Car Parks 2.0 is above all intended to promote contact between nature, biodiversity and the citizens of Differdange, so that the inhabitants can reconnect with this nature at the bottom of their buildings, that they can garden and meet around convivial spaces “even in the middle of the concrete “…
That the inhabitants can be real actors of the project, from its realization, to its use and its maintenance.
Car parks 2.0 is the idea of rethinking parking space to make it an eco-responsible, resilient, sustainable and more human place.
We all agree that the car and its dedicated spaces are already far too present in our cities and it seems to me that it has become essential (given the upheavals of our time) to give urbanized spaces back to nature and to make it evolve. the parking lot at Place Jehan Steichen in a more “lively” and more “liveable” site:
> By reintroducing animal and plant biodiversity where it does not / no longer have a sufficient place by recreating ecosystems in urban areas.
> By converting areas of sterile asphalt into cultivation areas and vegetated spaces that evolve over time so that citizens can garden and “put their hands in the ground”.
> By recycling and composting organic waste from residents using collection bins provided for this purpose.
> By allowing the recovery, retention and filtration of rainwater in plantation areas.
> By promoting interactions between humans and nature for the benefit of cars by creating spaces for relaxation, rest and contemplation.
> By securing the pedestrians of the cars and by clearly defining the dedicated spaces thanks to paths (strips of zebra paint) materialized on the ground.
In terms of conception and design, I favored a simple and economical “DIY” (Do It Yourself) implementation using “standard” materials. Emphasis is therefore placed on ease and speed in the assembly and disassembly of the structure.
Briefly, the pergolas will be built in planed wood and the various profiles will be assembled using galvanized steel connectors. These will be fixed to the ground using supports / plates provided for this purpose. The planters will also be made of wood, planed battens using a very simple assembly plan exposed to citizens when the time comes.
Four different participatory projects will be planned for volunteer citizens :
1) A construction site for painting pedestrian paths (Zebra strips)
2) A construction site to cut and paint the elements of wooden structures
3) A construction site for the assembly and assembly of pergolas and planters.
4) A construction site for waterproofing planters, revegetation, setting up grinding and flower arrangements.
4 Responses
In your Car Parks 2.0 project it looks like the floor is basically grass which is very charming https://fr.nicolasabdelkader.com/carparks
In the visuals here it looks like the parking lot remains asphalted which in my eyes restricts the idea of bio-diversity too much.
Note that already in this minimal configuration (where the citizens of Differdange become builders in “DIY” mode) I have no fees, the budget of 15000€ will be entirely used to obtain the desired rendering on the images that I present.
But it is a project that is close to my heart given my previous work (2019) on the subject of parking lots ! 🙂
Absolutely yes, it remains asphalted on Place Jehan Steichen because we are not in the same relationship of scale, context and budget.
I created a minimal adaptation of the original Car parks 2.0 concept.
I would love to be able to remove the asphalt, find the natural ground and then revegetate it (what a joy that would be), but with the budget allocated to the project, it is just impossible.
At the very least, it would be necessary to hire a demolition and soil depollution company and produce a road study in order to minimize the impact of such an intervention on the existing parking lot for the remaining parking lots.
I will not go into the technical details but to obtain “a consequent biodiversity” and a stronger project dimension, only one solution: to shave the parking lot entirely, to allocate an adapted budget within the framework of “a completely different project” with also very different issues …
It would become an engineering project.
Thank you for those well thought-through and well-founded explanations.