Omtuinen — Judith Reijnders
For Nieuwe Uitzichten, Judith Reijnders focuses on Kloosterstraat in Blerick. This shopping street is mainly made of stone, with only the occasional tree. It is a place people mostly pass through and it hardly invites them to stay any longer than necessary. Starting from the question of how Kloosterstraat can become more pleasant for passers-by while also creating space for nature, Judith focuses her research on the idea of the urban garden.
A safe place.
An urban garden is a piece of public space that feels like an intimate and safe bubble, separated from the wider surroundings. You step through a boundary, such as a hedge or gate, and enter a place that is outside but feels enclosed. Whether it is a lush garden full of flowers or a neatly maintained lawn, it is the boundary that creates the difference between inside and outside, allowing visitors to escape from the rest of the world for a moment.
The boundary transforms the space into a blank canvas that users can fill with their own ideas and thoughts. It becomes a safe place where you can spend some time, or a stage where people can meet one another.
The proposal
In her proposal, Judith Reijnders brings the abstract qualities of the enclosed garden into Kloosterstraat. In a winding line, grasses and native plants run through the street, inviting passers-by to wander along with them. At the crossing halfway down the street, the greenery creates a subtle boundary. It encloses an area and forms a courtyard-like space that invites people to stop and stay for a while.
The playful lines in the paving are created by a plant-filled channel covered with a grid. This allows grasses and native plants to grow freely without blocking the flow of movement through the street. Outside the traffic lane, the grid rises above the paving so that the plants have more space to grow, while also creating places to sit. In this way, not only the plants, but also visitors and residents of Blerick are given a place to spend time in the centre of Blerick and to bring colour to the street together.
