The Voice of Urban Nature: Bio-Based Local Materials Architecture

In designing The Voice of Urban Nature, Ovetreders W was ambitious to create architectural works by applying a sustainable approach. The project is a collaboration for the Amsterdam-Almere pavilion at Floriade Expo 2022.

The Voice of Urban Nature as a collaborative project for the Amsterdam-Almere pavilion at Floriade Expo 2022.

The Voice of Urban Nature builds using bio-based local materials that describe how humans and nature are one and reinforce each other. The project also demonstrates the transition from agriculture and construction industries that have contributed a lot of nitrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). Since the 20th century, the municipalities of Almere and Amsterdam have been famous for these two industrial sectors. Therefore, The Voice of Urban Nature tries to provide direction towards a cleaner, more beautiful, and diverse living environment.

Front view of The Voice of Urban Nature.

Overtreders W then designed The Voice of Urban Nature into a combination of wooden building modules with solid structure and hempcrete (a mixture of lime and hemp) as a filler for the walls. All of that natural ingredient comes from the surrounding areas. For its trusses and frames, this building utilizes wood while still paying attention to the provisions of the maintenance of the reserve. In addition, the construction process also took scrap wood from building and ship demolition projects in Amsterdam and Almere.

From the entrance, visitors can find a blend of bio-based local materials on The Voice of Urban Nature.

Next, gave the wooden module a conspicuous black coating made of hemp oil planted in a field near Schiphol Airport. The pink color of the hempcrete material derived from the Rubia tinctorum plant gives a new impression to bio-based materials, usually gray or beige. Thus, the final look of The Voice of Urban Nature is still attractive even though it is in a densely populated area.

The wooden trusses and frames that make up this modular building are lined with a black layer of the hemp plant.

The pink color in hempcrete material is a new thing in the use of bio-based materials.

As a collaborative project, Overteders W teamed up with landscape architects de Onkruidenier and Joost Emmerik to design six garden islands within The Voice of Urban Nature. There are gardens of life and death that can show entanglement between plants, soil life, and fungal culture. On the other hand, there is a pioneer garden filled with evening primrose, yarrow, and wild carrot plants.

The island gardens inside The Voice of Urban Nature.

Shell waste is used to envelop the paths in the garden.

In the building and living garden, visitors can enjoy various plants that can utilize for building materials. Turning to the food garden, visitors will feel the explosion of colors and aromas from crops such as sweet potatoes and elephant ears. Finally, at the top of the structure is a roof garden devoted to nesting places of winged birds and insects, with nectar-containing plants surrounding it. To support the sustainability ambitions at the beginning, the landscape design of the gardens also used building debris and shell waste to form the paths.

A short animated show on the urban nature of Amsterdam and Almere.

In addition to the park, The Voice of Urban Nature also provides a short animated show that introduces the urban nature of Amsterdam and Almere. KossmannDeJong as art director, added several ebony framed panels featuring unique drawings by artist Paul Faassen. When browsing the entire park, visitors can also find QR codes connected to audio that further enrich their knowledge. The audio will explain how visitors can play a role in trying to create a greener future.

As a pilot project, all modular prefabricated elements of The Voice of Urban Nature will be dismantled after the Expo ends. Some modules will be relocated to Almere and Amsterdam so that the buildings can decompose naturally and leave no residue or waste.

Floor pan.

Materials diagram.