Sustainable area development: thinking more from the end user's perspective

As an ambassador of "sustainable GWW," BOOT strives to take the most sustainable approach possible in every project by putting the end user at the center of it. According to the engineering firm, this provides much more room for creative ideas. A striking example of this is the expansion of recreation park Berkenrhode in Wekerom.

BOOT has been associated with this park as a consultant since 2006. "For redevelopments and new developments, we provide design, procedures and technical support," said Wim Franken, a member of BOOT's management team. "The current intervention concerns a 3-hectare expansion by transforming a dilapidated riding school. It is up to us to transform this site so that it connects with the core and experiential values of the recreation park and its target group, with an eye for themes such as landscape, biodiversity and cultural history." 

Cherish

"We started with a comprehensive inventory," says Hans Snaterse, landscape design and green space consultant at BOOT. "In it we named which present values we want to cherish and what we want to respond to. Based on this, Pouderoyen Tonnaer drew up a landscape plan. The analyses revealed that the park expansion lies at a junction of three cultural-historical landscape types, each with its own characteristics that we wanted to reflect. The landscape plan gives space to these areas by creating "forest rooms" and "Veluwe farmsteads. BOOT further detailed this."

To create the forest experience, regional forest trees and shrubs will be planted. The forest rooms will be designed as naturally as possible, such as permeable semi-paving for the paths and parking spaces. Branch rills provide nesting and sheltering opportunities and are experiential elements. The wooden pole lighting will be implemented with bat-friendly amber lighting. 

In the rural zone, a "cart track" will be constructed with grass concrete and semi-paving. The parking lots will be made of grass concrete. In and around the yards there will be area-specific planting, fruit trees and a picking garden. The concept will be continued in the houses, which will be built nature-inclusive and energy-neutral. Rainwater will be infiltrated, as will the chemical-free water from the hot tubs. 

Percolating 

"If you think from sustainability and experience, you can create much more added value for both client and end user," Franken states. Sustainability and experience reinforce each other. "It talks much easier and those involved get excited about it." According to Franken, this approach leads to new concepts and creative ideas. "Thinking from the end user's perspective should seep more into the design of traditional infrastructure works as well," he believes. "You come up with completely different ideas that you wouldn't be able to think of initially as a technician."

The plans for Berkenrhode Recreation Park are complete, the draft zoning plan has been submitted and adoption will follow. Implementation is expected to begin in October this year.