The Anthropocene necessitates us to rethink the way in which care for and take care of the world we are part of. To acknowledge our entanglement with biotic and abiotic beings, but also our dominance over them and with that our responsibility for them. Employing this notion of responsibility, as well as care thinking as critical concepts for the built environment has manifold consequences for how we conceptualize, approach, and transform it. Regarding landscape and landscape architecture three realms of caring emerge as especially relevant: Repairing (reviving ecosystems humans have damaged), Relating (strengthening the human-nature and landscape-city relationship) and Reducing (limiting the anthropogenic impact on the environment).

Starting from this conceptualization of care, this graduation project is a speculative exploration of how the forest and forestry could be utilized to imagine a more caring relationship between human and landscape within the Zwischenstadt of Parkstad in Southern Limburg (NL). Forestry here is employed due to its multiscale and multidimensional characteristics – it has spatial, environmental, ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits. While the Zwischenstadt is chosen as a test case due to its ubiquity in the European, as well as global context. This dispersed type of urbanization is furthermore in need of alternative development strategies and trajectories, which careful and caring design can answer to. By working out a territorial forest strategy and masterplan, as well as localized design projections, the aim is to understand how forest infrastructure can revitalize the Zwischenstadt as an agent of care.

The result is a design proposal that reimagines the whole territory – from residential areas to industrial terrains etc.- as a forest, which can take on a variety of ecological and spatial forms. This forest becomes the principal agent of development for the Zwischenstadt, not only transforming the region environmentally and ecologically (Repair), but also reframing it spatially (Relate), while providing alternatives for the current shrinking condition (Reduce). Through this “all forest” approach the project questions supposed distinctions between landscape and city, the nature of urbanization and urbanity, the human commitment to landscape and ecosystem in the 21st century, as well as representation methods in (landscape) architecture.
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What long ago started as a small fishing village, seeking refuge from the Romans, slowly evolved into the city of Venice that we know today. With its unique location came unique problems, most of which were related to the interplay between Venice and its lagoon. By severe measures in the past it has continued to withstand the test of time.
In the decades to come, Venice, once again, has found itself in a difficult situation. Like has been done in the past, drastic measures are required to deal with the current and upcoming difficulties threatening the survival of Venice. These difficulties range from over-tourism to sea-level rise and the subsiding of the city. Acting like the Magistrato alle Acque acted in the past, extreme visions where laid out as possible solutions to these threats.
A workshop week with focus on interdisciplinary design formed the basis for two extreme visions which are laid out in this report. With the aim of answering the main research question: How do flood defense systems influence the spatial aspects of the territory in the context of a high dynamic landscape in the Anthropocene?
The plan for the Perfect Lagoon is one of these, which has focuses on tackling all of the current and upcoming problems were the emphasis lies on preserving and perfecting the lagoon using the building with nature philosophy, while also saving the city from drowning. Preservation is done by solving the sediment budget problems. Due to the constantly eroding system, salt marshes and land is slowly disappearing.
In this plan, drastic actions will be taken to counteract the constant erosion as well as the effect that sea level rise will have on this unique estuary. Drastic measures like redirecting rivers and re-purposing the MOSE contribute towards this goal.
After preservation comes restoration as one of the goals is to restore and increase ecological value, restoration of salt marshes and removal of negative influences like pollution.
As a second vision, the plan of the Symbiotic System deals with the same problems but here the emphasis lies on interconnectedness of Veneto. More attention is paid to mass tourism. The plan aims to turn Venice into a modern interconnected metropolitan area. The city and the lagoon will be treated as two separated system where the focus lies completely on the city of Venice. The lagoon will be left to its own devices in order to find a new, still unknown, equilibrium.
These visions are then further worked out and explained, and for both visions, technical design are made to, step-by-step, bring these visions closer to reality. From these visions along with their technical design we can conclude that flood defence systems have a major influence in the spacial aspects of the territory. Not only in its primary function, but more importantly in the secondary functions. Both primary and secondary functions can be used to create a paradigm shift for the territory. Using the multidisciplinary approach, an integral design can be made for the flood defence, in which the opportunities in a territory can be maximized. ... Read more