Green and blue potential in the city

Need for creative and integrated approach

Five dry, hot summers and two years of corona have made society more aware than ever of the importance of greenery in the city. After all, plants and trees increase livability, reduce the heat island effect, and contribute to biodiversity and climate resilience. But where can you still find room for green in densely built-up Flanders, and how do you maintain it in a sustainable way? Together with architects, project developers, cities and municipalities, Ecoworks is committed to a creative total approach.

Ecoworks is a specialized partner for design, construction and maintenance of swimming ponds, green roofs and green facades, and profiles itself with a clear mission: to reintegrate nature into our living environment. 

"Those who only look at the open space for this, however, miss a lot of opportunities", believes business manager John Kinnen. "The available space in Flanders is simply very limited. We need to create biodiversity in places where it was previously suppressed. Clearing is obviously a good thing in that respect, but there is also a lot of potential in, on and against our buildings."

Green at all levels

Among other things, Ecoworks is responsible for the green facade on the new Renson building along the E17 in Deinze, but entirely emblematic of the company's ambitions is the architectural project ZIN in No(o)rd, which provides for the reconversion and expansion of the WTC towers in Brussels North into offices, apartments and a hotel. 

"In this project, we will not only provide a huge amount of office planting, but also plant a vertical forest of 300 trees against the tower, so to speak. In turn, the ground floor will be arranged as a large, public conservatory, and on the 29th floor there will be a full-fledged roof garden, also publicly accessible."

Green-blue balance

To maintain all that greenery in, on and against buildings, Kinnen stresses the importance of proper landscaping. 

"It makes no sense to invest heavily in plantings if you don't think sufficiently about how to secure them over the long term. That means you have to look especially closely at water and light. That's why we approach our projects as much as possible from an integrated approach. If we design a green roof or a green facade, we also provide smart water buffers and an appropriate irrigation plan. At Renson, for example, the green facade is sprayed with locally buffered rainwater."

In other words, the more greenery we introduce into the city, the greater the importance of proper water management. 

"In that respect, we have made a fallacy in our cities in the past. After all, everything is aimed at draining water as quickly as possible (mixed). Whereas we should actually retain and delay it as much as possible. The great thing is that greenery itself can play an important role in this. For example, green roofs are an excellent water buffer. So with the right design of urban greenery, you contribute to both biodiversity and climate resilience at the same time."

More blue on the streets

Green and blue are inextricably linked, Kinnen concludes, although more will undoubtedly be needed to balance water resources in our cities and towns. 

"However, this need by no means be a burden. For example, swimming ponds are a logical alternative for integrating water into our society. They not only provide additional buffering capacity, but also contribute to biodiversity, cooling, fun and attraction."

A project such as the transformation of the pond in Neerpede Park in Anderlecht into a public swimming pond nicely illustrates the potential, according to Kinnen, and Ecoworks is also currently investigating the possibilities in Sint-Truiden, Aarschot and Kortrijk. "Ultimately, we dream of a public natural swimming pond in every village center," it sounds.