The (un)conditional garden Aim Some 60% of Dutch flora and fauna are
present in or near the city. But policy on nature is still dominated by red-versus-green polemics that divide the city from nature. The design for the (un)conditional garden is an ode to urban nature and shows the city as a landscape where specific flora and fauna find their place in their own way. The garden shows the richness that lies hidden in the corners and cracks of the city.The aim of the design is to add the image of urban nature to our traditional images of nature. In that way the garden can distance itself from the image of the urban park, because it is based on natural (urban) ecological processes such as succession, disruption, predation and isolation.
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Design The garden is designed on top of and
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partly in the future parking garage of Artis zoo. The grid on which the parking garage is composed forms the basis for a large number of boxes in which the huge number of habitats that the city accommodates are projected. Boxes differ according to the conditions that they create. Those differences can be achieved not only through differences in soil type and drainage, but also through the arrangement of the boxes. Taller boxes cast shadows on lower boxes, while lower boxes can expose
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adjoining boxes to the elements. In this way the arrangement can either stimulate or slow ecological processes. Taken collectively, the boxes are arranged in such a way that an alternating landscape is created. A floating path leads the visitor past four zones in the garden and emphasises the contrast between the grid on which the garden is based and the traditional route that the path offers the walker. The visitor is thus challenged to look afresh at what first seemed to be just weeds, and to discover just how rich nature is in the city.
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1. floorplan 2. architectonical diversification 3. ecological zones and stimuli 4. spatial expression of the ecological zones 5. routing through the different environments (bothon top and in the garage) 6. birdseye view of all four layers 7. model of garden and Zoo 8. section of the garden merging with the garage
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Experiment To gain insight into the processes of
urban wildlife and to develop a feeling for the possibility of creating images with these natural processes, a trial location was used for the duration of the graduation project. Experiments with stages of succession and differences in soil composition were conducted on a disused site in order to draw conclusions about the spatial quality of different potential vegetation. The findings supported the hypothesis that big differences in image can be achieved with simple interventions. And that with the right measures, urban vegetation can find its own way into a very divers and rich image of new nature.
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1. Dry pit 2. South/North exhibition ground 3. Plot enriched with garden soil 4. Plot enriched with lime 5. Plot enriched with artificial fertiliser 6. Wet pit 7. East/west exhibition debris
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1. White stork (Ciconia ciconia), Annual breeder in Artis, will be predating on frogs in the wet part. Uses urban heat for thermal soaring in the afternoons 2. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), treevanprovides a niche up to 200‘s middag insectte species 1 Ooievaar (Ciconia ciconia), broedt vrij in Artis,indigenous zal ‘s ochtends vroeg het terrein gebruiken om for op kikkers te jagen, zien zweven boven de tuinop de urbane themiek 3. Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), small very active urban bird. Will use the garden to catch insects Meidoorn (Crataegus monogyna), inheemse boom, kan tot 200 soorten insecten herbergen 2 4. Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), will clear certain areas of which the sand lizzard will benefit Zwarte roodstaart (Phoenicurus ochruros), beweeglijke kleine stadsvogel met een opvallende rode staart, jaagt druk op insecten, is van maart tot november aanwezig 3 copper 5. Small (Lycaena phlaeas), flies in three generations; eggs are laid on different grass species in the garden Konijn (Oryctolagus cuniculus), afgezien van de mens de grootste zoogdier in de tuin, zal bepaalde vakken houdenWill wat soorten als de weerits ten highsqueeks. goede komt 4 6. Greater White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura russula), is active both in day andopen night. mostly bezandhagedis heard by Inhabits a territory of about 60 sq m. which corresponds with one unit. 7. Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), is being kept in Artis, will be collecting nectar througout the garden on annuals and perennials, but also in large numbers Common Ivy Kleine vuurvlinder (Lycaena phlaeas), vliegt in 3 generaties van mei tot oktober, zet eitjes af op verschillende grassoorten, het mannetje vertoont territoriaal gedrag 5 8. Swift (Apus apus), breeds in all around the garden and also in the tower. Large flocks of young birds will be speeding low over the open parts of the garden in july Huisspitsmuis (Crocidura russula), is zowel ‘s nachts als overdag actief, en kan herkend worden aan een zeer hoge piep. Het territorium is ongeveer 60m2, dat komt precies overeen met één bakje 6 9. Least weasel (Mustela nivalis), If the population of different mice species develops well the garden should be big enough to host one territory Honingbij (Apis mellifera), wordt in Artis gehouden, zal stuifmeel halen op verschillende soorten voornamelijk in het tijdelijk milieu 7 10. House martin (Delichon urbicum), On warm days the House martin will be hunting on ‘aerial plankton’, small insects that lift off on rising air.They might be flying so high that you will only hear their twittering. 8
Gierzwaluw (Apus apus), Broedt in de toren op de achtergrond, maar ook onder de dakpannen aan het entrepotdok, zal het terrein gebruiken om te fourageren bij slecht weer
Wezel (Mustela nivalis), Bij annuals een voldoendeand muizenstand is het territorium ruim eenvetch hectare (Vicia groot, dat cracca), is net zo groot als de tuinBugloss in totaal (Echium vulgare) on disturbed, chalk rich sandy soils A. Association of flowering biannuals like Tufted Viper’s 9 B. Association with a dominance of Dutch clover (Trifolia repens), on enriched, humous soils Huiszwaluw (Delichon urbicum), Met goed weer jaagt de huiszwaluw hoog boven de tuin. op zogenaamd luchtplankton, insecten die met de warme lucht mee zijn opgestegen, hij vliegt dan zo hoog dat je eigenlijk alleen maar kunt horen 10 A
Gemeenschap van bloemrijke kruiden zoals Vogelwikke (Vicia cracca), Slangenkruid (Echium vulgare) in sterk verstoorde delen, op vrij kalkrijke, zandige grond