Versatiles

As a designer I want to think about the ecological world that has fallen into crisis and start thinking again in terms of a collective good; to cooperate with other people, cities, and other organisms. Our Earth is the one priority. To design not merely for people, but to consider the whole ecology as partners in the design process. Through the lens of my imagination, I give shape to new innovations to question and further develop the world around us by using new technologies and collaborate with nature to develop a coherence. 

 

The Versatiles is a set of tiles that invites and stimulates ecological awareness of pedestrians and creates spaces for nature to flourish in urban environments. With this work the standard 30×30 concrete tiles, that dominate the Dutch cityscapes, have been altered by applying a low-tech solution to let the rainwater flow through. The retention of water combats the shortage of greenery in the city and helps to keep the city cool in summer. 

 

The design of the Versatiles was inspired by rhizomes of plants that grow in-between the concrete surfaces of an urban environment. The organic shapes of the tiles are digital renditions of the rhizomes as well as the flow of water. The idea behind the tiles embraced the incentive of promoting an interplay between nature and design by changing the urban environment in collaboration with nature.  In essence it co-creates spaces for nature with nature.