2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sprouts

Sprouts is a seasonal, floating pavilion designed for the central pond in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Timed to the arrival of spring, the project invites visitors onto a softly planted landscape where flowers, grasses, and shrubs create a vegetal labyrinth — a place for quiet walks or shared moments of .<>. Drawing formal and cultural inspiration from the houseboats of the Amsterdam canals, Sprouts extends the use of the park by activating and cohabitating with the water as a site for public use.

The structure is built using mulch sourced from the park’s own urban forestry program, which annually fells and processes trees to maintain ecological health. The mulch is molded inside disused oil drums and inoculated with mycelium, transforming the detritus of felled trees into the living scaffold of a floating garden. The aggregated artificial island gradually decomposes over time, encouraging biodiversity and contributing organic matter to the pond’s ecosystem. As it breaks down, Sprouts is an ephemeral participant in the pond’s microbiome — a hybrid symbiotic habitat for both human and non-human agents.

Aerial view.

Phyto-translation.

By avoiding industrial materials and embracing processes of decay and regeneration, Sprouts reframes the notion of architectural permanence. Rather than a static object, the pavilion is a living structure, intended to dissolve, evolve, and ultimately integrate into its environment. It serves as both a spatial intervention and a commentary on circular design, offering a model for how built structures might coexist symbiotically with the landscapes they inhabit.

Sprouts is a seasonal pavilion designed to float within one of the ponds in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Timed with the arrival of spring, the soft, vegetal landscape—an ephemeral labyrinth of flowers, grasses, and shrubs invites quiet passage and shared enjoyment through respectful use and stewardship. Drawing from the cultural vernacular of Amsterdam’s houseboats and riparian infrastructure, the project extends the park's edge into the water, transforming the pond into a site of temporary inhabitation and ecological cohabitation.

Preparing food inside the unit.

Editor’s Choice Award

POOL

Editor’s Choice Award

POOL