Sustainable urban design The Next Step Copenhagen and Malmø / New eco-cities between tac-

tics and technique / Designing the carbon neutral town / Sustainable olympics / The sensitive

city / OKRA / Land meets water in St Kilda, Cuijk and Nantes

’scape’scape 2/2009 Sustainable urban design: The N

ext Step / OKRA / Land m

eets water

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w.scapem

agazine.com

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RAILWAY ZONE, OSSWITH DIEDEREN DIRRIX

DE EFTELING , KAATSHEUVEL

FORTIFICATION CITYPARK ZUIDERPARK‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH

VAN GOGH CHURCH, NUENEN WITH HENKET AND PARTNERS

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

MTD | Zuid-Willemsvaart 142 | Post box 5225 | 5201 GE ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands

T 31 (0)73 6125033 | F 31 (0)73 6136665 | E mtd@mtdlandschapsarchitecten.nl

The internationalmagazine forlandscape architecture and urbanism 2009 / 2

Urban acupuncture byEcosistema Urbano: eco-boulevard in Madrid

2 / 2009 ’ S C A P E 4948 ’ S C A P E 2 / 2009

The architects at OKRA landscapearchitects in the Netherlands are well-known for their designs in whichdistinct, often innovative ideas, arefashioned into practical, feasible plans.Whether it’s for a neighbourhoodsquare in Rotterdam or an urban districtin London, OKRA designs in detail butalways leaves scope for flexible use. Aninterview with Martin Knuijt, one of thefounders of OKRA, and his new officepartner, Wim Voogt, on vital cities andthe rise of homo ludens: “We wantpeople to discover for themselves whatthey can do with a site.”

Cathelijne Nuijsink

OKRA has four founder members. What areyour backgrounds and what drew you all together?

Knuijt: We were fellow students atWageningen University. The idea of having ourown firm of consultants originated when we wereon a sketching trip to the Ardennes in our firstyear. There were four of us sitting in a caravanand fantasising over a glass of beer about startingour own office at some point in the future. Afterour studies, we all went our separate ways but,eighteen months later in 1994, we met up againand exchanged ideas about the first illusions anddisillusions we had about working in the realworld. That was when we decided to put our stu-dent idea into practice.

What was the climate of landscape architecturein the Netherlands at that time?

Knuijt: Everyone was convinced that theperiod of modernism was definitely over. In con-trast with the Netherlands, serious changes werealready starting to take place elsewhere inEurope; we could see that. Barcelona was a hottopic. The School of Versailles in France was

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OKRA landscape architectsfor a vital city

Boudewijn Almekinders, Christ Jan van Rooij, Wim Voogt, Hans Oerlemans and Martin Knuijt.

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50 ’ S C A P E 2 / 2009 2 / 2009 ’ S C A P E 51

becoming successful once more after leading amoribund existence for years. The first unsuc-cessful copies of these very strong examples werethen starting to appear in Europe. Consultanciesin the Netherlands were either specialised indesigning very strong concepts or in taking avery conventional approach with significantlyfew underlying ideas. Even then we wanted todesign public spaces which had an extra signifi-cance for the city. Not just presenting innovativedesign concepts, but ensuring that they could beput into practice as well.

How has OKRA made its mark? Voogt: In our first project, which was the

redesign of the Van Heek Square in Enschede inthe east of the Netherlands, we showed that wecould create a public space which dragged thecity right out of its doldrums. It was an innova-tion in itself – both then and now – and showedthat by renovating just one square you couldturn an entire section of the city into a drivingforce for the city as a whole. Nowadays, entireparts of a city are torn down because they are nolonger functional and then replaced by some-thing completely new. But we think differentlyabout these things. We would rather transformwhat is already there, than knock the wholething down and start again.

Is there a typical OKRA way of working?Knuijt: We are fascinated by creating vital

cities, post-productive cities. The rural produc-tion landscape in the Netherlands is rapidlychanging into an urban network. Increasingurbanisation needs attractive landscapes andspaces around it. The city is no longer neces-sarily a place where you have to be, but must beone where you would really like to be. Qualitymust be given to cities by making them liveable.This implies that you must make use of the greenspaces, water and energy, not just to design a cli-mate-neutral city but primarily to improve itsliveability. To our mind, a lively city is made up ofplaces which function at different times of theday and whose accessibility is well organised.How can you create places which will functiontogether as a network – for cycles, cars andpublic transport?

As well as post-productive cities, do you thinkabout the scale of a landscape as well, the post-productive landscape?

Knuijt: Definitely. You can see agriculturallandscape all around you, but is it really that?No, it isn’t. The landscape in the Netherlands -and in other urbanised regions in Europe - isentirely urban, in fact. We use agricultural greenareas for recreation at the weekend. The ruralproduction landscape in the Netherlands hasbecome the countryside for homo ludens or manthe player. And this has far-reaching implicationsfor urban design. We have to introduce urbanprogrammes which are linked in with the cul-tural-historical landscape.

Why is preserving this cultural-historical land-scape so essential?

Knuijt: Themes which are imposed are fatal.The theme has to emanate from the place.There are wonderful post-industrial landscapes –just think of the Ruhr Area. The parks theregrew out of their own past and have a kind ofpurity, providing something that truly belongs tothe economy of the area.

City, landscape, nature and public spaces –there are more and more sensations and experi-ences. How can we prevent the landscape frombecoming one big amusement park?

Knuijt: We search for the authenticity of land-scapes. You have to distinguish between placesthat are already programmed and places whichpeople have to discover for themselves. Intensifythose pre-programmed landscapes with a coupleof extra amusement parks – but leave the otherplaces completely alone.

How do you design the transition between cityand landscape for homo ludens?

Voogt: First, it is about making a change in themind-set. City and countryside must not turntheir backs on each other, but should each takeadvantage of the other. Second, there have to bereally good, high-quality connections betweencity and country so that they are both accessible.Third, the outskirts of the city must be madeattractive so that you want to go there as well.

Knuijt: The combination of urban sprawl and

the extensive social networks common in theNetherlands means that everything is connectedwith everything else. You live in one place, workin another and spend your free time in a third.The networks of city and landscape are veryclosely interconnected here. You must not sepa-rate these networks; otherwise you would bedividing the Netherlands into small compart-ments. Even if the Netherlands looks like onelarge expanse of grass, you still have to recognisethat this green area is part of the urban system.

Is the post-productive city a sustainable one too?Knuijt: We have to make cities which can con-

tinue to modernise. You must see sustainabilityas something much wider than an urban ecologyof green spaces, water and energy. We have tomake cities which are also sustainable sociallyand economically.

Voogt: Do you know what sustainability is not?Consumption! Or imitating places which are notlinked to a specific space, completely withoutidentity. It is not about making something thatwe are going to demolish in ten years’ time sothat we can replace it with something else.

What is your approach to urban culture in yourdesigns?

Knuijt: The interesting thing about a city is itsmixture of functions; this is something we don’tfind in modernism. It is, in fact, about mixinggroups of people and creating a city which isaccessible to everyone, to older people as well asyoung people and families; this is what youwould like to see in an urban culture. Breedinggrounds, the attractive and vital places in a city –these are the places you must keep. The shop onthe corner and the small local garage where youcan still see them repairing a couple of cars out-side – these are the features which disappear forgood when a neighbourhood is pulled down.The urban culture has its anchors and you haveto understand what they are. Demolition on itsown ruins a city economically and spatially. Ourmotto is to revitalise the city, not amputate partsof it.

How can we design a landscape in such a waythat it does justice to the dynamism of our quickly

changing society?Voogt: Globalisation does not mean that every-

thing coalesces and starts to become a homoge-nous mass. We can move around a lot fasternowadays and we travel to more places but, incontrast, we still yearn for our own familiar sur-roundings. In landscapes, however, we can dis-cern the unmistakable signs of continual blur-ring; we can remedy this by taking the diverseidentities embedded there and making themrecognisable again.

What does this imply for a long-term design? Voogt: Don’t impose a use but make it pos-

sible. Programming a place doesn’t mean thatyou have to label every single square metre butthat the space can be used by different users atdifferent times. Our designs are extremelydetailed, but the way that you can use them ismade as flexible as possible.

What is the importance of your lighting designsfor the city?

Voogt: During the day, the city is shaped bymass and space. At night, a completely differentlandscape is possible just by using light to hideor reveal spaces. By choosing whether or not tointroduce illumination into projects, we cancreate particular sites and bring ‘the city of thenight’ into an existence all of its own.

Knuijt: The idea behind a night landscape isbased on the dynamics of the city. We want tocreate spaces with a rhythm of use. Public spaceshave a day and a night-time rhythm and wewould like, of course, to see these day-timespaces used in the evenings as well. There is alsothe weekly rhythm of markets, which fill upempty squares at set times. And finally there isthe year’s rhythm of the seasons. Using light youcan determine which places you want to link tocertain routes during these various rhythmcycles.

What about green spaces in the city?Voogt: If we look at what is happening abroad,

there could be a greater focus on our conceptsof planting in the Netherlands. It’s not that welack the capacity to do this, but we are held backfar too much by our clients and by the problem

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OKRA in one of their recently finished projects: The Dutch Defense Line near by Utrecht.

The city is no longer necessarily a place where you have to be, but must be one where you would really like to be

52 ’ S C A P E 2 / 2009

of maintaining public green spaces. Knuijt: It bothers us that the planting in

public spaces has become so meagre since thesixties. Nearly everything is public space, but thisis usually only a few grassy fields with the oddtree, preferably a plane tree because they growso well in cities. We advocate a richer and morevaried green picture. Specific to the place. Thisimplies making choices about public spaces andasking ourselves whether everything should beaccessible to the public. Having part of a publicspace which is not open all the time, but halfopen or a private area that is open from time totime creates a much more varied city landscape.Just consider the huge buildings in New Yorkwhose occupants adopt green areas. What doesthe city get in return? Small pocket parks, atriaand roof gardens which are looked after withzeal.

When is a design successful? Voogt: It is not about making a pretty design

for yourself, but about the person you make itfor being able to adopt it and feel a connectionwith it. The new part must add something, andthe design must link in with the existing sur-roundings.

What is the biggest challenge facing Dutch citiesover the coming decades?

Voogt: The main problem is fragmentation.We have a network of cities intersected by infra-structure. Bringing the city in balance as anurban system requires cohesion between all theseparate projects. If there is no joint collectiveinterest, there will only be individual develop-ments. Cities may become more urban but, incontrast, they must have very attractive, greenspaces. For OKRA, the key words are: vitality,liveliness, sustainability and accessibility foreveryone.

Your portfolio of projects is becoming increas-ingly international. What makes working outsidethe Netherlands so different from working here?

Knuijt: The kind of remit! Assignments areoften based on practical considerations in theNetherlands, and we are aiming for better thanaverage. A lot of research is done here, but when

it comes to the implementation we are still tryingto do too much with too few resources in theNetherlands. In response, we like to define theextent of the remit using our own initiative. Inthis way, we turned a remit for the design of sixbeach access points into a much more importantassignment: a complete vision of the entire coastof Zeeland in the Netherlands. We think it ismore interesting to know what the coast reallylooks like. Outside the Netherlands, the focus ismuch more on the actual remit. The client isalso involved and, moreover, there is morerespect for the architect’s expertise. In Londonwe are involved in the regeneration of the urbandistrict of Croydon, an area which, afterWestminster and the City of London, aims tobecome London’s 'third city'. Without doubt,this is a comprehensive remit.

What is left of the intimate characteristics of aproject on the scale of a public square close to atheatre and other cultural buildings, like that atHolstebro in Denmark.

Knuijt: We want people to discover the possi-bilities that lie in a landscape for themselves.This may mean that we create a stairway whichcan become a row of tiers to sit on, or make apleat in the landscape which provides cover sothat people experience it as a more secludedplace. The trick is not to design places which arefully pre-programmed and set up just for a singlepurpose, but to design places which lend them-selves for spontaneous uses instead. Stairwaysalong waterways which lead people to sit down,or go fishing, or play with boats in the water areall examples of sites where you leave the use ofthe area to the people themselves.

The master plan for Croydon in London lookslike a prize example of sustainability. Is this a newdirection for OKRA?

Knuijt: Sustainability plays an important rolein the more large-scale remits. In the Croydonproject, we can take a more integratedapproach. Economics, mobility, the environ-ment, social relationships are all very closely con-nected. In China, for instance, we are designinga model garden which focuses on the cycle ofwater, nutrients and energy. If you can develop a

district in a city in a similar way - with productionand consumption closely linked together - thiscreates very interesting correlations.

What is the driving force behind your successand how do you keep it in motion?

Voogt: A sharp concept in combination withthe makeability of the plan remains the corequality of OKRA. We are driven by idealism todevelop our concepts on the basis of what wewant, and then we work out how we can realisethem. You need new visions to continue todevelop, but the real fun begins when theproject is completed and handed over.

How do you see the discipline of landscapearchitecture changing?

Knuijt: Landscape architecture as a professionhas always been very object-oriented but is nowprocess-oriented. The discipline is now con-nected with the place and the underlying land-scape. Rapid developments and countlesssources of information make the identity of theplace more important than ever. By taking theoriginal situation and converting it into a revital-isation of an area, we are able to add somethingextra as landscape architects.

What are your ambitions for the future?Knuijt: We started fifteen years ago as a com-

pany working on the revitalisation of publicspaces. So that’s something we know how to do.Now we want to work on the revitalisation ofcities.

Voogt: We want to work on the larger type ofproject, one which allows us to show ourexpertise from vision to realisation. At the verytop of our wish list is an opportunity to make alarge urban park and a cemetery.

What ideas have you still got up your sleeve?Voogt: Designing landscape cities. There will

be a reassessment of the concepts of city andlandscape.

www.okra.nl

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Rapid developments and countless sources of information make the identityof the place more important than ever

2 / 2009 ’ S C A P E 53

AfrikaanderparkRotterdam, the Netherlands, 2003-2005

the basis of their wishes, OKRAsketched a masterplan that startedout from providing space. The ideawas to bring together cultural diver-sity – umhampered and without indi-vidual boundaries – through a func-tional renovation.

The park’s new layout is an incen-tive for a free and easy use. The cen-tral area is a large, open green turfwhere one may parade, stroll, play andhorse around. Activities like theweekly market and sports and gamesare concentrated on the asphaltedstrips bordering this. The centralgreen is framed by a promenade,planted with sizeable trees and fittedwith thick retaining walls of abrownish orange. This forms the tran-sition between the big central open-ness on the one hand and the organ-ized events on the other.

The promenade’s retaining walls

The Afrikaanderplein is an uncom-monly large public realm in a multi-cultural, underprivileged area ofRotterdam. As alternative open spaceswere lacking, this was the only placewhere the more than ninety differentcultures could gather within their owndistrict. However, intensive use andindividual activities that did not tallywith those of other user groupsresulted in a run-down site with hugemaintenance problems. With themakeover of the 5.6-hectare squarewithin this true inner-city park, OKRAhas given the neighbourhood a newdimension.

In order to define the renovationprogramme more closely, one has fol-lowed an interactive planning process.Residents, interest groups and civilservants began to participate early onin the design process by doing work-shops on themes like the park’s acces-sibility, public nature and its use. On

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A free green and open park space offers possibilities for its use.

Commodious entrances are conducive to an interaction between the use ofthe promenade and that of the park’s central area.

vention of vandalism and the coun-tering of pollution. For the sake oftransparancy, the fencing consists ofstrips. The fence gives the park a newatmosphere, in which inside and out-side acquire an almost magicalboundary. Also, there is a more variedplanting within the enclosure, withpossibly a higher level of mainte-nance. Instead of a green leftoverspace within the city, theAfrikaanderplein has become a usablecity park.

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Like in many European cities, thewater in the Belgian town ofMechelen had been largely filled in.Due to the European programme‘Water in Historical City Centres’, thishas changed. Together with ’s-Hertogenbosch, Ghent, Chester,Limerick and Breda, the programmeafforded Mechelen with the opportu-nity to restore water storage withinthe town. Still, OKRA has given itsMechelen commission an extra twist .

De Melaan Mechelen, Belgium, 2005-2006

The old quay walls have been redis-covered and newly erected. The walls,fitted with a broad natural stone edgeon top, now mark the border of thestream. By introducing a difference inheight, however slight, it is now pos-sible to experience the water. The highand low quays are respectively athrough road and a promenade alongthe water where one can parade, walkthe dog or play outside. Bridges of amodern design connect the new quayswith the existing buildings.

The choice for black shiny graniteand cobblestones is the outcome of anexploration into the effect of textures.These materials ad an extra contrastbetween light and dark, givingexpression to the designed spaces.Due to the historical location one haschosen a utility lighting with a warmhue. The blue lamps under the abut-ments of the bridges ad an extradimension to the lighting plan. Thisstriking light creates a very speciallandscape at night. And, apart fromenhancing the atmosphere, it alsoincreases personal safety at night.Thanks to this makeover, the Melaanhas – next to being a water storage –attained an expressive functionwithin the historical inner city.

vary in width, providing various nooksand crannies. It invites one to lingerthere. At the same time, the prome-nade forms a ‘grandstand’ for theactivities taking place on the ‘stage’ ofthe communal central area. Pavedpathways cut across this great open-ness. Due to a careful choice for eithera stony or a softer roadbed a limitednumber of paths suffices. By loweringthe green turf in relation to the prom-enade, this vast expanse within thecity is emphasized all the more.

Under the motto ‘safety in unity’the park is enclosed by a fence. Thisfencing marks the space and con-tributes towards personal safety, pre-

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Apart from bringing back the water inthe town, they have simultaneouslyintroduced an attractive and everydayliving area with both high and lowquays. Once again, this public spaceattracts people from the town as wellas its surroundings to sojourn in thishistorical inner city.

By filling in the river Melaan, origi-nally used for transport by water, as asewer and as a place for washing, thelogic in the city had disappeared over

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The park’s central area is suited to a free use. On the side of the park, the promenade is demarcated by a sitting edge withplanted borders.

The return of the water in the Melaan is marked by thenew bridges to the existing buildings.

The low quay forms a promenade along the water.

The lighting makes use of the factthat it is reflected by the materials,so that at night the public realm alsobecomes a comfortable and safespace.

The choice to close the park at night forms the basis for its improved maintenance.

the years. Where once the water usedto flow, a car park had been made. Alarge number of the surroundingbuildings had their backs and blindfaçades turned towards the street. So,restoring the natural water coursealso provided the opportunity ofseeking a new accessibility. What for-merly was a place to leave yourvehicle has now become an attractivepedestrian and cycling area, wherethe car is only a guest.

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The Danish town of Holstebro usedto have its back turned to the riverStoraa. It was a situation in whichmany backsides as well as the town’sdistricts north and south of the riverwere badly connected. Then OKRAused the water as a natural featureand transformed the existing car parkinto a square with the proud front of ariverside promenade and a largepublic outdoor stage.

Bringing together Schul Landskabs-arkitekter from Copenhagen andBerlin lighting artist Asa Franken-berg’s lighting design, an artistic elab-oration was created for this 2.3-hectare planning site. The presentsquare was sized-down and providedwith a strip of water and a lawn.Along the relatively deeply situatedriver, inclines were raised that enableyou to get from high to low withoutdifficulty. By placing the retainingwalls of the ramps also at a verticalslant, the waterfront appears ‘softer’.A new bridge has been provided with‘twists’ and ‘dents’, and does not onlyserve as a connective element, but

also as a sojourning space. In twoplaces, big wooden steps form real‘grandstands’.

The lighting design gives thesquare a theatrical effect. Besides thelighting of the bridge and the stages,various circles of light have also beeninstalled in the floor. The bottom ofthe foyer is lighted by computer-con-trolled waves of light. The dynamics ofthis night landscape are unique inOKRA’s portfolio. The building seemsto hover above the square.

The space has become a hybridbetween a park and a square, in whichgreenery and stone are combinedeffortlessly. Essential in the design is

Holstebro’s Storaa StreamHolstebro, Denmark, 2007-2009

that the public realm is able to expandand shrink according to how it is used.The space’s dynamics are enhanced bychangeable elements. Mobile greenelement on rails, still to be realized,will form the wings of the outdoorstage. The water on the pavement inthe theatre square is able to appearand disappear, and thus contributes tothe public space’s ever-changing focalpoint.

The view at night of the bridge to the theatre emphasizes the sculptural space.

The theatre square’s water floor with its sprays, facilitates the water’s temporary appearance and disappearance.

The bridge is a link, yet there is also room for informal seats.Along the Storaa, green wedges negotiate the difference in height up the incline’s walls.

The plan generates a sojourning area along the river and a theatre square with a green frame on the southside.

A proud front of a riverside promenade and a large public outdoor stage.

2 / 2009 ’ S C A P E 59

The monstrous traffic artery ofWellesley Road divides the centre ofthe London borough of Croydon intotwo parts. OKRA entered a closedcompetition for coming up with asolution for this. The firm saw it as achallenge to turn it into a lively urbanspace that connects instead ofdivides. In collaboration with UrhahnUrban Design, Peter Brett Associates,Karakusevic Carson Architects as wellas Soundings, one arrived at a func-tional, transportational and aestheticelaboration that proved to be awinner.

Important here is the integratedelaboration of the plan, the greenimage and the diversity of liveablespaces. Thus, Croydon will be providedwith a new green urban arterial road,which can be easily crossed and is con-nected with sojourning places thathave profuse planting.

The task of making Croydon toGreater London’s third city, next toWestminster and the City of London,

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is a challenge in which public spaceplays an important part. The boroughwill have to acquire a better mix ofliving, working and studying. And par-ticularly it will all have to becomemuch greener. The main thing is thearea’s transportational improvement.In the plan, Wellesley Road’s on-goingartery is transformed into a boulevardwith new cross-connections for slowtraffic.

Along Wellesley Road, there arepublic and semi-public ‘urban rooms’.The public sojourning areas eachacquire a personal character, and arethere to sit in quietly or to enjoy thewater and greenery. The sites on theprivate land to the northeast ofWellesley Road are to be converted,becoming small green spacesbranching off into the informal net-works between the blocks.Sustainability is another of the com-mission’s priorities. The aspiration isto push back the overall amount oftraffic and simultaneously improvepublic transport. In many places stone

is being changed into greenery. Wateris being collected on the rooftops, andwhenever possible it is purified andreused in Croydon itself.

This 20-hectare project’s executionstrategy has been planned in severalphases. Temporary projects of imme-diate benefit to the present popula-tion of 350,000, are launched as aform of acupuncture. Also, the cross-ings between the areas on both sidesof the present arterial road will berealized as soon as possible. The jurypraised the Dutch-British team’s entryfor its convincing execution strategyand the idea of the green avenue asan integrating element, in which thenew sideway-crossings will be madepossible by introducing a radically dif-ferent traffic system, giving priority toboth pedestrians and cyclists.

A Fragmented OrchardKirchberg, Luxemburg, 2008-2009

Here, OKRA’s winning design for acompetition is a daring plan on behalfof the public space between the officebuildings within the Luxemburg bor-ough of Kirchberg’s Grünewald area.The designers wondered how to givethe fragmented neighbourhood anidentity of its own. By planting appleand pear trees, OKRA is nowattempting to create a cohesionbetween the scattered spaces andbuildings.

s the area lacks a clear programme,OKRA has chosen to come up with aprogramme of their own on behalf ofthe urban orchard. The fragmentedlayout of squares and passages willthus acquire a coherence around thetheme of the edible city. Every littleorchard has a different atmosphere ofits own. But everywhere in this urbanorchard, citizens are invited to pickthe fruit. In this way, the public spacebecomes something accepted andnice.

The choice for the organic form lan-guage of these orchards contrastswith the present rigid development’saustere grid, and creates a coherencebetween the fragmented sections. Indoing so, the entrances to the build-ings, car parks and routes are notsimply dimensioned in a functionalway. OKRA makes this counter-forminto a varied composition. By agradual change in the planting’s typeand density, there arises a linkbetween the higher, more commercialpart of Kirchberg and the city’s green,southern part leading to the parkKlosengroendchen.

The pedestrian pathways form amesh of lines linking up differentparts of public space in a narrativeway. They have been laid out withprefab concrete elements in variousmodules which one designed oneself,facilitating a free lineation.

The 2.8-hectare urban orchard

clearly distinguishes itself from otherplaces in the town, and is designatedby its users as ‘the place with theapple and pear trees’. This formallyanonymous spot is now turning into asignificant public space with a strongidentity.

Regenerating CroydonLonden, United Kingdom, 2009

The connective layer between the scattered blocks gradually changes downhill.

The public orchard defines Kirchberg’s new identity. Green places in between the blocks are for resting and lingering in.

The green strip in the middle of Wellesley Road facilitates recreational activities such as jogging and cycling.

THe overall design forCroydon.

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1. The force of the volcano. The urbanized land-scape is like a volcano which erupts time and again.The flows of lava erase all tracks, creating apalimpsest. There is danger and there is beauty. Thereis more under the surface than meets the eye. And thesame holds true for society. What seems peaceful mayall of a sudden erupt due to tension in the socialstructures. Our challenge is to revitalize andstrengthen present structures, to unravel the existingfield of force and to make possible the revitalizationof structures.

2. Interventions in the jungle, Machu Picchu. In thevarious land art projects, it is the intervention’sacupuncture that stirs the imagination. The tensionbetween human intervention interacting with thedynamics and the force of nature becomes palpable.Again, the landscape changes in a protracted process– showing the forces of the vegetation, the wind orthe sea – and nature once more takes over the gash inthe raw landscape. In a poetic way, one can feel andsee this in ruins, meaningful relicts, like for instanceMachu Picchu. Human activity consists of cultivation,development, flourishing, but decay is also an essen-tial part of it.

3. Powaqqatsi. Recent documentaries on the threatthat human activity forms to the climate, like JenniferBaichwal’s Manufactured Landscapes, are of topicalinterest. Interesting is also the more than twenty-year old trilogy of which Powaqqatsi is a part. Theimages of the old culture are sharply placed vis-à-visthose of contemporary life. In doing so, Powaqqatsimakes a powerful statement about the price ofprogress.

4. Nazca. Water is our source of life. The spirallingentrances to the old Nazca culture’s underground irri-gation canals do not only lead to cool water for thehot land, but also form a link with the rising moun-tains of the Andes further on.

5. The gardens of Babylon. The garden as a place oflonging and a place of the urban oasis was in ancienttimes represented by the gardens of Babylon. For a cityin the desert, water and lush greenery are a source oflife. This source seems to have been forgotten in thecontemporary urban landscape, but it will be back.Climate changes and expanding urbanization requireinnovative and sustainable solutions. This is the reasonwhy the garden of the 21st century will be more thanthe idyllic spots in recent garden history. In the questfor a new harmony between urbanization’s advancingsprawl and what we have of nature, the key lies in thereprogramming of the city and the curbing of the citydweller’s ecological footprint.

6. Deleuze. The complexity of cities and their pluri-formity of use can only be given dimension by recog-nizing and embracing them. Deleuze’s line of thoughtis interesting: every one has his own idea of reality,depending on who, where and when one is. Withinpublic space, contingencies occur alongside of oneanother and everyone creates his or her own experi-ences and recollections. Life in the city moves like aperpetual mobile machine, but always with small dif-ferences.

Designing public space is therefore not a question ofimposing an unequivocal use, but of conjuring up com-plexities and interlinking images in order to makeunexpected use possible or to evoke it. Thus space ischanged by people, gradually, hour by hour, day by day.

7. Badouin. Baudoin’s social feeling crops up in manystories, like in Abbé Pierre and in Vero, a tale telling ofthe dead-end existence of youngsters in the French suburbs. Even though there are no wallsaround them, they are nevertheless all in a prison.Badouin’s drawings emanate a certain crudeness, butparticularly genuineness too. These sketches are anepitome of the idea, telling the story in its purest form.

8. Antoine de St. Exupéry – The Little Prince. Theimaginative modern fairy tale which de St. Exupérywrote a year before his mysterious death in 1944 isstill very much alive. Like the existentialists, his workharks back to the meaning of existence. All of his lifeSt. Exupéry was in search of the essence of beinghuman. In The Little Prince, the beholder of this questis endearing. The little prince still has a child’s lack ofinhibition and is able to perceive the imperceptiblein the visible. The fairy tale teaches us to set asideour prejudices and to become better observers our-selves, which is something that we as designerscannot be aware of enough. A hat is not a hat, but aboa constrictor in the process of digesting an ele-phant. Just look and see: the field is not a meadowfull of cows, but a scene of battle between thefarmer and the city dweller who in his search fordiversion is alleviating his hunger for land. The fairytale teaches us sorrow over a delicate flower. In fact,we all ought to be the little prince. Perhaps there is alittle prince in everyone of us, but we have forgottenthat this is so.

The inspirations of OKRA

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9. New York, the celebration of urban life. Everyyear we travel with OKRA to some destinationabroad in order to draw inspiration from other cities.In all its complexity, New York represents urbanvitality. Just before we were setting off for it, the citywas hit right in its soul on 9/11. Yet six months after9/11, it appears to have picked up the pieces and lifehas overcome destruction. Social networks and spa-tial networks appear to be so powerful that, afterthe catastrophe, the city is able to add a new layer toits history.

10. Human interaction: the temporary interven-tions. Just like the rhythmic tide of the sea, there isin the city a motion of ebb and flow on a humanscale. Human interaction results in changing spaces,which is only possible if the space that has beenshaped is changeable. The urban beat requires arhythm both day and night, throughout the weekand throughout the year. Within this constellation,temporary interventions play an essential part.

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