Design Studio Wouter Storm interior design exhibitions photography

Greenland, floating city park in the river Maas

In 2007 we initiated a proposal for a floating botanical garden on the Maas river. We just had the gut feeling Rotterdam needed this green podium and therefore a public park that could be towed to all best positioned inner city harbors. These harbors lost their commercial function through the expansion of the port of Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland, now more closely situated to the coast. 

This proposal brought us the opportunity to pitch ourselves at the development department of the city council and all related services.

The first presentation I rendered [right-below] visualized the idea of seven full grown trees inside the cargo space of a large freighter river boat. The educational botanical garden could reach many Rotterdam inhabitants as the ship would move from harbor to harbor. This idea seemed to fit closely with the department's desire to create a platform for next year's city program 'Green year 2008'. We got the assignment to run a feasibility study which we successfully completed together with VanDoorn.managementforarchitecture.

We analyzed all vacant city harbors on technical and public use related aspects and made a profound matrix of all characteristics. We presented our study with well received results. A bigger floating park including full event options [right-above] would suit all wishes for the program related to the celebration of 'Green year 2008', so the park grew bigger, projected onto the biggest pontoon available. Fund-raising went expeditiously. Lots of parties registered funds contributing to the department's starting budget. Although we fund raised

€ 350.000,- we were still 20% short for executing the most minimal version of the floating city park. Time ran short for realization yet in 2008 and therefore we decided not to take the closing financial risk ourselves.

Project realized while working at RNW Conceptdesign.