nature
Integrate nature in architecture and cities
Designing with nature improves comfort, supports biodiversity, and adds long-term value. We integrate green roofs, landscape design, and building‑integrated habitats to reduce heat, provide shading, and enhance well-being. Trees and greenery help manage water, lower energy demand, and create healthier, more liveable urban spaces.
Why nature matters
Urban environments across the Netherlands are becoming denser, hotter, and more flood-prone. Integrating natural systems into buildings and their surroundings supports climate adaptation by mitigating urban heat islands, absorbing rainwater, and strengthening local biodiversity. Nature-inclusive design contributes to the social function of architecture, supporting mental health, well-being, and community interaction.
What nature track is about
This track focuses on designing architecture and public spaces that work in synergy with natural systems. Nature integration includes both visible and structural elements: green roofs and facades, native planting, water retention and infiltration systems, biodiversity supporting features, and the inclusion of landscape architecture into the building concept from the earliest design phases. This approach also includes microclimate-responsive strategies such as cooling through vegetation, air purification, shade provision, and visual and acoustic buffering, all of which directly contribute to thermal comfort and spatial quality. On larger sites or complex urban locations, integrating landscape early in the design process can also support zoning, routing, site accessibility, and spatial hierarchy.
In design practice
Designing with and for nature requires careful choices in terms of species, soil, maintenance and the combination of ecological, social and technical functions. Involve ecologists, landscape designers and other specialists from the outset, and make use of available publications on nature-inclusive design and local plant species. Ensure that design and planting enhance biodiversity and support local ecosystems with native species.