Flux has been commissioned to research the future of Zuid-Kennemerland. In the inner dune of Zuid-Kennemerland many challenges come together: There is a need for more nature, more recreational opportunities, more housing and space for agriculture. At the same time, climate extremes are disrupting the water system and the area has to contend with both drought and flooding.
In collaboration with APPM, Flux is researching how to ensure that this special area is future-proofed, that it offers space for people and nature and that it can retain its current qualities. Commissioned by the Provincie Noord-Holland.
Image: current situation Zuid-Kennemerland
Flux on exhibition 'Waterpressure' Hamburg
Water – whether too much or too little, clean or unsafe – is one of the most pressing human preoccupations. Already, 40% of the world’s population is affected by water scarcity and, with human-induced climate change, this is getting much worse.
"Water Pressure: Designing for the Future" is an exhibition by MK&G Hamburg and Jane Withers Studio. The exhibition looks at the water crisis from a global perspective, displaying ideas and proposals that illuminate the potential for shaping a radically different future.
Flux is participating in the exhibition with the project The Edible Wadden Coast: a design research on the Wadden coast, exploring a flexible attitude, moving with the dynamics and diversity of the landscape in relation to our food supply.
Brabant is on the eve of a major transformation of its landscape, ecologically, economically and socioculturally. The tasks for nature, water and climate are immense and all have an enormous impact on the spatial domain. Commissioned by the Province of North-Brabant, Flux worked on the North-Brabant Atlas for this purpose.
The North-Brabant Atlas unravels qualities and characteristics of the Brabant landscape and examines how the national transition tasks play a role in it. The landscape has been dissected in 80 maps and a total of more than 40 spatial tasks have been assessed in terms of their spatial impact, timeframe and opportunities for combining tasks. This resulted in five summary maps in which the qualities of Brabant converge with today's major transition challenges.
Commissioned by the Province of Noord-Brabant.
Flux is looking for a landscape designer or urban designer with 0-5 years of experience. Interested? Then send your cover letter and portfolio to work@fluxlandscape.nl or check out jobs at flux.
Flux test garden
Flux has built a test garden adjacent to the office on Rotsoord in Utrecht. In the living lab, plants are tested in all kinds of conditions, determined by the substrate, composition, moisture, drought, sun and shade. Monitoring the living lab can be seen as an ongoing study and opportunity to experiment with planting schemes in the city that are climate-proof, robust and biodiverse. In doing so, it provides direct inspiration for the designs of Flux.
The test garden is an initiative of Flux and part of design research Stadsflora, carried out by Schadenberg.
Delfland scenario study
Commissioned by Hoogheemraadschap Delfland, Flux is working with ZUS on a design research on the future resilience of the water system in Delfland in 2100. The project will elaborate several spatial scenarios in which both the strategy and the future image will differ. In the research functioning and robustness of the water system, the relationship between fresh and salt, the spatial consequences for different land use and the changing relationship between town and country are being examined. The research is part of the Redesigning Deltas research programme. In collaboration with Deltares.
Vision Stationsgebied Hoofddorp
Commissioned by the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer and in collaboration with De Zwarte Hond Flux recently completed a vision for the station area of Hoofddorp. The station area includes the subareas Graan voor Visch and Stationskwartier. Flux worked on the future design of the public space. Characteristic for Hoofddorp is the green framework as the guiding grid structure of the Haarlemmermeer polder. The ribbons and canals serve as an important carrier to strengthen the ecological and climate-adaptive values of Hoofddorp, with greenery and water forming an integral part of the vision. The public space of the station area is approached at five different scale levels, from large to small. In it, landscape structures, parks, streets, squares and green around buildings are part of a series of outdoor spaces. By visualising the scale levels as a series of types, opportunities for each type can be optimised. These opportunities have been translated into quantifiable measures and principles per layer. For instance, there are keys for water storage, greening and mixed use in both public spaces and within the building plots.
Flux starts the design research project Stadsflora. In the project, Flux wants to conduct design research into future-proof planting plans in the city. Climate change is making cities warmer and wetter, while at the same time biodiversity is declining. Dutch cities will have to be better prepared by greening up. Flux sees the need for a radically different way of dealing with planting in the city, with planting plans that better accommodate changing conditions. How can planting be robust and future-proof? What does a natural approach to urban planting look like and what are the design principles for this? How does planting help combat heat stress, collect rainwater and improve biodiversity?
Several Dutch cities are involved in the study. In specific cases, Flux works closely with designers and the cities' management, green space and ecology departments. The cases serve as examples for designers and planners in the Netherlands to design and develop future plans for green space in cities. Funded by the Stimuleringsonfds Creatieve Industrie.
More info to follow in 2024!
Oostenburg in the Parool
The Parool: 'Coincidentally, this street is also one of Oostenburg's most charming, as it gives access to a picturesque courtyard. Designed by Flux landscape architecture...'
The Oostenburg project is reviewed in the Parool. After winning the tender, Flux has been working on the project since 2017 in which a ground-level courtyard and four roof gardens have been designed. The courtyard is characterised by a floor of reused, broken stelcon plates in different sizes and a wadi in the centre of the court. The planting grows through the paving which will create a naturalised green oasis in the coming years. In collaboration with OZ architects, Workshop architects and Schadenberg and commissioned by Vorm ontwikkeling.
Would you like to know more? Read the article here.