The multidisciplinary team of Venhoeven CS, DS landscape architects and Studio Solarix developed a surprising proposal for the Design Challenge `Onze Energie Ons Landschap´. The design focuses on producing green energy cleverly and beautifully while simultaneously restoring connections within nature and limiting sound pollution. This ultralight web above the highway was not just designed for the A67 location near the Strabrechtse Heide of the assignment, but can also be applied above infrastructure worldwide. This proposal strengthens local ecosystems on a small scale and simultaneously impacts the efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss on a larger scale, resulting in the Butterfly Effect!
“Thinking about sustainable energy generation in the landscape requires, in our view, a new perspective on the world. We not only focus on economic prosperity but also on a broader form of prosperity, which includes natural, human, infrastructural, and social wealth.” – Cecilia Gross, VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism.
Insects as the Starting Point of the Design
VenhoevenCS, DS, and Studio Solarix have combined their expertise, passion, and creativity illustrate a hopeful future perspective. They believe that addressing climate change and biodiversity loss requires nature inclusive design. They chose insects as a starting point for their project, because, as they say, “every little insect counts.”
These tiny creatures are an essential link: 85% of our food depends on insect pollination. The construction of the highway crossing at the height of the tree tops allows small insects to cross safely, restoring vital nature connections.
“A highway forms a huge barrier to insect biotopes: these creatures cannot survive the whirlwinds?. For example, butterflies and other small animals only dare to cross the highway when there is a traffic jam.” – Maike van Stiphout, DS landscape architects.
“Through our creative collaboration and participation in the design challenge, the importance of biodiversity preservation has become clearer to me. While our company mainly focuses on sustainability, aesthetics, and circularity, biodiversity has now been added to the list.” – Reinier Bosch, Studio Solarix.
Dual Use of Space Above the Road
The “web over the road” simultaneously provides a vast surface for generating green energy. This lightweight honeycomb structure can be covered with materials that generate solar power. The delicate web is designed as a module that will grow and evolve with technological innovations. By using the space above the road in this dual manner, less landscape is sacrificed for solar panel installation, thereby reducing biodiversity loss.
Trees as a Sound Buffer
The spanning structure ensures that nitrogen and particulate matter are deposited in the soil closer to the road, enriching the soil along the highway and allowing trees to grow. A dense forest strip will reduce noise from the highway in the adjacent natural area.
