoy a natural image. Relaxing has become important.

Because these gardens are enclosed they have the

possibility to create an atmosphere of leisure time. In this

typology, the domination of man over nature is not made

immediately visible.

Scenic Green is a landscape transformed into a painting.

By cultivating the land the entire Dutch landscape gradu-

ally transformed into an image we enjoy. However at some

places these transformation are made very obvious and

direct. Picturesque green is showing landscape cliché.

Community green is created in and for the direct living

environment. It is not intended for visitors but used by local

residents. Because Community Green is located in residen-

tial areas, there is a personal connection with the direct resi-

dents even though it is not owned by them. An example of

this are the tree plots in public streets that become designed

and maintained by residents. Communal Green is mostly

used for aesthetic purposes; one is not allowed to enter.

Picnic Green is created to attract people from outside the

direct surroundings. Unlike Community Green it is espe-

cially created for the visitor. Picnic Green invites to enter.

Grass in between the

bricks of the road.

Somehow this curb is

not maintained by the

municipality.

Forest open enough

to have grass on the

soil. This requires

maintenance.

The planned trees

get pruned and

unplanned trees are

removed13

.

Leftover space

in a corner of the

highway and

channel.

Work Green next to a

parking lot.

Enclosed green.

Grove and pond

composed to create

a natural image.

Small park beside

the Dommel and a

footpath.

Park next to

apartment

buildings.

A footpath and a

freshly planted

grove next to

newly built

buildings.

Plants beside

the wall; maybe

because the mu-

nicipality is not al-

lowed to maintain

next to the wall of

this house.

Some trees that are

left standing where

a new neighbour-

hood is being built.

Leftover space

designed within the

urban plan of this

neighbourhood.

Infrastructuregreen

Neglect greenAccidental green caused by lack of maintenance.

Work greenGreen designed for areas where people work.

Frontyard greenGreen on the front side of a house visible from the public space.

BrokersgreenNewly built green in newly built neighbourhoods.

Enclosedgreen

Nature composed as a scene.

Picturesque green

Community greenCommunal green in residential areas.

Picnic greenInviting green to use.

Green as a by-product of infrastructural works.

In the western culture the natural landscape is regarded as an

autonomous entity of which we are no longer part of. This

contemporary western attitude towards the natural landscape

is special. It distinguishes us from other cultures.5 By making

the landscape autonomous it has become a topic of itself that is

explored by writers, painters, politicians, etc. A habit not existing

in cultures that are still part of the natural rhythms.6

There is a conflict in the way we rebuild nature. The

Oostvaardersplassen, a natural resort in Flevoland, is an

example of such a conflict. Here the government interfered with

the management of the resort after the media started raising

questions about deer that where dying from starvation. 7 The

goal of the Oostvaardersplassen was to create a self-supporting

system without interference of humans. This apparently did not

result in a pleasant reality. 8

Nature in the Netherlands is created according to two main

concepts. There is nature, like the Oostvaardersplassen, created

through a concept, where the absence of human influence is

organized. And there is nature that is created through an

aesthetic idea. Nature, created on the basis of an image which we

appreciate and recognize as natural.

What is confusing about these two categories is that the

Within the Netherlands authentic nature does not exist. The

country has been developed in its entirety. By this, I mean that we

have control over the landscape and rebuild it according to our

desires. There are places that we appointed and built for nature,

none of which is authentic. All authentic nature has been

cultivated. However, within this cultivated landscape we build

natural places that look authentic and are often perceived as such.3

By building nature we are creating a paradox. Built nature is

inherently unnatural. As Simon Schama explains in Landscape

and Memory our way of thinking about the landscape is based on

coloured historical image and landscape myths.4 The

natural landscape that we build is therefore not only referring to

a primitive landscape of the past but is also a reflection of

nostalgic idealism.

I divided the different greeneries I came across during the first

line-walk shown at the previous page. Greenery has to be paid for

and therefore shows traces of the societal organization. I think

the greenery is mostly created for the enjoyment of city

inhabitants. This can be seen in the motivation to build the

greenery and in the way it is made usable.

The descriptions which I made for the typologies that I created

are archetypal. In reality they sometimes overlap.

There are also other ways to divide the greenery. The

municipality of Eindhoven for example is using practical

typologies based on the intensity of maintenance.1 Another

interesting approach is shown in the recently published book

Den Haag, a sea of green.2

In this book the meaning of the

greenery is studied by creating a list of 539 green titles.

Summary of argumentPage description Thesis

constructed nature paradoxically is looking most natural while

the reality of the untouched nature is often disappointing and not

in accordance to our expectations. The only depiction we have of

nature is a fabricated one.9 The constructed nature addresses this

idea and creates therefore a self-fulfilling prophecy of real nature.

The reality of dying animals is not part of this aesthetical image.

Nature might be harmonious but in a brutal way. The deer at the

Oostvaardersplassen were fed and they survived. But according to

nature conservationists this feeding would only lead to extra deer

dying the next winter. It is an ongoing discussion whether this

brutality of nature is something we would want to reconstruct.

For this thesis I decided not to focus on this discussion about

what nature truly is but to focus on how we image it and what we

make of it.

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Analysis of greenery in eindhoven The western attitude towards nature Conflict in nature design

Hidden private green with a natural appearance.

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“Nature is sacred and messing with it is profane. Most certainly, mankind

cannot improve nature. ‘Nature is beautiful’, although it is not more than an

abstraction.”

Aben, R. & De Wit, S. (1998). De omsloten tuin, p. 102 .

“The ‘correct’ landscape of romantic, not manipulated nature and the

man-made landscape are two worlds so different from each other that t

hey do not meet in any way. No relationship can be established between

these categories.”

Aben, R. & De Wit, S. (1998). De omsloten tuin, p. 25.

“For medieval man, landscape has no intrinsic aesthetic value, nor spatial

qualities. For him, it derives its value from events that take place in it.

The forest is the horizon of the world, and what really is important takes

place in spots that are separated from each other through this forest. The

medieval image of nature it not determined by wilderness, but by few

cultivated open spots.”

ORIGIN OF CITY GREEN

Modernism Romanticism Middle Ages

Nature in between highways are a kind of modern version of the Lichtung.9

A sharp division is introduced between

nature and culture. Nature is seen as

autonomous and beautiful when left un-

touched. For this lifted highway it needed

to not interfere with the landscape.7

Neglect is being planned. Nature is seen as

something that should not be interfered

with. Nature is holy and was seen as

autonomous space. 7

Nature is something to look at. 7 The rela-

tion with the natural world becomes poor.

Neglect is being planned around build-

ings and highways. 10

Nature is regarded as an autonomous

space. Interfering in nature would reduce

its beauty. The natural landscape and the

cultural world become separated. Nature

is seen as something to look at.7

City and green merge although realised

through a different concept as during

romanticism.8 The absence of human

interference is being organised..

Green is seen as nature and nature is seen

as something one should not enter. 7

Planting trees aside the road is said to has

been introduced by Napoleon11

(at the

end of the Enlightenment) so his soldiers

could march in the shadow. Later trees

where planted aside the road for the

production of wood.

An appreciation of nature as landscape

arose. At the same time the control over

the landscape grew, large parts became

cultivated. 12

An interest in the natural landscape itself

arose. Parks were built to look natural.14


arose. Parks were built to look natural. 14


arose. Parks were built to look natural.14


arose. Parks were built to look natural. 13


arose. At the same time that the

landscape was cultivated, the natural

landscape was painted and brought

inside.12

The traditional agrarian culture has a

rich and sophisticated intertwining with

natural systems and rhythms.16

Roads lead trough a big and dangerous

nature. Nature was there. The world was

seen as unchangeable. Not in a peaceful

status quo but a fatalistic acceptance of

the chaos. 15

Nature was strong and uncontrollable.

Humans were pushed back into cultural

enclaves. As an unwished result, ruins

were created. 22

There was no nature inside cities. People

were pushed back into cultural enclaves

enclosed by a wild and dangerous

nature.17

There was no nature inside cities. People

were pushed back into cultural enclaves

enclosed by a wild and dangerous

nature.17

Life was still very much connected with

the natural rhythms. The word nature did

not have the same meaning as it has today.

Cities were created for protection. Inside

the city it was safer than outside the city,

unlike today. 18

Interest in nature as a subject of itself

did not exist. Life was orientated on the

Christian religion with dogmas like:

“outside the soul there is nothing worth to

be admired” 19

Nature used to have a social function.

Holy trees were worshiped, but Christian-

ity puts an end to this, sometimes literally

by building churches on them. 20

The Lichtung, an open space in the forest

was first used to enjoy nature. The upper

classes are depicted playing chess. The Li-

chtung functions as a resting point like an

oasis in the desert. It is a place in develop-

ment, a disruption of the ubiquitous. 21

Important developments in the application of urban green

Not consecutive

Original natural landscape


“Moreover, nature is a moral arena that has to be used socially indeed,

but also has to remain not-manipulated by mankind.”

This argument is used in many online discussions about why

trees are being planted aside the road. These trees are being

discussed because they can be fatal when a car gets off-road.

Lemaire, T. (1970). Filosofie van het landschap, p. 13.

Chapter 2: The appearance of the landscape.

Steenbergen, C. & Reh, W. (2003)). Architectuur en Landschap, p. 226

“Nature was idealized as a source of good in mankind (true civilization)

and thus became the mirror of the inner self.”

Steenbergen, C. & Reh, W. (2003). Architectuur en Landschap, p. 23. “The

doctrine of by sin corrupted nature, gradually was repressed by the conception

that Gods scheduling is revealed in nature, albeit hidden under an apparent

chaos.”

Aben, R. & De Wit, S. (1998) . De omsloten tuin, p. 22 .

chapter 2: The hortus conclusus in the Middle Ages, a safe heaven

in the wilderness.


Chapter 6 Repetition and midpoint.


“The medieval concept of space is revealed in paintings from the Middle

Ages. Here the hierarchy is based on the symbolic-anecdotal relation of s

ubjects (people), where space as a coherent entity forms the background for

these subjects. Spaces and objects have no perspective relation, the viewer

is not involved in coincidences of the optical space.”

And Lemaire, T. (1970). Filosofie van het landschap, p. 27

“Just because medieval painters did not master this technique of spatial

suggestion, does not mean they were clumsy or primitive, but merely that they

(and the society they lived in) lacked the need of displaying space larger than it

actually is.”

Bauman, Z. (2007). Liquid times: living in an age of

uncertainty, p. 54

Rob Aben & Saskia de Wit (1998) . De omsloten tuin, p. 48 .

Schama, S. (1995, 2007). Landschap en Herinering p. 235.

“ [...] with the advise to have a tolerant attitude towards pagan practises [...]

The underlying idea was to graft paganism instead of taking the edge off of it.

Pope Gregory explicitly advised Mellitus to build churches directly on sites of

sacred pagan forests.”


Chapter 2: The hortus conclusus as landscape architectural model


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The back-yard was used before to grow

vegetables and is now mostly used for

relaxation. Therefore these former vegeta-

ble gardens are often made to look natural.

New developments

The concept and meaning of nature has changed throughout

history. During the Middle Ages the landscape was dominated by

wild nature, an uncontrolled ecosystem. Life was still much

intertwined with the natural world. The enclosed cultural

enclaves mainly focused on themselves. There was no particular

interest in the landscape. The doctrine “outside the soul there is

nothing worthy to be admired” 2 was still part of the culture. The

contemporary associations and meaning of the word nature did

not exist then. The foundation for the contemporary meaning of

the word nature was made during the ̀romantic’ period. In this

period a modern interest in the landscape and the natural world

itself arose.3 However, as the influence of Christian religion

diminished, the natural landscape was seen more and more as

an over-all system upon which mankind depends. Nature was

regarded as revealing the order of God, but being hidden under an

Culture in a cultural landscape with places

that look like nature

Culture in a cultural

landscape

Culture in a natural

landscape

Nature is constantly trying to grow and expand. Ruins as in culture that lapse into nature

does not exist because buildings are renovated or destroyed. Historical ruins are actually being

maintained and adapted

The relation between man and nature becomes poor in contrast with

the traditional agrarian culture

Roads and green go together. Trees are planted aside the road in straight rows out of tradition

but also natural areas are created in the leftover spaces aside and in-between the roads

The real landscape is turned into

scenes of landscape paintings

Greenery becomes something to look at

Green is used to relax instead of to produce food

Green and identity mix

Green and identity mix

Parks are built with a natural appearance

apparent chaos.4 During Romanticism painters started painting

the natural landscape as a topic in itself. Garden designers started

designing parks where one could appreciate a domesticated,

nostalgic nature, instead of demonstrating domination. Large

parts of the landscape became cultivated land. The natural

landscape was no longer uncontrollable. The focus on God was

gradually replaced by a focus on nature.

The emergence of science created as well a new fascination

for the natural world.5 Due to science the world was seen as

a mechanized object. Because of this new found fascination,

people’s definition and understanding of nature broadened. In

conjunction with this broadening view, different green elements

in the domesticated landscape were seen and defined as nature.

During Romanticism this “new” nature became valued and

idealized. It became a source of good, a mirror of the

inner self. Gradually it became seen as something sacred.6

During Modernism this definition of nature changed. Nature

became the representation of the absence of human

interference. Messing with nature was seen profane.

“One can certainly not make her [nature] more beautiful than she is”. 7

Notes

A more detailed description of contemporary city green is given

at page 5.

Aben, R. & De Wit, S. (1998). De omsloten tuin, p. 23.

Although usually the first clash between Modernism and the old Europe

is referred to the Francesco Petrarca’s mountaineering in 1336. Among

others described by Lemaire, T. (1970). Filosofie van het

landschap, p. 92.

Steenbergen, C. & Reh, W. (2003). Architectuur en Landschap, p. 23.

See for example the analysis of the Dutch word for nature, natuur, and

physics, natuurwetenschappen in Filosofie van het landschap, p. 75.


“[...] because in the evolution of the western spirit, in which it creates itself in an

absolute subjectivity by transforming God into Nature and then to conquer this

nature by self-subjugation [...]”


In literature different developments have been described in the

attitude towards nature. On this page, an overview of

developments can be seen. These developments are all relevant

in understanding the reality of contemporary urban green.1 The

emphasis of this overview is not the recent more liquid history

(which I will later address in my design proposal), but the earlier

periods in which Westerners started to create urban greenery.

In this overview I refer to the term Modernism (for example to

the architectural style of Le Corbusier), and to the term

Romanticism (the ideas in response to the Enlightenment).

I am aware that Romanticism can be seen as part of the modern

way of thinking. However in this overview I distinguish

Modernism from Romanticism because the kinds of urban

greenery created during these periods are different from each

other.

Page description Thesis

Infrastructuregreen

Neglect greenAccidental green caused by lack of maintenance.

Work greenGreen designed for areas where people work.

Frontyard greenGreen on the front side of a house visible from the public space.

BrokersgreenNewly built green in newly built neighbourhoods.

Enclosedgreen

Nature composed as a scene.

Picturesque green

Community greenCommunal green in residential areas.

Picnic greenInviting green to use.

Green as a by-product of infrastruc-tural works.

Hidden private green with a natural appearance.

Evolution of the word natureAn overview of statements 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

87

Vroegeling

Erophila verna

Herderstasje (with white flour)

Capsella bursa pastores

And Hoenderbeed

Lamium ampiexicauie

Stinkende gouwe

Chelidonium majus

Paardenbloem

Taraxacum officinale

Knoopkruid

Centaurea jacea

Paardenbloem


Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Raap

Brassica rapa

Duizendblad

Achillea

Engels raaigras

Lolium perenne

Schijfkamille

Matricaria discoidea

Geelwitte helmbloem

Pseudofumaria alba

Speerdistel

Cirsium vulgare

A NEW APPLICATION FOR URBAN Gardening the wild

Notes

A possible cause for this is given by Zygmunt Bauman in the documentary

The Netherlands on the drawing board (original title Nederland op de

tekentafel), saying that the freedom of today society comes together with

uncertainty.

Stated by Affiliate Professor Agnes van den Berg, in the article Groen is

gezond, maar waarom eigenlijk? by Cokky van Limpt 02/02/2012. See also

the article: Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health by

Agnes van den Berg and PhD, Jolanda Maas PhD, Robert A. Verheij PhD and

Peter P. Groenewegen Phd. Social Science and Medicine.

Professor Peter Tordoir shows that the dynamics of the economical growth

in the Netherlands takes place around the Randstad, the current economical

center. Places like Eindhoven, Utrecht, Schiphol and Den Bosch are the

center of this dynamic.

According to predictions of the KNMI the rainwater will increas in 2050 with

+27% and in 2100 with +54%. See, Klimaat in de 21e eeuw; vier scenario’s

voor Nederland, brochure KNMI, mei 2006. However Postmes mention that

this is also influenced by the more intensive measuring nowadays. 60% of

the Dutch municipalities has currently problems with overflowing sewers.

See, Klimaatontwikkeling: Anticiperen op extreme buien in de bebouwde

omgeving. Rioned

This is visible in today’s weather measurements, and almost all scientist

agree on this matter. However according to Luuk Postmes (geohydroloog

woking for the municipality of Eindhoven) some claim that this is also

influenced by the more intensive measuring nowadays.

Also due to the contemporary road design without pavements there is no

buffer and extra water is not being guided and therefore creates damage.

Another interesting but more general feature of greenery is the quality of

reducing fine particles that is now supported by European legislation, stated

in the article by Fred Tonneijck and Vincent Kuypers: Stadsbomen voor

fijnstof.

With his gardens Gerritsen succeeded to reconcile the seemingly

contradictory modernistic concept of nature that should be uninfluenced

and the desire to be involved, help, and shape nature.

The driving force for the Dutch Wave is said to be the absence of real nature

Vroegeling

Erophila verna

Herderstasje (white flour)

Capsella bursa pastores

And Hoenderbeed

Lamium ampiexicauie

Stinkende gouwe

Chelidonium majus

Paardenbloem


Knoopkruid

Centaurea jacea

Paardenbloem


Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Smalle weegbree

Plantago lanceolata

Raap

Brassica rapa

Duizendblad

Achillea

Engels raaigras

Lolium perenne

Schijfkamille

Matricaria discoidea

Geelwitte helmbloem

Pseudofumaria alba

Speerdistel

Cirsium vulgare

This knowledge can be used to build a natural system that is at

the same time minimally invasive to the environment. Adjusting

streets for plants is a way to experience “nature” and simultaneously

re-obtain an interesting plant life.9

In my pavement, there is a new

condition to consider - here in some parts the plants have to endure

being walked on. The pavement should help these plants survive

under these conditions. It will have to form a landscape that provides

water, ground and protection. To walk over plants seems hard and

serenely not any plant would survive. Plants grow however in even

more extreme conditions, and there is a natural selection. When

talking to Frank Verhagen10

he gave the example of a military base

where tanks drive and plants are still able to grow. The reality of this

green space will be that during its use, vegetation will contract and

expand. The challenge is to design a pavement that can guide this

process, for example by temporarily protecting plants with a fence.

The routing people take, can be used as a tool by the gardener, and

can change during the year. The basic principle for the street gardens

that I am creating is that the garden will be formed by plants that

grow naturally under the given circumstances. These plants that

are not planted and grow naturally. Nevertheless, there remains the

possibility for additions. The plants, water and ground form a rich

micro-climate that at its turn feeds the plants. By providing enough

space for such a micro-climate also underneath the payment, the soil

will stay open and water could go into.11

and Geritsen specifically is stating in the book Droomplanten (2003, p. 7) to

be motivated by the decline of the wild plants in the 70’s .

Manager Urban Green at the municipality of Eindhoven.

See the analysis of the rainforest of: Baars, B. & Oldeman, R. A.A. (2001).

Micro-farming oud nieuws in een nieuw jasje: Een introductie tot effectief

management van het bodemvoedselweb, p. 22.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Contemporary urban greenery needs a new relation to the

inhabitants of the city and the city itself. The distance between

citizens and urban greenery should be decreased and they should

be able to benefit from and use greenery in a more direct way.

My design proposal will focus on the mix between pavement

and plants. I am aware that there are various ways to address the

topics described in this thesis but by focusing on this proposal I

am able to explore issues and opportunities that I am currently

in direct contact with. By mixing these two components I want to

create greenery in which the traveller becomes involved because

moving through it instead of next to it.

The relationship people have to their urban living environment

is dependent on the quality of the green in the city. The stress

level in todays society is much higher than in the past.1 The

stress-decreasing quality of greenery is something that is a focus

of recent studies. These studies show that people that live in a

green environment live longer, have better mental well-being

My proposal is to reshape roads in residential neighbourhoods in

such a way, that plants can grow on it. This is a sketch of this idea

as well as an overview of plants that already grow in between

pavement tiles.

Thesis

and need less medical care. Green environments also have

other benefits to individual and communal health. Affiliate

Professor Agnes van den Berg, that received a research grant for

the “perception and appreciation of nature and landscape” for her

pioneering work in the field of nature experience states that even

when looking at a nature photo, stress is reduced.2 According

to her, this is due to the way our brain is functioning. One of her

conclusions is in direct relation to my project. Van den Berg states

that government-funding should go to greenery in the vicinity

instead of to large, robust nature areas outside of the city.

Eindhoven as a typical economically growing city3 can serve as a

case-study for the development and design of new urban greenery

and examination of the relation it has to the city-inhabitants.

The government is having problems with water management. This is

caused by an outdated sewage system, changing climate and increasing

rainfall4

in more condensed periods of time. This trend is expected to

continue over the coming decade.5

Because of these predictions, Luuk

Postmes at the municipality of Eindhoven is working on creating solu-

tions to the drainage problem.6

My design proposal can help solving

this problem. The open stones I am developing are making the pave-

ment open and therefore water is able to sink down in the soil (faster).

Besides, the plants themselves will also absorb water and evaporate it. The

maintenance will also be cheaper in these green places than that of weed

free pavement. The maintenance of plant friendly pavement has yet to be

determined but, experience will gradually become available. Addition-

ally, adding greenery to paved streets will help reduce the heat inside the

city. Due to the vaporization of water in the plants, the temperature is

reduced. Also due to the shade of the plants the already reduced amount

of pavement will heat up less. These are some of the projected expected

effects that open pavement could have on the inner city environment.7

Impression of new greenery

Page descriptionCreating new relations Environmental managementNew urban green Landscaping the wilderness

The Dutch Wave is a movement where the seemingly

contradictory modernistic concepts of nature that should be

uninfluenced and the desire to be involved, help, and shape nature

came together. Mien Ruys, Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen are the

main figures in this movement. Mien Ruys (1904-1999) started it

by developing a philosophy of gardening where a wild fauna is

combined in a strict design. Piet Oudolf later developed different

more imaginative approaches to the concept of wilderness and

created gardens and cultivated plants that would remind us of

nature. Also Henk Gerritsen developed his own concept of gardening

wilderness. This concept is executed without using fertilizers or

pesticides and utilizes the unwinnable battle against weeds and

vermin. He was mixing cultured plants with weeds that could

compete with them but still would look natural enough to fit into

his natural picture.8

A garden that teared down the border between

gardening and wilderness, if the right balance was found, would be

almost maintenance-free.

109

Jan

Van

Der

Bild

tstr

aat

List of referencesNotes

I took Woensel-West as an examplery case. Most of Eindhoven is built in a similar

way even though the social condition of this specific neighbourhood became

poor. Woensel-West had problems with for example prostitution but improved

much since it got special government support by being appointed as “krachtwijk”

(neighborhood that needs special attention, regarding mainly social issues).

Stated in the Main report green policy. Hoofdrapport groenbeleidsplan: Naar een

hoogwaardig palet van “rood” en “Groen”)

Most of them were originally farmers, brought to specific areas of Eindhoven .

For example the neighbourhood Drentsdorp was built for farmers from Drente.

An extensive analysis of this type of neighbourhoods can be found in the article

Bloemkoolwijken: Gereedschapskist voor de doorontwikkeling van laat-

naoorlogse woonwijken. Lay-out: Platform voor recent ontwerpend onderzoek.

Christopher Alexander already in 1966 wrote a famous article on this topic.

Alexander, C. (1966). A city is not a tree. London: Council of Industrial Design, N

206.

See for example Wellman, B.(2001). Physical Place and Cyber Place: The Rise of

Networked Individualism.International Journal of Urban and Regional Research

25,2: 227-52.

The mixing of pavement and plant caused theoretical problems for the

maintenance by the municipality, because it does not fit within their

administrative division in green and pavement.

Aben, R. & De Wit, S. (1998). De omsloten tuin (The enclosed garden).

Rotterdam: Uitgeverij 010.

Baars, B. & Oldeman, R. A.A. (2001). Micro-farming oud nieuws in

een nieuw jasje: Een introductie tot effectief management van het

bodemvoedselweb, 2nd edition. Lelystad: Stichting WegRaap.

Bauman, Z. (2007, 2011). Vloeibare tijden: leven in een eeuw van

onzekerheid (Liquid times: living in an age of uncertainty). Zoetermeer:

Uitgeverij Klement.

Bade, T. et al., (2005). Dood doet leven: De natuur van dode dieren (Death

gives life: The nature of dead animals). Utrecht: KNNV Uitgeverij.

Denters, T.(2004). Stadsplanten: veldgids voor de stad (City plants: Field

guide for the city). ‘s-Graveland: Fontaine Uitgevers BV.

Fink, C. & Moring, M. & Van Schuppen, C. (2008).

Afhankelijk van de legenda kan kortom alles een kaart zijn (Depending

on the legend everything can be a map). Amsterdam:

Architectura & Natura

Kämena, R. & Themans, M. (2011). Den Haag, een zee van groen (The

Hague, a sea of green). Den Haag: Stroom Den Haag.

Lemaire, T. (1970). Filosofie van het landschap (Philosophy of the

landscape) 10th edition. Wommelgem: VeemBosch & Keuning

uitgevers n.v.

Oudolf, P. & Gerritsen, H.(2003). Droomplanten (Dream-plants).

Warnsveld: Uitgeverij Terra bv.

Schama, S. (1995, 2007). Landschap en Herinering (Landscape and

Memory), 4th edition. Amsterdam: Olympus non-fictie.

Steenbergen, C. & Reh, W. (2003). Architectuur en Landschap

(Architecture and Landscape), 2nd edition. Bussum: Uitgeverij THOTH.

Van de Wiel, H. (2004). Tuinen in een landschap van steen: de betekenis

van groen voor een leefbare buurt. Zwolle: “Neem de natuur in de wijk,

de wijk in de natuur”.

Books ArticlesAlexander, C. (1966). A city is not a tree. London: Council of Industrial

Design, N° 206.Department of Urban Development and Management

(2001). Hoofdrapport groenbeleidsplan: Naar een hoogwaardig pallet

van “rood” en “Groen” (Main report green policy: Towards a high pallet

of “red” and “Green”). Municipality of Eindhoven.

Joye, Y. (2007). A Tentative Argument for the Inclusion of Nature-Based

Forms in Architecture. University Gent.

Joye, Y.(2008). De stad als tweede natuur: Over gezonde architectuur

en geruststellende bomen (The city as second nature: About healthy

architecture and reassuring trees).

Tonneijck, F. & Kuypers, V. (2006). Stadsbomen voor een goede

luchtkwaliteit. Bomenstichting.

Van Der Leun, A. & Oskam, M. (2008). Bloemkoolwijken:

Gereedschapskist voor de doorontwikkeling van laat-naoorlogse

woonwijken (Cauliflower Districts: Toolkit for the development of

late post war urban neighbourhoods). Lay-out: Platform voor recent

ontwerpend onderzoek (Platform for contemporary design research), 04.

Van Der Leun, A. (2009). Studie Woonerven: Focus op kwaliteiten (Study

to pedestrian priority area: Focus on quality). Lay-out: Platform voor

recent ontwerpend onderzoek (Platform for contemporary design

research), 08.

Van den Berg, A.E & Koole S.L.(2006). New wilderness in the Netherlands:

An investigation of visual preferences for nature development

landscapes. Science Direct: Landscape and Urban Planning.

Van den Berg, A.E & Maas, J & Verheij, R.A. & Groenewegen, P.P (2010).

Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health. Social

Science and Medicine.

Van den Hurk, B. et al.(2006). KNMI Climate Change Scenarios 2006 for

the Netherlands. KNMI.

Van Luijtelaar, H. & Clemens F.(2006). Klimaatontwikkeling: Anticiperen

op extreme buien in de bebouwde omgeving. Rioned

Wellman, B.(2001). Physical Place and Cyber Place: The Rise of

Networked Individualism. International Journal of Urban and Regional

Research 25, 2: 227-52.

A NEW APPLICATION FOR URBAN Adapting

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Changes in todays society continue to develop faster. Zygmunt

Bauman states in his book Liquid Times that there is even no solid

and stable phase anymore but that now everything is constantly

changing. Urbanists had to deal with this issue of changing times

because the needs and desires of the citizens changed faster than

city-plans lasted. Due to this changing desires an interesting

kind of improvisation can be found within historical cities. For

example the pre-war houses shown at the drawing above have

been modified in several phases. All houses have been enlarged

by adding a second floor upon the original house. Some houses

have got bigger windows. In the use of the houses the changing

of desires becomes even more visible. The original floor plan was

designed with a large garden because the workers of Philips, for

whom the neighbourhood was designed and built for, used to

grow their own food.3 Nowadays none of these gardens is used

for the production of food but for other recreational purposes.

Some are used as outdoor living-rooms. Others for recreational

gardening or just to be able to sit in the sun ect.

Times have changed, our society functions different from the

society during which for example Woensel-West was built.

As an example of how the mixing of greenery and pavement can

be applied in an outdated urban situation I chose the Jan van

der Bildtstraat. This street is part of the pre-war neighbourhood

Woensel West1. I focused on the qualities and possibilities of this

street even though it is scheduled for demolition. Due to its long

history this neighbourhood has gained a unique and special

character that can be addressed and used when reorganizing

it, not by demolishing and starting over. I also chose this street

because it has been appointed by the municipality of Eindhoven

as in need of green development2.

The drawing shown above is an example, this product can also be

integrated in the design of new neighbourhoods.

Page description Context ConclusionThe modernistic trend to separate functions is no longer giving

a satisfying result.4 Professor Barry Wellman explains that our

society moved to being based on networked individualism5

(instead of being designed by a company like Philips). The

contemporary urban reality is not designed for this network

based society, it is not addressing the changed desires and therefor

need to be adjusted. A combination pavement and plants within

the roads of neighbourhoods, will address these changes because

it is used in daily transit instead of focusing on private ownership

of land. Therefor will result in a higher quality relationship

between todays residents and the natural greenery.

To be able to create these new green spaces the social designer

will function as a mediator. By designing an open pavement he

is creating a motive for different parties to collaborate. In this

case: the different sectors in the municipality6 concerning the

greenery and the pavement (which now belong to different

clusters which do not collaborate), the housing associations, the

urbanist, the landscape architect and the local resident. Due to

this initiative these different parties, that now sometimes act

contradictory can cooperate and work on one common vision.

By applying a new typology of urban greenery I address the

conflict of Dutch urban design - the wish to enhance the

well-being of the city-inhabitants while developing the urban

infrastructure. Part of this new greenery consists of open

pavement, where a new plant biotope can thrive, composed of

spontaneous plant growth and carefully chosen plant cultures.

The inhabitants will go through the green, not next to it and

therefore have a different experience of city landscape. Open

pavement, will also reduce the pressure on city drainage systems,

by allowing water to seep into the soil rather than drain to the

rivers. An open pavement system addresses the increasing

need for urban landscapes to cohabitate with residents and the

surrounding ecosystem.

As a designLiquid times

Unfold-drawing of the Jan van der Bildtstraat. Unfold-drawing of new design.

Grey is open and suitable for vegetation.

1211

a new application for urban green - studio meek€¦ · urban greenery and propose a new typology...

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