HEWADG CHANDIMA PHILIP DAM LÜTKEN CECILE LIND HÅNES

Sander Panis

The site of group 2 is situated at the southern most periphery of the neighbourhood. Inhabitants of this area say it is well defined, occupied mainly by the Polish, Italian and Moroccan communities. A green area here sits as an island between roads, unused by the community, with the houses serving as a wall to the greenery beyond. The group established the need for a link between the natural and man-made worlds in the neighbourhood in Winterslag. This can be done through the creation of a dialogue through connecting green areas between public space and private gardens.

As with many of the sites of the workshop, parking is a prominent problem here again, but especially here in Winterslag 2, cars are a means of identity and status, not simply a practicality. Unlike the culture of the country, “no one uses bikes here”, exacerbating this parking problem. It is this prominence of cars which alienates the community members from the natural world, they need something which brings the natural world back to the space, allowing them to see beyond the divides created by cars and the wall created by housing.

The vast spread of nature to the rear of the properties lacks a visual connection. This is the main issue and could be done through physical pathways for example, right from the centre of this walled green patch that allows it to flow outward to the next space.

BOUNDARY MAP. Graphic: Workshop Team

The goal is to experience nature beyond the “wall” of houses and create an immersive experience for community members, whilst still in the confines of the residential area. This was tested by this group through the creation of a self-build periscope.

Initial experimentation revealed the formation of an arch when manouvering the stick, leading to an interpretation of using arches to bridge the road or connecting via an ecoduct bridge for biodiversity to what is beyond the wall of houses.

A mobile phone is strapped to a self-build periscope device and raised in a form of exhibition, where the image from the mobile above the roof line of the houses can be seen. On the ground, physically connecting the two locations through this arch form. This creates a desire for the connection with nature and opens the minds of those in the community to what this space could become.

The degradation of green spaces is used as inspiration to break the boundary between natural and manmade space. Paths between houses have closed over time and people have forgotten the existence of any connection to the greenery beyond the neighbourhood. The periscope acts as a catalyst to bridge this gap and physically bring nature back into this suburban area.

By taking pictures via the periscope the project aimed to reconnect with the horizon beyond the fenced gardens: some places were controlled green spaces, others surprisingly wild.

For the final project presentation, the group closed the road with bamboo structures adorned with their mapping materials, bringing a standstill to the usual workings of the neighbourhood and disrupting the rhythm of daily life here, bringing attention to the subject with the aim of surprising residents with what exists beyond the human eye line.