Lage Bergse Bos | netherlands | 2019
place
Situated outside Rotterdam a new 2 kilometre stretch of nature reserve will be planted no top of a new motorway tunnel. The existing nature reserve contains a series of lakes and glades all accessible by bike or on foot. The reserve boarders two small towns. The whole area is a polder 6 metres below sea level.
BREIF
The extensive new forest will solely be made up of native woodland, and only contain trees already specific to this area. The new stretch of forest will plug seamlessly into the existing ancient woodland of the poler landscape and include a new open parkland / meadowland, bike lanes, paths and outlooks.
DESIGN
Research of the local area revealed three main forest types. Species of tree and understory that cohabit well together. Taking this principal we devised further forest typologies. One suitable for water edges, one containing more evergreens, and another that we describe as the edible forest. Spaces were defined through these forest mixes, such as park edge, clearings, paths, and playing with densities to create openings and vistas, or thickets that screen. Planting young whips means the forest grows naturally as a collective and will eventually regenerate itself with no maintenance.
