Productive Urban Landscapes

Research and practice around the CPUL design concept

Four scenarios were explored in the project's ideas phase among them one on science and economy. (source: MVRDV 2018)

German magazine Bauwelt thinks about PHVision Heidelberg

‘Wissen gilt als wertvollste Ressource unserer Zeit. Wo aber entsteht und wächst es am besten? In abgelegenen Eliteunis und Technologieparks – oder im stimulierenden Chaos der Innenstadt? [Knowledge is considered the most valuable resource of our time. But where does it arise and grow best? In remote elite universities and technology parks – or in…

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The 'Big Bed' occupies an area of about 600 m² in a much larger brownfield site surrounded by high-rise appartment blocks. (source: Katrin Bohn 2017)

Christmas season at Spiel/Feld Marzahn

Last week, the now already legendary Christmas party of Berlin’s community garden Spiel/Feld Marzahn happened in nearby community centre Felix. It’s a small event, but for the gardeners, neighbourhood activists and friends and supporters it is the one time in the year where all sit together, enjoy tea and the seasonal food everybody brought in…

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One of many urban agriculture vending machines found in Nerima City, used by urban farmers for selling produce to local residents. They indicate how within Tokyo, culture and infrastructure are well positioned to accommodate an expansion of the local distribution networks required to enable extensive areas of productive landscape. (source: Bohn&Viljoen 2018)

Productive green zones in Tokyo, Japan

Last week, André Viljoen returned from his first working visit to Japan where he acts as a consultant to Nerima City on invitation by the City’s Mayor. André writes: ‘Tokyo was a revelation. During the 8-days of field work, most of my time was spent visiting an impressive and largely unknown, in the Anglo Saxon…

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卡特林·波尔: 设计可持续的生产性景观是一项复杂的任务 Designing productive urban landscapes is a complex task

When researching the academic impact in China about the productive urban landscape concept by Katrin and André, I was lucky to find this interview from 2010. Despite nine years having passed, their wisdom in the relevent field is still active, we still could recognise the influence in some of the theses published today in China….

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The first part of the Platform is dedicated to Berlin's community gardens. (source: Beatrice Walthall 2012)

A networking and information tool on productive urban green

Contracts have been signed between the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection [Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz] and the AG Stadt & Ernährung [Working Group City & Food] to begin their joint work with Berlin’s community gardeners. Aim of the project Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün [Platform Productive Urban Green] is to…

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Analysis of the aerial photo of Amir-Abad Garden clarifies the quality of synthesis of the utilitarian agriculture with pleasure gardening. It creates two kinds of sceneries concerning their separation in plants, position, direction, planting design, and application. (source: Khalilnezhad, M.R. (2016) Urban agriculture as a tool for city and landscape planning in Iran with emphasis on the role of Persian Gardens, PhD thesis, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, p 68)

PhD thesis based on Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) in Iran

We are happy to share a dissertation written by Dr Mohammad Reza Khalilnezhad from Iran who, by his own words, is one of the first landscape architects in Iran to work scientifically on edible landscapes. His PhD, entitled Urban agriculture as a tool for city and landscape planning in Iran with emphasis on the role…

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The event will be moderated by Agnes Duda and Corinna Vosse as part of Zusammen.Wachsen.Lassen, funded by Germany's national climate protection initiative (NKI). (source: Corinna Vosse)

INVITE: Preserving, Exchanging, Tasting on Tuesday 13th November

Since more than a year, LebensMittelPunkt Spandau is running free events for participants to engage in prossessing locally harvested food. The project invites all that are interested to their event Making Chutney. Details: Tuesday 13th November, 5pm – 7pm, Gartenarbeitsschule Borkzeile, Borkzeile 34, Spandau, Berlin. Please do come along! Here the invitation in German: Herzlichste…

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The Action already includes representatives from 38 countries. (source: COST Action “Circular City” www 2019)

COST Action Circular City kicks off successfully in Brussels!

We are pleased to announce that the COST Action network was formally started on 22 October 2018 in Brussels with the first management committee meeting! Fully titled COST Action 17133 Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful city, our network was welcomed by Carmensita Maimban and Mickael Pero from COST Europe who gave an introduction…

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Cortijada Los Gázquez is an ‘off-grid’ rural farm in the heart of the Sierra María-Los Vélez Natural Park, Almería, Spain. (image: Simon and Donna Beckmann 2010)

Discussing productive urban landscapes with artists in Andalucia

Last week, Katrin gave a lecture about Bohn&Viljoen’s work as part of her writing retreat in the artist-led Los Gázquez international residency in Andalucia, Spain. Using our work as a reference, Katrin spoke about the evolution of urban agriculture from a “fringe subject” in the 1990s to talking centre stage in urban design and planning…

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The second life of the Edible Terrace at Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin

We are pleased to let you know that by the end of this week, the edible roof garden installation at Berlin’s Kunstgewerbemuseum [Museum of Decorative Arts] will have been fully recycled. The installation Eat the View: An edible terrace for the Kunstgewerbemuseum was designed, built, planted and attended by Bohn&Viljoen Architects and students at the…

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The increasing number of exhibitions about urban agriculture and CPUL hosted by arts and architecture institutions and galleries indicates how these subjects are entering the international architectural and urban design discourse. (source: Bohn&Viljoen 2009, as used in the article)

连贯式生产性城市景观 (CPUL): 关键基础设施的设计 Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL): Designing essential infrastructure

During my research, I came across this article written by Katrin and André published in 2010 by one of the best landscape magazines in China – Landscape Architecture China (LAC) (now renamed as LAF) -, which most Chinese architects, landscape designers and city planners subscribe to. The main idea of this paper has been a…

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Only one more week can local schools use the Edible Terrace for outdoor lessons and events. (source: Katrin Bohn 2018)

INVITE: Last chance to see the Edible Terrace

Food Revolution 5.0 at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (KGM) Berlin [Museum of Decorative Arts Berlin] remains open for only one more week. The art and architecture exhibition that shows the Essbare Terrasse designed and built by Bohn&Viljoen with students of the Technical University of Berlin closes its doors on 30th September. Our live food-growing installation Die Essbare…

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Katrin Bohn and André ViIjoen will bring their productive urban landscape and urban agriculture expertise to this European action/implementation project. (source: Katrin Bohn 2019)

EdiCitNet project starts in Europe

Kick-off meeting in Berlin! Katrin Bohn and André Viljoen will participate in EdiCitNet, a multidisciplinary innovation action funded by the EU under their Horizon 2020 programme call group “Smart and Sustainable Cities” in the subject area of “nature-based solutions”. The University of Brighton is one of over 30 partners having jointly bid for funding to…

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Aerial of entire site with envisioned expansion by William McDonough & Partners (source: William McDonough & Partners 2022)

Agro Food Park, Denmark

On the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, Agro Food Park connects the urban to the agricultural bringing together agricultural organisations for collaboration and networking. Making up Agro Food Park are over 80 agricultural or food production companies and, as it stands, over 1200 employees. The park accommodates large, established companies as well as…

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Collage image with people and pathway through wheat fields with buildings in the background. (Source: Agropolis Munchen 2022)

Agropolis Munich, Germany

Agropolis is an urban agriculture project which proposes to transform Munich’s food systems. The project won a competition launched by Department of Urban Planning and Building Regulation of the City of Munich in 2009. The proposal includes an urban haven of agriculture, recreation and education by utilising temporarily available space in Freiham. Freiham is a…

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Almere Oosterwold’s masterplan (source: MVRDV 2022)

Almere Oosterwold, The Netherlands

Almere Oosterwold is an experimental town development situated 30km east of Amsterdam. It became a municipality in the 1980’s and has since grown into a 1000 house community. The principle is ‘You can do (almost) anything you want, but you have to organise it yourself.’ The design of Almere Oosterwold includes 59% of the land…

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Beacon Food Forest aerial view (source: Ensia 2022)

Beacon Food Forest, USA

This grassroots project working in Seattle transforms publicly owned open land within a central urban park into a self-sustaining productive ecosystem. Starting up in 2009, the project took over a 7 acre plot in Jefferson Park, reinventing it from a patch of grass to a productive community-serving landscape. It is currently the world’s largest food…

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A field can be viewed from a platform. (Source: Biennal Internacional de Paisatge Barcelona, 2022)

Belvedere Agricultural Park, Germany

The Belvedere Agricultural Park sits on the Western edge of Cologne. It completes the outer green belt of Cologne, which was initially conceived in 1917.  The Belvedere Agricultural Park received public fund in 2010 in order to be realised, after being a part of the Regionale 2010. The Belvedere Agricultural Park approached the design of…

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An illustrated map of Brighton central area highlighting potential food productive spaces. (Source: Dr Mikey Tomkins, 2022)

Brighton CPUL, UK

Andre Viljoen is leading up the seed project for the conceptualisation (and hopefully eventual implementation) of a Brighton CPUL, titled Seeing Urban Food Futures. Working with partners Lewes District Food Partnership, The Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, The Education Health and Wellbeing Community Interest Company, Dr Mikey Tomkins as well as members of the Brighton…

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On the Brighton Greenway – vegetable beds and apartments to the left, wild flower patch and old locomotive track pillars to the right. (source: Jasmine Cook 2022)

Brighton Greenway, Great Britain

Brighton Greenway is a narrow strip of brown-turned-green spaces with a walking path through the centre. It leads from New England Road all the way to Brighton Station, though there are plans to extend it to the Preston Park area. The greenway runs mostly between 5-10 story apartment buildings. The central location and the heavy…

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