Yesterday took place the first in a series of design workshops to discuss the proposal of a community garden in Coolhaven. The neighbours, art curator Piet de Jonge and COFO architects worked on feasible, participative plan to develop the garden. An inventory was made of the skills and capacities available within the community and their main needs and wishes were incorporated into the strategic design.
The proposal, initiated by COFO architects and Piet de Jonge, is to transform the interior of a housing block, currently occupied by a dilapidated warehouse, into a blossoming three-dimensional garden. The garden provides a sustainable and affordable solution to remove the debris of the warehouse by reusing it. The place-specific design that is achieved by reusing the material will give the garden a unique identity, contributing to the collective pride of the local community.
The garden aims to improve the social cohesion in a bleak neighbourhood. The series of design workshops with the residents is therefore an intrinsic part of the process and an essential step towards achieving this social goal. In the coming months the plan will be presented to the municipality and neighbourhood stakeholders.