In horto — Ingeborg Meulendijks
The project In horto (Latin for in the garden) consists of a visual study and a spatial intervention based on the idea of an enclosed garden: a place to slow down and meet others in an urban setting.
Dominicanenplein Venlo
The project is located at Dominicanenplein in Venlo, a heavily paved square in the city centre. The square is surrounded by shops and homes, as well as a hospice and a drop-in centre for people affected by cancer. Today, the area is mainly used as a route to nearby streets, but in the past it was the flower garden of the Mariaweide convent. Historical drawings show the Dominican monastery and large green areas within the walls of the old city fortifications.
The enclosed garden
The enclosed garden in Steyl, a village near Venlo, is being studied as a case study. It is an example of a historic green space that has managed to keep its function and relevance to this day. Insights from the research into the monastery garden in Steyl are connected to Dominicanenplein. The aim is not to recreate a monastery garden in another location, but rather to apply some of the characteristics that define an enclosed garden.
In an enclosed garden, the landscape becomes an outdoor interior. The usual horizontal view towards the horizon is replaced by a vertical orientation between earth and sky. Trees naturally form the original image of this vertical axis, the axis mundi.
Een plek van ontmoeting
Five old plane trees stand on Dominicanenplein and form the focus of the intervention. Cushions and blankets are being designed so that passers-by can lie down and look up into the crowns of the trees. With their tall trunks, impressive networks of twisting branches and leafy canopies, they create a remarkable sight. No two leaves are the same. The aim is to create, even if only for a moment, a place of հանդիպում in the city centre: with the tree, with another person, with transience, and with a moment of beauty.
