LandscapeGardenPassage is a spatial study and design proposal by Cindy Wegner and architect Rachael Tillotson. Co-created with residents of Zeeburgereiland, a newly developed area in the East of Amsterdam, it envisions a shared garden passage that connects collective outdoor space, ecological planting, and pedestrian routes. The project was shortlisted for the Public Artwork Development commission by BPD Gebiedsontwikkeling, the Sandberg Instituut and Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Developed during the 2020 lockdowns, the work responds to residents' need for accessible green spaces and communal areas. The approach draws on the writings of architect and theorist Stavros Stavrides, whose work on urban commoning frames public space as a site of shared governance and collective becoming. In particular, the project references the publication Common Spaces: The City as Commons (Berliner Hefte zu Geschichte und Gegenwart der Stadt, 2020), which examines how spatial arrangements can support forms of cooperation beyond institutional or market logic. Through design sessions and interviews, the proposal emerged as a collective articulation of neighbourhood priorities.  Realised as models, drawings, performative walks and an installation, the project examines how public space can be co-authored by residents, artists, and developers. It directly informed the Book Tree Project (2021), translating a speculative design into a permanent community-run artwork.

References

Programming the community, Waag: Technology and Society, Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel Oost 11/2019