Amsterdam — Almere Pavilion
What happens when we imagine the local cityscape as a space where humans and nature work together? De Onkruidenier was part of the design team of the Amsterdam — Almere pavilion for the Floriade Almere 2022. The pavilion carried the theme ‘The Voice of Urban Nature’. A rich biodiversity makes our cities safer and healthier for humans and non-humans alike. This ‘voice’ is imagined through a number of themes, such as life and death, urban pioneers, bio builders, edibles and biophilia.
In 2019 de Onkruidenier started together with Overtreders W researching and experimenting on how local materials and plants can be turned into new types of building material. We started working with blocks produced with fibers of cattails, hemp, flax and reeds mixed with burnt lime from oyster shells. Working on the recipes the material became nice and strong but lacked an overall fresh look. The shades of browns and beige were a little underwhelming, so we started looking into local plants and traditional natural dyes and pigments to color our blocks. Artist Lucila Kenny taught us a great deal on plants that we could use to create vibrant colors. After many tests we really fell for the amazing tones of the madder (Rubia tinctorum) plant. We’re thrilled that Overtreders W used this amazing research which resulted in this pavilion, and to see these amazing pink colored walls!
The Voice of Urban Nature is a collaborative project at the Floriade Expo 2022 with Gemeente Amsterdam and Gemeente Almere. The pavilion is designed by Overtreders W and made in collaboration with Kossmanndejong and Fiction Factory. Integral part of the whole pavilion is the garden that de Onkruidenier designed with Joost Emmerik and all the amazing plants are selected and grown by Joyce Oomen. Beautiful illustrations were made by Paul Faassen. The material research was kindly supported by Stimulerings Fonds.