Living Soil is a living sculpture and a plea for soil life in the Amsterdamse Bos to ensure resilient nature and climate adaptation. It makes the invisible visible: the underground structure of the Amsterdam Forest is displayed in ‘soil horizons’.
The sculpture is constructed from clay stones made with the rammed earth technique. These contain clay, organic material and seeds that can bloom. Pictures by Lex Draijer
In a first workshop, we worked with handmade rammed earth stones made from clay from the forest. This clay is mixed with humus and local seeds from the seed bank of the Jac. P. Thijssepark.
This mixture is combined in custom-made wooden moulds, made from wood from the Amsterdam Forest.
This is then pounded into a compact mixture using special rammers, after which the stones are dried naturally by the wind.
This is then pounded into a compact mixture using special rammers, after which the stones are dried naturally by the wind.
These stones form the basis for the sculpture ‘Living Soil’, which is an ongoing study of soil life with a focus on resilient nature and climate adaptation. The stones are piled up and will slowly erode; in spring, the seeds will slowly germinate, after which nature will gradually take over.
Project Data
'Living Soil' is part of the nature festival "Het Bos van de Toekomst".
Location
Het Amsterdamse Bos, Nederland
In collaboration with
This project is the result of the close collaboration of several partners:
-Eva Willemsen landscape architect at the Amsterdamse Bos
-Rob Jonker, soil specialist at the Municipality of Amsterdam
-Walter Busse from Heempark of the Municipality of Amstelveen
-The workshop participants
-The Houtwerkplaats and the Houtwerf of the The Amsterdamse Bos
-The foresters of the Amsterdamse Bos.
Follow the project development
Copyright
SYLVA Landscape, Studio Alexander Beeloo.
Photos by Lex Draijer.
