Landscaped Identity by Bastiaan Vennink

Landscaped Identity Masterproject UDP

West-Brabant

Developing a region into an energy neutral one, needs the consideration of lots of aspects. Not only does energy play a major role, but aspects like spatial qualities, economy and history are fundamental as well. In the case study of WestBrabant this means analyzing all aspects, placing them in a wider context and examine what principles can function as pillars for what could be a new identity.

Bastiaan Vennink Spring 2015 tutor: J.P.F.A. Snijders

West-Brabant West-Brabant is a region which has lots of diversity.

Major cities, industries and infrastructural corridors make a big contrast with the countryside. In the north, a wide landscape accommodates varies forms of agriculture, whereas the south is offering nature in the form of forests. History occurs in varies shapes; the larger cities find their origin in a former turf network, where at the historic waterfront, a defense line was positioned to encounter enemies.

The combination of all these different kind of landscapes cause several characteristics to interfere with one another. Cities have been expanding for centuries, absorbing the surrounding country sides.

The landscape was shaped by various eras in which the landscape drastically changed, such as the medieval times, in which deforestation resulted in an emptied landscape. The emptied land transformed into heathlands, which during centuries were turned into agricultural grounds.

The contemporary cities stopped growing, creating a new kind of tension between the city and its surroundings.

The Red city no longer threatens the Green city. It starts to cooperate. This change in developments has not been recognized or addressed by the municipalities or inhabitants. There is room for improvement, but how to respond to such circumstances? How can we make the Red and Green city interact with each other, taking a sustainable environment as its end goal?

The triangular area in-between Roosendaal, Breda and Moerdijk can be seen as the first zone, which will be prepared as a sustainable environment. The whole region should develop, but as a pilot proposal this report describes the development of the region in-between Roosendaal and Halderberge. It is one of many diversities; a variable landscape, history, functionality and surrounded by stagnated cities, it is the ultimate place to proceed to a new landscape.

All aspects represent the conditions elsewhere in the triangle. With this mix of agriculture, forestry and a more modern form of tree nursery, it is now time to determine the current situation and start preparing the landscape for future developments.

Existing Landscape The red city is characterized by its multitude of buildings, in various heights and functions. Roosendaal has more density than for instance Oudenbosch or Zegge. This brings a different atmosphere to it, because its function differs accordingly. The city functions on varies scales (national, regional, local), whereas the villages are mostly important for the inhabitants itself.

Roosendaal is a strategic knot in the infrastructural network of the Netherlands, or even Europe. A major highway and train line pass the city. From early on, these connections made the city grow, gave its identity and industry developed for that reason. In more recent times, the kind of infrastructure that Roosendaal was built for, started to decline in importance. Because new rail tracks were build elsewhere, freight trains did not need to pass the city anymore. It was losing its importance in aspects it used to flourish in. Now, the city is starting to develop itself with industries that take the environment into account. Recycling and ModernMobility are the major pillars of development.

The villages next to Roosendaal are also influenced by these developments. Even though they are more relying on their direct environment, they still get influenced by these larger changes. Parts of the workforce of the Red cities is living in these villages. Because the declining number of jobs in old industries, they face some problems as well. The villages started to be unattractive for youngsters and new labor. The younger generation started to move out, which additionally meant the number of daily activities declined. This caused a less attractive living environment, so less people moved in. Some kind of intervention could increase the attractiveness of the villages.

The current layout of the plots is the result of the landscape changing for centuries. Four major differences can be deduced, which are marked on the map; a patchwork of vast agricultural grounds in the south-west, an axis with perpendicular plots of horticulture in the north-east, an area of open spaced wide plots in the center and small pieces of patchwork surrounding the villages. These different kinds of layout will function as the basis of the new proposal. It will function as a framework in which the new patchwork is laid out. Some corridors will be widened to mark important directions within the framework.

Sustainable Landscape A sustainable landscape. By exchanging some functions and structuring the activities following a framework, sustainability can be added to the region without losing its own identity. With its forestry, horticulture, tree nursery and agriculture, it is already a very diverse landscape to live and be in. Replacing agricultural grounds with new forms of tree nursery and biomass farms, will cause the landscape to change. It will increase the diversity in the region and will start to become recognized for it. It will start functioning as an energy source for the surrounding environment and it stimulates innovation in sectors already present in the region.

Because of the encouragement of small initiatives, the framework gets filled in bottom-up. It generates an extra vitality in the region. After all, one of the strengths of its contemporary landscape is its diversity, which will be strengthen.

As a result of the energy generating processes, the power output equals the demands of the whole municipality of Roosendaal, including its industrial zones. To equal the demands of both Roosendaal and Halderberge, an additional area of 5km2 should be added. As stated in the introduction of this paper, the whole region in-between Roosendaal, Breda and Moerdijk will start to develop, so these additional 5km2 are well within reach. The energy landscape is only the beginning of greater change.

Not only is the plan sustainable in an energy generative way, but also in a more societal way. By retaining its existing infrastructure and using this as a framework to define a new landscape, less resources are needed for implementation. Because the inhabitants are actively part of the evolving landscape, they become familiar with sustainable energy and its origin. They will face the production of biomass in their direct environment and will use parts of the energy at home and at their jobs. A new role for the farmers will be reenergize the sector, they start to become creators of energy. They have to become familiar with new kinds of business models, which are already present in some parts of the region. Next to energy, residual materials can be processed in recycle centers, which are being developed near Roosendaal.

Transformed Landscape The impact these new functions have in society are also reflected in scenery. Agricultural lands are only present in moderate numbers. The swapping of open space with more enclosed biomass farms results in a more closed environment. As can be seen with the impressions, the outcome is a very diverse landscape with a patchwork filled with different functions. To vary the functions of horticulture, tree nursery, biomass farms, agriculture, forest and water storage the framework starts to generate an identity on its own. All these functions will create and offer space to use for windmills. By placing them inside these fields of crops, they are visually displaced from its surrounding. Also, this way any visitor of the region will never encounter a windmill directly, only from a distance.

Improving the structure in the region as a framework for the landscape also results in an improved transportation system. Both recreation and functionality can be found in the cycling routes that cross the region, connecting the different villages. Commuters can use the route to travel to work, while tourists cycle through the region for its unique character. Fares by car can take place over the major highways.

The result is a landscape that has its very unique character. Through the use of a wide variety of patches which fill in the framework, a diverse, enhancing and sustainable environment is created. The region is optimized for an always changing environment, which can adapt to new circumstances quickly. Now, the landscape can function as a counterpart in the tension that arises from the interaction concerning the Red and Green city.