Kimberley Roelvink
Last week I been on the excursion to IBA Parkstad (Heerlen, Kerkrade (Limburg). We have a design task to help to develop the environment. Making the small towns more attractive and in the same time we were not allowed to change things.
Wouter, our tour guide from IBA took us to the middle of nowhere to see the real landscape. He told us that by the changing weather wine farming was upcoming and it actually tasted like the France. The problem is that by the government it's not allowed to build there in the environment, so you can't live there, can't make a cafe, B&B or something similar. The reason was that affects the landscape. This should be prevented. According to the municipality, it was very special and natural landscape.
But you can doubt if the landscape is really natural. Everything is cultivated, the fields, the forest, the road and on the horizon houses and big windmills rise. Is this natural, do we need to preserve this? Why do we love this image so much, with all the civilisation? Why can't we make a building that fit into the landscape and make it more attractive and economical?
So, the main question, how can we convince the municipality and how can me implement new types of buildings in the landscape and make it still beautiful and magical?