Forested roofscapes, Utrecht
A forest in the inner courtyard, the heath as a garden.
The inner worlds of Blocks 13 and 14 in the Merwedekanaalzone in Utrecht are an unexpected natural sensation, right in the heart of the city. We bring the landscape of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug into the urban environment. The starting point was the three-storey height difference in the inner courtyard of Block 13, combined with our ambition to create a single, continuous and inviting landscape nonetheless — from street level up to level 3 above the supermarket below.
We designed a gently sloping forest and heath landscape that flows down across the different floor levels, meandering softly through the clefts between the urban rock faces, all the way to the street. This green, rising ridge landscape invites residents and passers-by alike, via entrances set between green walls, to move fluidly into the inner area. Height differences are not barriers here, but an integral part of the woodland walk inward.
At various levels, the character of the landscape in Block 13 changes. On level 1, a generous public terrace lies amid a heath landscape, from which a robust mountain stair guides visitors further upward alongside a gently babbling stream to the wooded areas above.
This undulating forest landscape lies like a valley within a ravine formed by the surrounding urban rock formations — the towers. We consciously leverage this condition ecologically. The urban, stone-clad façades of the buildings, designed by Venhoeven CS and Marc Koehler Architects, rise above the green inner worlds like vertical cliffs, offering shelter and nesting opportunities for a wide range of fauna. Depending on the species, these habitats vary according to the specific conditions of each façade — sunny or shaded, sheltered or exposed to wind, high or low.
By definition, this inner world is inherently shady; the forest reinforces this quality, creating a lush and pleasant environment that in both summer and winter also serves as a valuable buffer between the many residents. Rainwater collected on the rooftops flows down into this verdant landscape, where it is reused to sustain the planting and the stream.
The various levels are accessible by elevator, and the public terrace on level 1 is also accessible to wheelchair users via a gently sloping ramp through the landscape. Using the elevator, residents can emerge from the parking garage at the highest level, stepping directly into the forest landscape that extends all the way to the building façades at this elevation. Well-accessible woodland paths criss-cross the gently undulating terrain, connecting the different entrances around the forest.
The contrast between the highly dynamic urban world of the Merwedekanaalzone and these intensely natural inner landscapes could hardly be greater. Arriving home via a woodland walk to your apartment becomes a daily delight.
