Diplomprosjekt
Vår 2020
Institutt for urbanisme og landskap
For centuries the tradition of dividing land in Norway was grounded in a close to absolute egalitarianism. Guided by the law, land would be sliced in “as wide, as long and as good plots” between the residents in a community. This practice had its origin in distributing fertile as well as poor soils equally. It led to well adapted cultivation and harvesting techniques, resulting in a diverse landscape mosaic.
As the sprucification of contemporary forests leads to vulnerability in a changing climate, there’s a need to reimagine their potential. The project departures from the historical cultural landscape, but with no ambition of bringing back the past. Rather the multifunctionality and spatiality of a mixed forested landscape is further explored. Through better adapted cultivation practices, the forest meets the demand of regional and ecologically produced products.
The project addresses an alternative route to a regional development that leaves the monotonous forest behind for good. Through mixed land use and shifts in time, the individual farmer is strengthened. This functional productive landscape integrates diverse habitats alongside economic revenue – and through decades of urbanization to come, it will remain a public “park”.
The first step towards a region of shifting land uses is the establishment of a dispersed pilot garden, facilitating a collective imaginary on the future forest. By re-learning to appreciate the ties between cultural harvest practices and a diverse landscape mosaic, it also feeds the process of de-learning the misconception that the forest is “wild”. This leads to a new landscape aes-thetic that help society appreciate the geographical and biological diversity inherent in norwe-gian fields and forests.
Hedda Aarrestad / heddaarrestad@gmail.com
