Floriade 2022 – A little sneak peak

Built on sixty hectares of reclaimed land in Almere, a “garden city” near Amsterdam, the 2022 Floriade will showcase the latest innovations in horticulture; an exciting glimpse of the future with 40 country taking part. Take an aerial cable car ride across the park to see it all.

Image by: Dutch Innovation Experience / Floriade 2022

The overarching theme of 2022 is ‘Growing Green Cities’ and it explores how we can make a densely built city greener, more sustainable and liveable. It focuses not only on lots of greenery, but new technologies and products. It also shows solutions to global urbanisation, innovation in sustainability & food production, electricity generation and health & wellbeing.

Meet landscape architect Niek Roozen

Niek Roozen, amongst others, is responsible for the landscaping of Floriade 2022. He and his team will plant over 2,500 trees to create an arboretum incorporating existing vegetation while bringing to life Urban Planner Winy Maas’ vision of creating a collection of trees and plants in alphabetical order by botanical names. They will also plant over 180,000 perennials and ornamental grasses in alphabetical zones to compliment the tree planting. Think of a gigantic library of trees, plants and flowers.

This isn’t Roozen’s first Floriade. In fact, it’s the fifth time he has been involved. Every Floriade is special to him as it gives him the opportunity to inspire people and reconnect them to the city. If Covid-19 has shown us one thing, it’s how important green spaces such as gardens or parks are to survive in a modern urban environment.

Images by: Niek Roozen

2022 Pavilions

A lot of the pavilion designs are still under wraps, but the ones we found speak for an exciting Expo in 2022.

Indonesia

Rising sea levels is an urgent problem for many of the 17,000 islands that form Indonesia. ”The Wonderful Archipelago” showcases the countries diversity in nature and culture and reflects on the local wisdom of co-living with nature. It explores a traditional Indonesian dwelling made of sustainable materials, a greenhouse with native plants and trees as well as a playing field with traditional games.

Image by: Lagom

Qatar

Visit the ‘Desert Nest’ of Qatar and explore its well-known pigeon towers. Combining traditional shapes with modern technology and material, Qatar used 3D printing with sustainable materials to build their pavilion with the aim to return as much material as possible back to nature once Floriade is over.
It also symbolises Qatar’s vision to transform a desert to a fertile land full of vegetation forming the perfect base for a healthy city.

Image by: Floriade 2022

Sunken Pavilion

The Sunken Pavillion by the Dutch province Flevoland embodies the topography of the province, which was established on reclaimed land from the Zuiderzee inland sea in the 1980s, with the majority of the land being below sea level. The lowest part of the pavilion will be 5 metres below ground with a glass roof functioning as an elevated winter garden. It showcases innovative ways of water management, food production and sustainable energy.

Images by: Floriade 2022

Bobbing Forest

Gifted to Floriade from art producer, Mothership, the ‘Bobbing Forest” consists of 20 recycled sea buoys from the North Sea which were planted with 20 Dutch elms and draw attention to climate adaptation, innovation & health, while raising awareness of the importance of green space for children and adults. You will be able to see this artwork from the cable car or the terrace on the Weerwater.