A forest in the sky
A special crane’s been used to hoist 75 large birch trees 35 metres into the air and on to the roof garden of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The trees will become part of a green rooftop forest with a restaurant and spectacular views over the city.
MTD Landscape Architects created the forest in conjunction with the overall project architects, MVRDV. The chosen tree is the Betula pubescens, a soft birch that grows to a maximum height of ten metres and is highly resistant to the weather conditions on the roof.
The trees are between ten and fifteen years old and over the past three years the Ebben tree nursery has prepared them for their new location. A special watering system ensures that the soil in which they are being planted will never dry out.
The birch trees were selected for their resilience. Photo credit: Fred Ernst.
Aftercare will be provided by a specialised arborist who regularly monitors the trees for vitality, health, and moisture. How long the trees live depends on various factors including weather influences, but it’s expected that the majority of these strong pioneer trees – which need little to survive – will remain standing for several decades.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen will serve as a public art depot for the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, and is scheduled to open next year.
It’s hoped the project will achieve a BREEAM sustainability classification of ‘excellent’. Photo credit: Arjen Ketting.
It’s hoped work will begin soon on the greening of the area in the north of the Museumpark, both within the park and immediately outside its boundaries. The area will have natural stone paving with lots of planting areas and trees. In addition, the ponds and event deck outside Het Nieuwe Instituut will be redesigned.
To reduce the depot’s impact on the park MVRDV kept the building’s footprint as small as possible, hence the bowl shape. Its mirrored facade panels reflect both the park and the city.
In addition to its role as the engine-room of the museum, the Depot will have a commercial role. Part of the building (1900 metres squared) can be rented as storage by private collectors, corporate collections or other museums. Photo credit: Ossip van Duivenbode
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen will serve as a public art depot for the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, and is scheduled to open next year. It’ll be the first museum storage facility in the world to offer public access to the largest part of its collection without the mediation of a curator.
Artist impression interior Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Design: MVRDV.
Visitors can choose to enter with or without a guide to watch what are usually the “behind the scenes” activities of a museum. That includes conservation, restoration, transportation and research.