Making Grey Green
Redesigning business parks as an additional step to bringing back biodiversity in these areas and to the city
A.H. ter Pelkwijk (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Nico Tillie – Mentor (TU Delft - Landscape Architecture)
E.M. Bet – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
E.H.M. Geurts – Coach (TU Delft - Real Estate Management)
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Abstract
Biodiversity is declining worldwide because of population growth and the rising demand for goods. Biodiversity is needed for our ecosystem services which provide us with fresh water and medicine which means people are dependent on a healthy biodiversity. Cities want to greenify to battle the urban heat island effect and the bad water infiltration. If these cities want to connect to nature on the outside of the city there are often business parks situated in between. These Business parks are large grey areas that create a barrier between the green and the city and add onto the urban heat island. To change a business park from a barrier to a corridor there is a need for change. This brings us to the question “What are design tools an urban designer can use to improve biodiversity and human well-being on a business site and how can this be implemented? Using case study location Spaanse Polder.” Twenty design tools have been created to enhance biodiversity and improve human well-being. These tools have been divided into three categories wherein each category biodiversity will be enhanced and human well-being will be improved. These categories are blue, green, and grey. To understand how these tools interact with each other and their surroundings and what effect these tools have they have been implemented on the location site. In conclusion, multiple elements should be taken into consideration if these tools will be implemented. These are combining design tools, effect on different scale levels, the size of the location, and it is still a business park with private properties. By implementing these design tools in the Spaanse Polder the Spaanse Polder will function as a corridor with multiple patches on its site which are connected to the ecological networks instead of the barrier it is now.