This international workshop on landscape architecture seeks to study the spatial identity of the landscape and to explore the large-scale functional, social and resulting spatial transformation of the cultivated landscape in Europe. This is truly an important theme, also in view of the transformations in our landscape which are expected in the forthcoming period due to all sorts of developments.
The world of landscape architects, urban architects and planners produces many visions, ideas and designs and these will also influence the transformation of the landscape in the decades ahead. Perhaps you have already made a contribution; if not, I am sure you will later in your professional career. The intriguing question for me is how and in what way ideas that are born today will help to form and shape the landscape of our grand-children tomorrow. Because ambitious plans that add physical and spatial quality to our own living environment are very welcome in a time that is bringing rapid and radical change in every aspect of our lives, including our physical surroundings. Many ideas, visions and designs never become reality because the bold step from dreaming and thinking to designing and doing is never made. The step from idea to practical application is surrounded by many obstacles and barriers that need to be overcome. And even an initial successful practical application of new ideas provides no guarantee for the future widespread adoption of these same ideas in other situations and locations. Bookcases and libraries are full of plans that never got beyond the drawing board. And you could fill massive open air museums with plans that never progressed beyond the initial pilot project and never became part of our mainstream way of thinking and working. So what is the special characteristic of designs that are developed beyond the pilot stage and are implemented on a much larger scale in numerous practical situations? For me, this is a fascinating question that I want to discuss with you today. I was delighted to accept the invitation to tell you from my own working experience about how ideas for transforming the landscape in which we live can be developed from their initial conception via practical pilots to become part of our mainstream thinking and working. The project area for this ‘summer workshop’ includes the east of the Netherlands and North East Twente. In this region InnovationNetwork is working actively with the Province of Overijssel and the municipality of Tubbergen on the development of Internodal Arteries. Internodal Arteries is one of more than 60 concepts that we at InnovationNetwork are working on. It will serve as a good example this morning to illustrate the things I have encountered on the journey between the initial conception of an idea to the actual realization of that idea.
Transformation of farms There are 26,000 farms in the province of Overijssel, of which 10,000 are still used for agriculture. In the future the number of agricultural farms will decrease to 3,000. This means that alongside the 3,000 working farms, 23,000 farms will pass into the hands of non-farmers. In the period that now lies behind us, the transformation of farms from an agricultural to a residential use was perfectly straightforward. A retiring farmer sold his farm to a civilian and his land to another farmer. In this way, many small farms changed hands. But the farms that came up for sale started to get bigger and bigger. Too big to house one, or at most two, families. However, accommodating more than two families in these farms conflicts with the spatial planning policy of the Netherlands. That would be seen as an undesirable form of urbanization
Transformation of farmers from managers of small-scale landscape to new landscape managers Two important trends are taking place in rural areas: farmers are stopping and citizens are migrating to the country. This offers opportunities both for landscape development and for the further reinforcement of the agricultural structure - a surprising combination that rarely goes hand in hand and is often considered impossible. Internodal arteries consist of paths and planted greenery linking farms together. With their tentacles of routes and greenery, these internodal arteries organize the landscape and thus serve as an ordering principle in rural Twente. The challenge in this concept is to facilitate the development of business enterprise in a small-scale landscape, whilst simultaneously offering citizens opportunities to live in larger internodal arteries and take responsibility for the management and maintenance of the characteristic planting that gives shape to these internodal arteries.
Van oorsprong was het landschap heel kleinschalig
The first idea came from two students of the Academy of Architecture who are our hosts today. In 2003 (eight years ago!) Karen de Groot and Ruut van Paridon graduated cum laude. Their graduation thesis was entitled 'Garden Kingdom'.
In 2004 InnovationNetwork adopted the idea as a promising strategy for renewing the countryside. The name 'Garden Kingdom' was changed to Internodal Arteries. The idea was to create a network of farms that are linked together with paths, where civilians can live and, possibly, work, right in the heart of the countryside.
The parties working on the Internodal Arteries are seeking to achieve the following objectives: Strengthen the quality and sustainable maintenance of the landscape Develop future-proof agriculture in a small-scale landscape Broaden the range of rural housing, working, recreation and care options Improve the accessibility of the rural area Preserve and develop our agricultural heritage
In order to try out the idea in a practical pilot, InnovationNetwork, the province of Overijssel and the municipality of Tubbergen decided to work together. Calculations were made to test the financial feasibility of the idea. Three farmers 'lent' their farms and land to the project initiators. The conclusion was that Internodal Arteries was financially feasible. On the one hand, there are the costs. These relate to purchasing the farm, preparing the land for construction, building the accommodation and laying out the grounds, and so on. On the other hand, there are the revenues from the sale of agricultural land, homes or plots of building land. The bigger the original farm and grounds, the more homes that can be built. After this feasibility study, the municipality of Tubbergen, the province of Overijssel and InnovationNetwork decided to put the Internodal Arteries concept into practice, in cooperation with Van Paridon x De Groot Landschapsarchitecten.
On 13 February 2007 Pieter van der Vinne (councillor of Tubbergen), Piet Jansen (member of the Provincial Executive of Overijssel) and Ger Vos (Director of InnovationNetwork) presented the concept to relevant authorities and civil society organizations. The meeting was also attended by residents of Tubbergen, representatives of the LTO Agriculture and Horticulture Organization, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food, the Overijssel Landscape Foundation and Oversticht.
Soon afterwards we started looking for two or three suitable farms in order to try out the concept. Our search initially appeared to produce a quick result, but the selected candidates withdrew for personal reasons. So we continued looking and then finally the big day arrived on 4 June 2009. The municipality of Tubbergen purchased the De Veldboer farm in Langeveen Kern. The consultants of Adviesbureau Gideon were asked to develop the farm and grounds. At the same time, the project initiators continued to look for other eligible farms for the Internodal Arteries concept. The Internodal Arteries Farm will come up for sale in the autumn of 2011.
The first In 2004 InnovationNetwork adopted the idea as a promising strategy for renewing the countryside. The name 'Garden Kingdom' was changed to Internodal Arteries. The idea was to create a network of farms that are linked together with paths, where civilians can live and, possibly, work, right in the heart of the countryside.
What is essential Commitment of policy-makers to change existing policies Cooperation between different parties with different skills and routines Perseverance – independent position that makes it possible to overcome all obstacles throughout the entire process
Change of mind Non-farmers responsible for landscape maintenance New houses not in villages but spread in the countryside Shared ownership of landscape
![Intriguing question ,[object Object],[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)