Colourful excitement within a sustainable frame
Two new residences and a new forest along the provincial road in Grolloo are about to embark on a harmonious journey. Our design ensures that the property boundaries are neither perceptible, so that the forest appears as one entity and the whole planning area is publicly accessible for walkers.
Location
Gemeente Aa en Hunze, Drenthe
Principal
Terra Beheer
Surface Area
22 ha
Design Year
2007-2008
Implementation
2009
Two new residences and a new forest along the provincial road in Grolloo are about to embark on a harmonious journey. The project encompasses a new forest, with unique open areas for two new residences. The 22-hectare planning area is situated along a long, narrow stretch of forest. The design ensures that the property boundaries are neither perceptible nor a determining factor, so that the forest appears as one entity and the whole planning area is publicly accessible for walkers. The two private residential plots are an exception. The residential plots (0.5 hectare) stand out from each other by virtue of their distinct shapes and proportions, and are conceived as special open areas in the forest. The residential plots both have a private meadow, and rhododendron borders assure their privacy.
The new forest will stand out by mirroring the large scale of the surrounding landscape on the outside and containing a number of intimate and unique areas on the inside. The new forest boundary will be demarcated by two substantial avenues, an ecological zone and two tree meadows. An enclosed sustainable forest will be created within this framework of avenues and tree meadows, consisting of a mosaic of different kinds of trees and plant spacing. A tapering ecological zone between the existing and new forest will separate the new forest from the beautiful mature beech border to its south, making it appear to float like a ship on the ocean. The natural frame of avenues and tree meadows embeds the new forest in an asymmetrical profile that distinguishes between the outer and inner side (gentle incline on the outside / steep incline on the inside).
The most autonomous design elements are the forest’s unique open spaces, whose vegetation is inspired by the layout principles of Japanese stroll gardens that place together relatively large numbers of a single plant species with a unique and striking inflorescence. By grouping together different concentrations of the same plant, thereby taking into account the flowering calendar, there will always be one place that lights up during the year. Each open space has a unique identity thanks to its location, articulation, shape and size.