Productive Urban Landscapes

Research and practice around the CPUL design concept

The project focuses on different urban contexts: peripheral areas, complex urban context in “Greater Cairo” and new city. (source: TU Berlin Habitat Unit www 2023)

Towards green(er) Egyptian cities

‘Towns and cities in Egypt are growing at an alarming rate, with increasing population and urbanization rates that have a significant impact on the natural environment. Egypt is aware of these challenges and developed several policies and strategies towards a greener future. In line with the Paris agreement (2016) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2030),…

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The focus of the green infrastructural project is an area characterised by multi-storey housing with generous open space provision. (source: Stadt Mühlhausen und Katrin Bohn 2023)

Students begin design work for a green Martini in Mühlhausen

The city of Mühlhausen’s Smart City project is now receiving support from Fachhochschule Erfurt [Erfurt University of Applied Sciences] to advance its plans for green infrastructure connections and a neighbourhood garden [Quartiersgarten] in its Martini suburb. Landscape architecture students, led by Prof. Inga Hahn and her team, are currently developing design proposals for the area….

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Image: Church Street CPUL Bridge Hotel by Wilson Ng (source: Wilson Ng 2023)

Productive urban landscape projects amongst the winners

Last Friday, the end of year show of the Architecture and Design courses at the University of Brighton closed with the student award ceremony followed by a big party. Amongst the winners of the much coveted, more than 15 different prizes was Wilson Ng, architecture student in Andre Viljoen’s MArch studio, who won the runner-up…

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Image: The Institute of Urban Agriculture (IUA) has recently embarked on an ambitious productive urban landscape project on its own site. (source: IUA www 2022)

DCZ Forum provides Sino-German Exchange in agricultural sciences

On the 13th of December 2022 the 4th Exchange Forum on Sino-German Collaboration in Agricultural Sciences took place online. The Sino-German Agricultural Centre [Deutsch-Chinesisches Agrarzentrum] had invited several experts to discuss the potentials of collaboration projects between China’s Institute of Urban Agriculture (IUA) and German research institutions. The Sino-German Agricultural Centre [Deutsch-Chinesisches Agrarzentrum], located in…

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Lore of the Wild is an audio storywalk, co-created and written by Bernadette Russell and Sophie Austin. (source: Melanie Smith, walk-listen-create website, 2022)

INVITE: Sound Walk September 2022

Now entering its fifth year, walk · listen · create is very excited to remind us of the open call for soundwalks to be celebrated this autumn, during Sound Walk September. Crowdsourced from around the world, Sound Walk September each year celebrates all forms of soundwalks and sound walking events, culminating in the Sound Walk…

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Dr Mikey Tomkins' map drawings for Brighton CPUL waiting to be folded (source: Andre Viljoen 2022)

The first CPUL edible map walk through Brighton

Last week, about 20 invited guests took part in the first edible map walk through Brighton following an imaginary CPUL (Continuous Productive Urban Landscape) route. Guided by Dr Mikey Tomkins, participants explored a potential urban edible landscape – a CPUL – made up of inner-urban sites in this UK seaside city. In preparation of the…

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Co-Living in the Countryside by Charles Holland Architects with Quality of Life Foundation, Verity-Jane Keefe, Joseph Zeal-Henry (source: The Davidson Prize / Charles Holland Architects 2022)

A Productive Landscape features in architectural competition shortlist

Congratulations! Our colleague at the University of Brighton, Prof Charles Holland, heads a team that has just been shortlisted for this year’s Davidson Prize which aims to reward transformative architecture of the home. Charles Holland Architects’ proposal, created in conjunction with the Quality of Life Foundation, Verity-Jane Keefe, and Joseph Zeal-Henry, is titled Co-Living in…

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Final draft of the opportunity mapping diagram An Edible City strategy for Carthage (source: University of Brighton 2022)

Mapping food opportunities for Carthage, Tunisia

Today saw the completion of an important stage in our food-focused masterplanning for the City of Carthage, Tunisia. In a virtual meeting organised by the Institute of Organic Farming at BOKU University Vienna, Katrin Bohn and Ian Bailey (University of Brighton) handed over to the Carthage City Team the results of an 8-months-long participatory design…

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A food future visualisation in the centre of Brighton is planned as both, a physical walk and a virtual event. (source: Andre Viljoen 2022)

Seeing urban food futures: Funding success

We are pleased to let you know that, today, we heard of our success in bidding to Research England’s Participatory Research call. Our cross-disciplinary, community-university project Seeing urban food futures: Co-researching virtual reality as a scenario building tool will launch this month! The project involves staff from two University-of-Brighton schools – School of Architecture Technology…

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Haworth Tompkins Green Away Day on 12th November 2021 held at Cecil Sharp House, London (source: Diana Dina 2021)

CPULs at Haworth Tompkins Green Away Day

Last week, Andre Viljoen was invited to present the CPUL concept at Haworth Tompkins Architects’ Green Away Day. This event provided the practice with their first post-lockdown occasion to meet in person and continue discussions about how to address the challenges of the climate crisis. Haworth Tompkins are one of the original UK practices to…

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Stand by me is an invitation to do something really simple that may appear really difficult: to stand next to a tree. (source: Whitehead and Lee 2021)

INVITE: COP26 stand by me

Today, COP 26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, has opened in Glasgow. It brings parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP26 recognises and highlights that climate change is the greatest threat facing the world. In our Centre…

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In proGIreg, Dortmund (Germany) is one of four cities to host living labs in post-industrial districts where nature-based solutions are developed, tested and implemented. (source Sabina Leopa / proGIreg 2021)

New online course on nature-based urban regeneration

Our colleague Axel Timpe from RWTH University in Aachen, Germany, alerted us to a new 5-week course his institute has been developing as part of the EU-funded project Productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration (proGIreg). The course starts on the 1st of November on edX, one of the foremost massive open online course (MOOC)…

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Ten-step recommendation for urban designers, planners, and local decision makers supporting development of green infrastructure with an agroecological focus (source: Katrin Bohn 2019)

Bohn and Chu publish article on food-productive green infrastructure

We are pleased to announce that, two weeks ago, the open-access article Food-productive green infrastructure: Enabling agroecological transitions from an urban design perspective by Dr. Dong Chu and Katrin Bohn was published in the Wiley journal Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems, edited by Prof. Sarah Lovell. The peer-reviewed article is part of the journal’s…

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Valley Gardens in Brighton (site plan to the left) is one of four urban commons explored in this research project. (source: Alessandro Zambelli 2019)

Creative mapping project seeks participants

In-Common Sites is a participatory creative research project that explores the social, cultural, ecological and future value of four urban commons: The Downs, Bristol; Mousehold Heath, Norwich; Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne and Valley Gardens, Brighton. Yesterday, its artist-researchers have sent out this call: ‘The project needs help to chart on the ground experiences of…

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Sandy Lane Farm in Oxfordshire is one of the farms considered in the report. (source: Nina Osswald Veg Cities www 2021)

Improving access to land for food production in Oxfordshire, GB

Mark Stein, author of the very active twitter feed @MarkSteinLancs, made us aware of a recently published research report on the ‘huge potential to convert land to horticulture’ in the County of Oxfordshire. The research by local network Good Food Oxford focuses on ‘how land might be made more accessible to promote a diverse, resilient,…

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Land use of council-owned land in Brighton & Hovee. The dark green areas are farms. (source: Brighton & Hove City Council www 2021)

The Brighton & Hove City Downland Estate Plan

Last Friday, André Viljoen and Katrin Bohn took part in an online meeting with officers of Brighton & Hove City Council to discuss a collaboration on the City’s Circular Economy Programme. The meeting’s host, Nicholas Fishlock, Project Manager at the City’s Regeneration Team, explained that the Circular Economy Programme is currently being developed and will…

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'Consumed: Communicating energy use with land art infographics' by Kristian Megyeri, Overlook Field School, Workshop 'Landscapes of Power' 2014 (source: Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes www 2021)

Productive Landscapes and Productive Urban Landscapes for sustainable futures

While completing a review for a book proposal, we came across the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes (FCPL) at the University of Oregon, USA. Headed up by Prof. Roxi Thoren, who is also the department head for Landscape Architecture, the FCPL is a teaching center for ‘research-based design and design as research, focused on the…

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Bohn&Viljoen's public lectured about their urban design concept Continuous Productive Urban Landscape. (source: IAAC/B&V 2021)

Bohn&Viljoen present their work at IAAC Barcelona

The week before last, Katrin was invited to give a talk at the Institute for advanced architecture in Catalonia (IAAC) Lecture Series which, due to the Covid pandemic, happened online. In the first part of the event, Katrin reflected on the development of urban agriculture as a subject within urban design and architecture using the…

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The TNOC Festival happens from 22nd to 26th February 2021 online. (source: TNOC www 2021)

INVITE: The Nature of Cities Festival

We are pleased to share this invitation to The Nature of Cities (TNOC) Festival which will happen online from 22nd to 26th February 2021. Since our first contribution to TNOC in 2016 – now making it one of the earlier contributions – we have closely followed its many conversations on subjects around urban nature. The…

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Thamesmead is home to about 45,000 people. (source: Architect's Journal www 2021)

Green and blue landscapes will be part of new housing scheme in London

We are pleased to announce that White Arkitekter’s team which includes Bohn&Viljoen has been selected as one of ten teams to bid for the design and planning of the Thamesmead Waterfront development in East London. The two-stage Town of Tomorrow competition – organised by Colander Associates – will select a ‘visionary and strategic’ masterplanner to…

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