Wouter Grote
Greenhouse, een verenigde woonomgeving voor mens en plant
Greenhouse, a unified living environment for plant and person
This graduation concerns a living environment in greenhouses, which outlines an alternative to the standard single-family home, which was frequently built in the Netherlands at the time (and after) the Vinex period.
The greenhouses inspired the project in my native village of Lent. There, I often played with friends in and around the many greenhouses that were still there at the time. This is where my fascination with greenhouses began. At the time, the vast spaces outside and at the same time inside left an unforgettable impression on me. Unfortunately, these greenhouses have now all but disappeared from Lent, in favour of housing development. Couldn't we have left the greenhouses standing and let them be part of our living environment? After all, demolishing them and rebuilding them elsewhere no longer seems appropriate. Besides, the greenhouse is an interesting typology that can simultaneously form a bridge to a more harmonious form of housing with regard to 'nature'.
Utilising densification in the new glasshouse area in the region (about 15 km north), seven 'residential greenhouses' will be built between the existing production greenhouses: greenhouses arranged and divided into houses with streets in between. In this way, houses will once again be located between the greenhouses. I anticipate a scenario that will allow that area to function as a residential environment with greenhouse horticulture nearby.
This also combines two facets of a higher goal: connecting the living environment of people and plants. Because how can you be in connection with nature if you are separated by a thick, concrete wall ?
The greenhouse as an alternative; traditional wall construction and facade lead the project. The hope is that the view of the residents' environment will change the moment:
They establish a more direct relationship with their environment.
They 'live' together with plants 24 hours a day. 2
Directly together with 'nature' and thus directly caring for their 'own piece of nature'.
The project shows how this living environment can be created through four scales (the neighbourhood, the neighbourhood block, the street and the house).
In this way, I hope to realise an unconventional and wondrous living environment that makes us reflect on our traditional homes and inspire us to move towards a more harmonious form of living for people and plants.
Graduation date: 21 December 2022
Graduation committee: Rob Hootsmans (mentor), Dingeman Deijs, Hans Hammink
Additional members for the exam: Pnina Avidar, Geurt Holdijk