NATURE IN CONFLICT

PROXIMITIES - THE FREEDOM THRESHOLD

Nature in conflict is a project which puts forward the constant fight between nature and human constructions to exist. This project seeks for coexistence first, and then to give back freedom to nature to grow peacefully around the built environment. This thought all started with the threshold of a site in Kortrijk, close to the Astrid Park. As we entered into this abandoned site, through a gloomy corridor, nature had taken over. The pavements stopped at the entrance, and bare earth accompanied our steps through the rest of the space. Two sets of houses on both sides left an out of control courtyard in the middle.

REFLECTION OF KORTRIJK IN LONDON

REFLECTION OF NATURE INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The site in Kortrijk is situated in a. similar scenario as the Royal College of art is in London. Both of the site are steps away from a big park and accessed through a small alley. Mirrors are used throughout the project to stage nature into the built environment. To represent this strategy in a. form that is closer to reality, I used a compact mirror to reflect Hyde Park into the alley leading up to RCA.

HYDE PARK

LONDON - RCA

ASTRID PARK

KORTRIJK - SITE

FREEDOM THRESHOLD

STUDY OF THE GROUND

GIVE NATURE ITS FREEDOM TO GROW BACK

SKETCH MODELS : REFLECTION AND CONNECTIONS

The entrance to the Astrid Park is built under a green vault. To create a path of connection between the park and the site which was now a garden in the middle of the city, different strategies were put together. First the use of mirrors, literally into the space, reflecting important moments where nature was taking over the site and the houses. Then, mirroring the entrance of the park into the entrance of the site by building a wooden structure which will be inhabited by plants instead of people. The site is opened to all and hosts under the second set of houses from which some parts remain, a space of debate and teaching around the theme of environment and respect of nature and its rights.