Water, nature and culture are the principal elements informing this design for the Limburg brook meadow containing the brook known as Tungelroyse Beek. It is to be a regional design, one that is realistic, detailed and visual, despite being at the macro planning level. The disciplines of landscape ecology and landscape architecture are mutually supportive in this endeavour to the extent that both benefit from the results. The strategy began with a firm footing in reality by stepping off from the physical potentials of the vegetation on site.

The prime objective was to design, using concrete hydrological measures, a healthy hydrological system in good working order with high-quality brook water. This is of great importance for all inhabitants and users of the area.

By doing research into the possible vegetation and analysing the soil and hydrology I was able to build up a picture of possible vegetations throughout the entire brook meadow. In doing so, I continually kept in mind the potentials for hydrology and nature so that these could be mutually strengthening.

The look of the vegetation is partly determined by how it is managed. In view of the different forms and functions of the landscape I opted for different forms of management and, accordingly, different vegetations. Thus, for example, the combination of the contours and a function such as recreation led me to choose an appropriate vegetation with very much its own form, colour and ambience, thereby contributing to the beauty and diversity of this landscape.

This strategy gives rise to a landscape park that is also a dynamic hydrological system with a visually structuring impact on the landscape and regional importance as a recreation area. The design's expressive power is largely attributable to the extensive visual information on the vegetations it contains. In addition the design is realistic, being based as much on the potentials of the physical landscape as on the different functions in the area. It also takes account of the development over time; its execution is seen not as a one-off act but as a process spanning tens of years in which new decisions continually need making. The design underpins any such decisions in that it charts the potentials of the entire brook meadow. Lastly, the design is detailed by the scale of the physical data used, enhancing its quality as a regional design. A major advantage for the landscape ecology aspect is the greater provision for nature, as other functions are continually being taken into account during the design process.

The analysis and design process took place in close collaboration with Staatsbosbeheer (the Dutch forestry agency) and the Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology group at the WU. The teamwork between landscape architects and landscape ecologists has produced a design couched in realistic and visually expressive ideas. This is a collaboration that could be most productive in the future.

Place of education: Wageningen University
Specialization: landscape architecture
Tutors: Peter Vrijlandt, Karlè Sy´kora