Stefano Boeri Architetti's Green Obsession at Dutch Design Week

Along with Alice Rawsthorn, Studio Drift and Jalila Essaïdi, Stefano Boeri Architetti is one of the four ambassadors at this year's edition of Dutch Design Week (DDW), the largest international design event in Northern Europe - a platform presenting the work and concepts of many international designers to thousands of international visitors.

This year DDW is taking place from the 19^th to the 27^th October and will develop around the question If not now, then when? in order to investigate the important role of design and experimentation in exploring innovative solutions able to tackle serious global issues.

"Designers are capable of changing problems through a fundamental exploration of the questions. With this theme, DDW19 aims to help innovation in ideas, materials and processes to scale up. These ambassadors are great advocates in helping us to achieve this" said Martijn Paulen, CEO of the Dutch Design Foundation.

Green Obsession is Stefano Boeri Architetti's contribution to the international discussion, aiming to represent the architectural and urban scale. It explores topics such as Urban Forestry, regenerative development and the role of public space in the existing urban environment, involving professionals, researchers and policy-makers on the DDW stage.

Timothy Morton has defined climate change as a hyperobject: a complex phenomenon with different scale effects for which it is hard - if not impossible- to define a unique strategy for tackling it.

Now more than ever, it is essential to act together as different individuals and professionals joining the cause as members of the global community with a shared strategy. Cities, the main producers of carbon emissions and the first victims of climate change, need to stand on the front line to face this great challenge.

Today, the only technology capable of absorbing CO₂ is photosynthesis. Planting trees is the most efficient, pragmatic, democratic and least expensive way to tackle climate change. Cities need to become the epicentres of a new world-wide green infrastructure that will cover the entire planet. We need to conceive cities as green catalysts. We all have to open the era of a new alliance between Nature and City.

The Netherlands will be the country hosting two new Vertical Forests designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti: the Wonderwoods in Utrecht and the Trudo Vertical Forest in Eindhoven, for the first time destined for social housing. These buildings are homes for plants and trees and not just for humans. They integrate the vegetal element as a fundamental rather than a decorative one in order to improve the air quality, absorbing CO₂ and pollutants, but also creating a more healthy and resilient space for both tenants and citizens.

A summary of the main events:

Architecture & Public Space
October 20
2 pm - 5 pm
at FIFTH | NRE; Gasfabriek 5
with Francesca Cesa Bianchi (SBA), Carolien Ligtenberg (Bureau ZWIRT), Bart Cosijn, Coren Sharples (SHoP Architects), Fabio Colturri (Head of Content at DesignWanted) and Laurens van den Acker (Sr President of design at Renault)
moderated by Floris Alkemade (Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands)

Green Obsession - a marathon on Urban Forestry solutions
October 26
2.30 pm - 4 pm
at NatLab; Kastanjelaan 500
with Stefano Boeri, Arbjan Mazniku, Emanuele Coccia, Petra Blaisse, Piero Pelizzaro, Gabriele Manoli, Xandra van der Eijk and Anne Kathrine Esbjerg

DDW Closing Event, Lecture by Stefano Boeri
October 27
2 pm - 4 pm