selvatico transforms car park rooftop into urban garden in heerlen

a rooftop garden oasis in the heart of heerlen

In the heart of Heerlen, the Netherlands, architectural collective Selvatico transforms a dreary car park rooftop into an urban garden that invites the re-appropriation of the space by local citizens. The temporary intervention, titled ‘The Countryside’ creates a green recreational area that draws inspiration from the crop patterns that characterize the Dutch countryside. Enhancing local biodiversity and fostering reconnection, small sections of crops and gathering spaces host a curated selection of local plants, herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers, creating a green oasis across Heerlen’s roofscape.

As part of SCHUNCK’s Heerlen Rooftop Project to create new urban spaces of connection, ‘The Countryside’ garden explores both the challenges and great potential that the city’s many grey roofs can offer. ‘The effects that climate change has in our urban environment is showing us the need to redefine our relationship with nature and to transform the built environment into a responsive ecosystem,’ notes the team at Selvatico. The project thus aims to spark a wider discussion about the necessary climate adaptation of our cities, offering a new perspective on how citizens can contribute to a climate-proof living and working environment.

Selvatico transforms car park into urban garden | all images by Giovanni Nardi

selvatico reveals a new green urban ecosystem

Selvatico’s rooftop garden reinterprets an infrastructural necessity into a public amenity that reveals the hidden potential of an urban ecosystem. The Amsterdam-based collective’s design concept brings the crop patterns found in the Dutch countryside into Heerlen’s city center. The 1200 sqm concrete roof is divided into a series of crops, each of which hosts a different type of vegetation, together forming a colorful green oasis. Altogether, 57 varieties of plant species are grown in movable planters made of wooden crates, therein defining a system of social spaces for spontaneous meetings and interactions. ‘The Countyside’ also comprises five ‘room’ types — the Wilderness, Tea, Chromatic, Edible and Aphrodisiac — each defined by the density, smell, height, color, texture, and use of the plants that they host.

‘We need to create dynamic and resilient landscapes that integrate organised planting patterns with ample space for human and non-human interactions. This transformation will allow us to strengthen and safeguard biodiversity and even more to restore natural habitats. Thus, our own roofs offer a great opportunity to take action and start the process of regeneration.’ explain the designers.

the intervention is part of SCHUNCK’s Heerlen Rooftop Project to create new urban spaces of connection