Together with gtp2 architekten and insglück, studio grüngrau Landschaftsarchitektur won 1st prize at Floriade Expo 2022. With their concept “BIOTOPIA – Growing Community”, the bidding consortium is designing the German Garden in Almere.

Since the beginning of June 2021, it has been clear that the landscape architecture firm studio grüngrau will play a major role in shaping the 2022 World Horticultural Exhibition in the Netherlands. In a bidding consortium with gtp2 architekten and insglück, they convinced the responsible selection committee. Above all, the committee praised the implementation in terms of content and design. According to Karl Wessels from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the garden and pavilion would form a harmonious unit. The concept “BIOTOPIA – Growing Community” picks up on the theme of Floriade Expo 2022 in an optimal way, Wessels, the Commissioner General of the German Garden, said. Visitors who have already visited the Ingolstadt Regional Garden Show, the Überlingen Regional Garden Show or the BUGA Erfurt in 2020 can already look forward to Floriade Expo 2022.

Image: © German Garden Floriade Expo 2022 // ARGE insglück / gtp2 / studio grüngrau

Floriade Expo 2022 – growing, green cities

The motto of Floriade Expo 2022 is “Growing Green Cities”. The International Horticultural Exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 will take place in Almere, the Netherlands, from 14 April to 9 October 2022. For six months, the Dutch horticultural sector will present green solutions. These present how we can make our cities more fun, liveable and sustainable. National and international contributions accompany the Floriade Expo 2022, which is why Germany will be represented with a garden.

Seventh Floriade since 1960

Since the 1960s, the International Horticultural Exhibition takes place every ten years in the Netherlands. In 1960, Rotterdam hosted the very first Floriade. In 1972, the second followed in Amsterdam-Zuid in Amstelpark and in part of Beatrixpark. 1982, the Floriade was held in Amsterdam for a second time in a row. In 1992, it was the turn of The Hague and Zoetermeer, a municipality in the province of South Holland. Haarlemmermeer became the host of Floriade 2002, where the motto was “Feel the nature”.

In 2012, the city of Venlo – which is very close to the German border – hosted. The central theme there was: “Be part of the theatre in nature; get closer to the quality of life”. And now, in 2022, the Floriade Expo 2022 will take place in Almere. Almere is the eighth largest municipality in the Netherlands with 214,757 inhabitants. It is located between Amsterdam and the provincial capital Lelystad.

German garden at Floriade Expo 2022

The BIOTOPIA concept by studio grüngrau and partners is defined by a wooden pavilion with a green atrium. This is open on many sides and forms the heart of the German Garden. The pavilion in turn stands for a continuously growing and changing city. This is entirely in keeping with the Floriade Expo 2022 motto – “Growing Green Cities”. The two-storey, cubic wooden construction with a roof garden is defined on the one hand by a wide variety of solar panels. On the other hand, wind turbines and intensively greened facades stand out. The façade encompasses the 2 000 square metre garden area. Inside the pavilion, visitors will find their own biotope. Various trees, useful and ornamental plants, perennials and grasses represent this. The flora is also characterised by its extreme resistance to climatic changes.

Building on this, rest areas, a trampoline, a slide, a stage and a restaurant round off the design. In addition, a water mist field creates a mystical atmosphere.

studio grüngrau plans “floral ecstasy

In the official statement, Prof. Thomas Fenner explains that it is a great concern of studio grüngrau to promote the topic of biodiversity in the city. With their concept for Floriade Expo 2022, the office succeeded in “creating a cheerful green atmosphere, characterised by a diverse variety of different plants and trees, in which it is a pleasure to conquer the garden”, said the managing partner of studio grüngrau. In addition, he said that years ago the office had coined the term “floral ecstasy”. This they would “present in all its fullness” with the German Garden at Floriade Expo 2022.

Image: © ARDENT Group

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture responsible for concept

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture is traditionally responsible for the German Garden at Floriade Expo 2022. The Ministry has commissioned Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH as the implementation company.

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture also sits on the selection committee that awarded 1st prize to the design by studio grüngrau and partners.

In addition, the following institutions are part of the selection committee:

• the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy,
• the Exhibition and Trade Fair Committee of the German Economy,
• the German Federal Horticultural Show Society
• and Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH.

studio grüngrau wins with insglück and gtp2 architekten

Together with the Berlin agency insglück and the Düsseldorf architects gtp2, studio grüngrau submitted a bid for Floriade Expo 2022. In a bidding consortium, they designed their concept BIOTOPIA for the German garden. Successfully so.

The landscape architecture firm studio grüngrau has been around since 1971, when it went under the name Bödeker, Boyer, Wagenfeld und Partner. From 2008 to 2020, studio grüngrau drew attention to itself under the name “FSWLA”. Since then, over 2,500 landscape architecture projects have been created. studio grüngrau follows the principle of joy. “We take pleasure in good work and in contemporary designs that also meet the highest standards in the long term.” – it says on the website.

A lot of EXPO experience

As an agency, insglück has been active in the field of live marketing and communication in space since the turn of the millennium. Its core competencies of creation, conception and staging also include a comprehensive service portfolio. And the agency has the necessary experience when it comes to EXPO. Insglück played a part in the implementation of the German Pavilion at EXPO 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The agency is also currently responsible for the content design of the Kazakh Pavilion at EXPO 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Düsseldorf-based architectural firm gtp2 architekten has been planning and designing various projects since 1986. These also include presentations, world exhibition participations, exhibition centres, exhibition halls and temporary pavilions. In addition, gtp2 architekten also have EXPO experience. Their team was involved in the realisation of the German Pavilion at the Expos 2012 in Yeosu, 2015 in Milan and 2017 in Astana, as well as the German Garden at the International Horticultural Expo 2019 in Beijing.

The Amsterdam Architecture Centre showed architecture after ten years of self-building in The Netherlands. Many of the exhibited projects are located in Almere, where the Floriade EXPO 2022 takes place. Have a look here.