L-Marijne Beenhakker

Marijne Beenhakker New perspective for the Hollandse Hout How a boring and eroded polder forest quickly changes into an ecologically rich and significant area +31 6 47978618 marijnebeen@hotmail.com www.marijne.net Landscape architect / H+N+S Landschapsarchitecten

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2014-2015 Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture

Marijne Beenhakker New perspective for the Hollandse Hout How a boring and eroded polder forest quickly changes into an ecologically rich and significant area

With my project, I want to stand up for the forest areas in Flevoland. The forest is a relevant part of the Flevopolder. It stimulates the senses and offers shelter to human and animal in a rational, open landscape. Flevoland has a relatively large amount of forest on clayey soil. That is unique, due to the suitability of the soil as cultivated land. Forest on clayey soil can, if given the chance, develop into a an extraordinarily beautiful type of forest: lush, rich in species and structure, with many spring bloomers. 'New perspective for the Hollandse Hout’ is an example of a possible new phase for forests in Flevoland.

The Hollandse Hout is a forest of approximately 850 hectares, which stretches like a solid block between Lelystad and the Oostvardersplassen nature reserve. It was designed at the beginning of the 1970s and was assigned a multi-functional purpose, with wood production as dominant factor.

The forest was intended to be the future recreational area of Lelystad and a buffer to an industrial area (the current Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve). It is made up of a collection of irregular sections with monocultures, of which half are poplar. The intention was to gradually transform sections with poplar into sustainable deciduous trees species, and to make the forest attractive to visitors through structures grown over time. That never happened.

The sections with poplars are now on the verge of collapse. The forest is boring, with hardly any open spaces, does not really belong anywhere and the forest experience is disrupted by motorised traffic. The unique potential of forest on clayey soil, as lush flowery type of forest, is being hindered by the current developments. In short: the forest area is in need of renewal.

Design I visualised the genesis of the Oostelijk Flevoland area in a poetic way with an animation. It shows the transformation process from open water to fertile agricultural polder. Long polder lines, the planting of reed for drainage of the mud flats and the use of succession planting for the ripening of the soil were essential to this. Using a differentiated approach for the eroded poplar sections, I translated these elements in the forest.

Within the grid of the current forest structure, part of the poplar sections are flooded and part is included in a new, agricultural business. In this way, variation and vitality is created, and the forest opens itself to the surroundings. The wet parts are located along a widened polder trail and consist of reed and alder. The new land is located on the polder road, which is marked by a rapeseed verge.

The land includes an intensively and an extensively managed section. Along the meadows and existing broad grass paths, there is a extended, continuous forest border on the sunny side with an abundant white spring bloom. The long polder lines become fast routes for slow traffic; there are various trails from popular areas on the edges of the forest.

A process has been devised for the transformation into a ‘natural’ forest mosaic for the remaining poplar sections. The development of this would take hundreds of years without intervention. By using an innovative method, whereby different forest development phases are imitated with new plants and shrubs, a direct alternation between closed and open, light/dark, wet/dry and warm/cold arises. The richness of forest on clayey soil is revealed here within the space of a lifetime.

Graduation date 13 04 2015

Commission members Berdie Olthof (mentor) Karen de Groot Paul Roncken Special thanks to Ronald Buiting

Additional members for the examination Ivonne de Nood Mirjam Koevoet

Marijne Beenhakker

Recreational programme area around the surfing lake

Care farm with orchards/ tree-lined meadow/lane to stables Trail across the contours of former forestland Trek with alder and reed land; cabins at sea level; vista Almere / Lelystad

Shed and meadows with white-blooming forest border Polder road with rapeseed verge Existing broad grass paths with white-blooming forest border

Farm with arable land Tree-lined meadow with oak trees area around historic ship Trek along farm/tree-lined meadow/Knardijk

Visitors centre Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve

Landscape architecture

Wet past: Zuiderzee

Polder lines: Knardijk

Soil development: planting reed

Polder structure of waterways, trails and roads

Productive landscape: rapeseed

Forest structure, divided into typologies Lelystad

Markermeer

er

ro

ad

tr a

il

new housing development Warande

po

ld

Hollandse Hout Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve

1. flooding along trail

Context

2. survey in new farmyard along the polder road

3. transformation into ‘natural’ forest mosaic

Shed and meadows on the polder road, with rapeseed verge.

Types of forest borders, along meadows and existing broad grass paths

A6

Tackling deteriorated poplar sections:

Kn ar di jk

Marijne Beenhakker

Fields with reed and alder along the broadened trail to the Knardijk. The inverted ridges with alder create a spatial effect in combination with the dyke and the water.

The Torenvalk trail with fast bicycle connection from Lelystad through the forest to the Knardijk.

Landscape architecture starting point

‘forest development phase’ per eco-unit

‘forest development phase’ per eco-unit

new forest dense phase (35%) tree phase (55%)

poplar

maple tree

open phase (10%)

willow

beech

ash

existing sustainable forest

fir

maple tree

existing conservation

common oak

beech

30% thinning out

small-leaved lime

fir

50% thinning out

hornbeam

oak tree

open phase (10%)

hazel

Example elaboration ‘natural forest mosaic’ at plot level (based on the methodology of R. Buiting).

Existing section with sustainable hardwood - partially strong thinning out

‘Tree phase’ to be developed - leave several poplars as dead wood - in addition to existing sustainable forest to ease the transition

‘Dense phase’ to be developed from scratch - chopping down all poplars

T=0

T=15

Forest development over time

Image caption

Light, layered forest with sweet cherry (NW side)

Darker, more open forest with beech (SE side)

T=40

Marijne Beenhakker

Image caption

White-blooming forest border along existing broad grass paths and farmers’ fields that light up in the spring, as poetic element of forest on clayey soil.

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals.

There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation.

With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design

projects form the backbone of the syllabus.

On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills.

The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects.

The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.