New Urban Arboretum/The ManyTree Project. A platform for new experiments in urban greenery
Everyone wants our cities to be greener, but how do we do that? The challenge is technical, but also cultural. To understand what greenery means to a city, and find the best ways to make greenery part of a city, we need to be able to experiment with it. To test things, explore new designs, to inspire, and to engage. That is hard already for inert elements, harder again for greenery! Just as an arboretum is a collection of natural trees for study and exhibition, the New Urban Arboretum (NUA) supports the experimentation, design, and creation of new hybrid green typologies. It is a living lab (literally) that brings together knowledge, expertise and innovation to explore new ways of creating greenery in complex urban environments; from urban hydroponics to circular/modular design. The New Urban Arboretum (NUA) is an extension of 'The ManyTree Project' by Joshua Russo-Batterham (JNRB). 'The ManyTree' itself is one of the worlds first examples of a hybrid greenery typology, questioning where we draw the line between 'built' and 'grown'. This also acts to stimulate contemplation on the societal, organisational & cultural attributes of greenery in our cities. Too often "cites" and "nature" are approached as distinct entities; even the virtuous aspiration to "make space in our cities for nature" implies that the two are mutually exclusive. Instead we need to take the approach that cities are themselves hybrid environments. We don't need to 'make space for nature' in our cities, because nature is *part* of our cities. Instead, to find the best outcomes for urban environments, we should focus on exploring the overlap of cities & nature, 'built' & 'grown'. 'The ManyTree Project' by JNRB and the New Urban Arboretum are reciprocal frameworks that support each other to bring new creative greenery to our cities. JNRB / TMTP explores the urban, architectural and cultural elements that guide what new ideas we can explore and how to bring them to the city (nominally, the 'built'). The NUA is the engine that allows greenery to be created for these experiments and installations (nominally, the 'grown'). Locating the NUA in Rotterdam steers the focus of this development towards sites in the city, and makes it a preferential location for new green experiments. Furthermore, it becomes a site that people can visit to experience the innovation first hand and contribute to the social engagement aspect of the project.