nature
Integrate nature into architecture and cities
Designing with nature improves comfort, supports biodiversity, and adds long-term value. We integrate green roofs, landscape design, and building‑integrated habitats to reduce heat, provide shading, and enhance well-being. Trees and greenery help manage water, lower energy demand, and create healthier, more liveable urban spaces.
Why nature matters
Urban environments across the Netherlands are becoming denser, hotter, and more flood-prone. Integrating natural systems into buildings and their surroundings supports climate adaptation by mitigating urban heat islands, absorbing rainwater, and strengthening local biodiversity.
At the same time, policy and public demand are moving quickly. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Amsterdam Green Infrastructure Agenda, and national policies on nature inclusive building all require integration of ecological value in design. Many municipalities now include biodiversity and greening scores in procurement and planning procedures.
Nature-inclusive design contributes to the social function of architecture, supporting mental health, well-being, and community interaction.
What nature track is about
This track focuses on designing architecture and public spaces that work in synergy with natural systems. Nature integration includes both visible and structural elements: green roofs and facades, native planting, water retention and infiltration systems, biodiversity supporting features, and the inclusion of landscape architecture into the building concept from the earliest design phases. This approach also includes microclimate-responsive strategies such as cooling through vegetation, air purification, shade provision, and visual and acoustic buffering, all of which directly contribute to thermal comfort and spatial quality. On larger sites or complex urban locations, integrating landscape early in the design process can also support zoning, routing, site accessibility, and spatial hierarchy.
In design practice
Choosing the “right” material is never generic. It requires evaluating alternatives based on their technical properties, location, sourcing, processing, and future adaptability. Bio-based options (like timber, hemp, straw or flax) can
offer carbon storage and healthy environments, but must be assessed against fire safety, acoustic needs, and lifespan. Circular materials, reclaimed, reused, or recycled, often require early coordination with suppliers and contractors to match availability with project timelines and detailing. To navigate this complexity, we approach materials through the lens of building layers, each with different lifespans, and potentials for reuse or carbon savings. This allows setting ambitions, tracking progress across phases.