Jan Houweling

Flowscapes, Urban Forestry

Living in the Post-Industrial Forest
Listen to the audio fragment about the project here.

Fourth to Sixth Nature: Feralising the Post-Industrial Landscape

Schieoevers in Delft is an industrial site that’s losing its function over time and, as a result of neglect, the abandoned plots are overgrown with wild vegetation. With the growing need for housing in Delft, this site offers opportunities for development. But how can we transform this landscape of pollution, concrete and steel into a healthy living environment while preserving its cultural heritage? This project looks into the ongoing process of feralisation and forest succession as a driver of the transformation, to heal the scars of the industrial landscape and learn to work with natural processes instead of against them. 

As the frames and conditions of the industrial landscape set the course for forest succession, we can estimate what the outcome will look like. The strategy focuses on how we can alter the conditions and guide the process to meet our needs for living.

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