Neighboring Nature

C-H Lab

Neighboring Nature

Jan 2025
Collaborate with Jeppe Johansen, Mona Ismail, Soma Yamamoto

Future potentials of rural, living with nature.

Land-use has for a long time been dictated by economic growth, minimizing the area left for natural systems to unfold. This has led to a worldwide biodiversity-crisis, threatening our ways of living, making it clear that we are a part of the natural systems that we are harming. We must adopt a different, more considerate attitude toward nature and the systems that support us. Our project envisions a future where instead of a production landscape, the residents of Lumby Strand are neighbouring nature.

Through the Half-earth perspective, we give nature a 50% share of the land by connecting the current scattered patches of green areas, while establishing a wide array of biotopes native to Denmark, in locations specific to their needs. This approach prioritizes biological diversity and natural processes.

Each biotope possesses unique characteristics and requires different levels of human cultivation and wetness. Through three intervention sites in the area of Lumby Strand in the year 2050, we explore everyday situations and encounters of residents coexisting with nature in a mutually supportive relationship.

Current condition of 2025

Current land use in 2025

Restoring 50% of nature and natural hydrology will not only enhance biodiversity, but it will also have the potential to change the daily lives of the 32.1% of Danes who live in rural areas.
What will the harmonious coexistence of nature and humans look like in the future?

Strategies:

Connection and creation of biotopes
Natural hydrology and wetness
New types of production

To achieve the goal of Neighboring Nature by 2050, different strategies must be adopted. This involves restoring natural territories based on the characteristics of the land, reconnecting fragmented natural areas. Original water bodies should be revived, with clear distinctions made between seawater and freshwater, as well as their respective roles in natural water storage. Finally, farmland should be reduced in size, with production methods adjusted according to the specific types of natural environments.

Goal in 2050

Soil Types

Hydrology

Nature Types

Sustainable use of nature resources

Sites of interests:
Lumby
Stige
Strandager

2050 Vision

Lumby

Lumby is a small town characterized primarily by low-rise single-family homes. Within the community, a strong sense of boundary exists between neighbors, with individual gardens and garages creating a distinct pattern in contrast to the adjacent agricultural land.

Before 2050, by replacing agricultural land with forest actively increases opportunities for people to engage with nature. Consolidating parking spaces and redesigning road networks help dissolve rigid boundaries between homes, encouraging a more open and connected community. The introduction of a wood workshop within the forest establishes a sustainable system for both harvesting and managing local timber resources. Finally, the creation of a forest school not only responds to the area’s projected population growth but also embeds the value of living in harmony with nature in future generations.

Stige

Stige contains numerous decommissioned greenhouses that have been left behind over time. These structures now create hard boundaries, blocking both visual connections and physical accessibility. With a projected increase in population, the issue of spatial efficiency is becoming increasingly critical for the area’s future development.

By inserting residential spaces, self-production units, public areas, and a food market into the greenhouses, these once-abandoned structures are reimagined as buffer zones between the city and nature. The integration of public space invites community interaction and collective use, fostering a more inclusive urban environment. The surrounding natural zones—especially the bogs—not only provide habitats for wildlife but also serve vital water retention functions. Through the adaptive reuse of these greenhouses, a renewed connection is established between residents and the restored natural ecosystems. These two greenhouse interventions showcase the potential to transform similar abandoned structures into shared, productive, and ecologically responsive spaces.

Strandager

Before it was filled in, Strandager was originally a water body. The land behind the dike was extended through bump-outs, making it usable for agricultural purposes. However, in alignment with the 2050 goal of achieving 50% nature, this shallow terrain is envisioned to return to its original condition. By reintroducing a mix of salt and fresh water, the area will be transformed into a richer and more diverse natural environment.

In Strandager, existing houses—originally not designed for wet conditions—are reimagined to respond to future sea level rise. Their interiors are turned outward and reprogrammed as semi-public spaces, creating more porous and adaptable structures. To meet new environmental demands, floating housing units are added, offering flexible living conditions that rise with water levels.

The surrounding terrain undergoes rewetting and reshaping, restoring it into wetlands and paludiculture zones that support biodiversity and act as productive landscapes. This transition also enables the natural healing of contaminated soils. Through these spatial and ecological strategies, the site transforms into a resilient interface between future urban life and the revived natural environment.

By Caleb Huang

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