For the eight edition of Concéntrico – an international design in public space festival – BUDCUD prepared an installation exploring the potential of urban greenery. The Urban Seedlings project, besides being an atlas of multi-functional furniture, formulates a strong visual statement on the vital role of the city greenery and the opportunities it provides in strengthening local community and enriching a local context. It is also a spatial commentary on the irresponsible disposal of city greenery.
Throughout Europe, the processes of public areas’ pseudo-revitalization transformed many urban squares into concreted, heated and impermeable plazas, thus making urban bio-diversity disappear. Plaza del Mercado in Logroño, where the Urban Seedlings installation was located, until the 1960s was full of lush, landscaped greenery; nowadays there are only a few trees and plant pots - lacking the shade and comfort that urban nature used to provide.
Emphasizing the role of nature in the city, the installation re-greens urban space using the means the architects use most efficiently – sketches on a plan. The project is inspired by various ways the architects draw greenery, translating simplistic, pop sketches into three-dimensional objects. The drawings of greenery become urban totems serving as seating, playground elements, meeting points and conversation pieces. By arranging those in the Plaza del Mercado the installation greens the square anew, offering what trees used to provide – shade, rest and a meeting place.
