Landscape vision, The Regge Liberated, Overijssel, NL
A Future Design Of The Regge For The Area Between Rijssen And Nijverdal
The Regge is central to the underlying study, a stream that flows in the middle of the camp landscape of Overijssel, but can hardly be called a brook. In the past hundred years, the natural Regge has been converted into a canalized system that is grafted on an increasingly rapid discharge of water. The stream thus changed from a whimsical unpredictable one, flooding stream within a natural system, in a meanderless, slow water course in a deep gully.
REDscape is now releasing the Regge from the iron grip of canalisation. The Regge is liberated: the brook must again be a real brook that meanders and that is given the chance, If necessary, to flood. In turn, the Regge liberates the valley, as it were. Grasslands are designated as inundation areas and thus offer space for the rising water. In restoring this natural dynamic, economic interests are emphatically not lost sight of. A relaxed landscape, together with a production landscape, will yield one dynamic whole: one opened, poetic and living area.
Relaxing scenery
The relaxed landscape consists of the inundation plains of the flooding stream and is mainly focused on water storage and nature development. A new hydrological design ensures that the natural processes of inundation, erosion and sedimentation become self-managing. The plains are kept open and laid out as vast grasslands. All kinds of nature get the chance here. For example, more flowery grasslands will grow on the drier higher parts of the stream valley and the wetter species will thrive better in the lower parts of the stream valley.. In short, the Reggedal grows into a relaxed one, robust and natural stream valley that is ideal for hikers to explore.
Production Landscape
The camps and the essen, that are so characteristic of the area form the basis for the production landscape. These spots are mainly on agriculture, housing and alternative agriculture and are ideal as focal points for new business operations. The condition is the formulation of new rules so that existing buildings can respond to the “new economy”, such as, for example, accommodation for recreational purposes, home office and shops. By taking the existing historical places as a starting point and transforming them, the cultural-historical wealth of camps and essen in the area is preserved. The Reggedal is alive! Not only the Regge gets a new chance, the camps and the essen also live on.
Networking
Not only the Regge meanders through the stream valley, the intention is that visitors to the region can also stroll through the area. There are recreational networks for that, such as, for example, hiking trails in the wet and dry areas of interest. The new stream valley provides these connections. The networks do not only make the valley accessible, they also form the connecting links between the relaxed and production parts. In addition, a cleverly thought-out system of connections can connect the Reggedal in one fell swoop with regional nature areas such as the Sallandse Heuvelrug.. This results in a large and varied recreational area! The contrasts in the landscape of the valley can be emphasized in the design of the networks; it is the dramatic accents in the pure landscape.
Poetic Emptiness
By consistently applying the spatial concept of relaxation and production to the entire valley, a strong landscape base is developed, which in terms of size and robustness belongs to this landscape. Only where the valley connects to the large-scale nature reserves, such as at the Sallandse Heuvelrug, the landscape is arranged as a forest. For the other sections, the poetic emptiness predominates. Those who stroll or walk through the area will experience that emptiness can be crushing.
Client: Atelier Overijssel
Team: Hank Volkers (Ecologist)