DIVERSITY CREATES DIVERSITY EXPLORES THE HIDDEN ECOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF PAVING GAPS AS VALUABLE MICROHABITATS AND THEIR ROLE IN PROMOTING URBAN BIODIVERSITY. ITS CORE IS A MODULAR PAVING SYSTEM THAT PLACES THE JOINT AT THE CENTER OF THE DESIGN.

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Rendering by

Vít Kučerovský

PAVEMENT JOINTS AND CRACKS IN ASPHALT ARE UNDERRATED URBAN HABITATS. THANKS TO THEIR UNIQUE MICROCLIMATE, THEY PROVIDE UNOBVIOUS YET ESSENTIAL BIOTOPES FOR NUMEROUS PLANT SPECIES IN URBAN AREAS, INCLUDING ENDANGERED SPECIES ON THE RED LIST THAT DEPEND ON DRY AND NUTRIENT-POOR SITES.

THE VEGETATION FOUND THERE IS KNOWN AS SPONTANEOUS URBAN VEGETATION, OR SPONTANEOUS FLORA. IT PROVIDES FOOD AND HABITAT FOR COUNTLESS INSECTS AND THUS CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO URBAN BIODIVERSITY. IT ALSO REDUCES THE WARMING OF SEALED SURFACES AND ACTS AS A BRIDGING BIOTOPE TO COUNTERACT HABITAT FRAGMENTATION.

DESPITE ITS ECOLOGICAL VALUE, THIS SPONTANEOUS VEGETATION IS OFTEN REJECTED FOR AESTHETIC REASONS AND REGULARLY REMOVED. THE PROJECT BRINGS TOGETHER THE SEEMINGLY INCOMPATIBLE REQUIREMENTS OF A WELL-MAINTAINED URBAN LANDSCAPE WITH THE NEED FOR ECOLOGICALLY VALUABLE STRUCTURES.

THE OUTCOME OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT IS A MODULAR PAVING STONE SYSTEM CONSISTING OF THREE TYPES OF STONE, IN WHICH THE PAVING JOINT PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE. ON THE ONE HAND, IT CREATES ECOLOGICALLY VALUABLE STRUCTURES AND MICROHABITATS; ON THE OTHER, IT IS UNDERSTOOD AS A DESIGN ELEMENT.UNCONTROLLED, WILD NATURE CAN THRIVE WITHIN A PLANNED FRAMEWORK, AIMING TO POSITIVELY REFRAME THE WIDESPREAD VIEW OF SPONTANEOUS VEGETATION AS A RESULT OF NEGLECT.THE MODULAR SYSTEM OPENS UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR GREENING OPEN SPACES AND CAN BE INTEGRATED INTO URBAN PLANNING PROCESSES AS A DESIGN TOOL.

THREE TYPES OF STONE ALLOW FOR MODULAR AND TARGETED CONTROL OF WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE UNCONTROLLABLE UNRULY GROWTH. THE COMMON BASIC SHAPE OF THE EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE ENABLES FLEXIBLE ADAPTATION OF THE PAVING TO VARIOUS ON-SITE REQUIREMENTS.

SURFACE DE-SEALING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR CITIES.AS THE TOTAL DE-SEALING OF URBAN AREAS IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE, PARTIAL DE-SEALING IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT.IN PARTICULAR, ALREADY VEGETATED ROAD VERGES, NICHES, OR UNUSED CORNERS HOLD GREAT, HITHERTO UNDERESTIMATED POTENTIAL FOR ALTERNATIVE DESIGN OPTIONS TO PROMOTE URBAN BIODIVERSITY.

BIORECEPTIVITY

THE STONES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO BE BIORECEPTIVE. THIS MEANS THAT THEIR SHAPE, THEIR SURFACE STRUCTURE AND THE CLAY, AS A pH-NEUTRAL MATERIAL, HAVE BEEN SELECTED AND DESIGNED TO PROVIDE MICROORGANISMS WITH OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR COLONISATION, WHICH IN TURN CREATES A SUITABLE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH HIGHER PLANTS CAN THRIVE AND SPREAD. THE ROUGH, CHAMOTTE-ENHANCED SURFACE AND THE GROOVED INDENTATIONS ENCOURAGE THE ADHERENCE OF SEEDS AND SPORES, WHICH ARE DISPERSED BY WIND AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN URBAN AREAS AND EVEN BEYOND NATIONAL BORDERS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE INDENTATIONS PROVIDE A PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH MICROORGANISMS CAN COLONISE. A SLIGHT SLOPE IN THE GROOVES ENSURES CONTINUOUS DRAINAGE TO PREVENT WATER LOGGING AND ALGAE FORMATION.

WHY CLAY NOT CONCRETE?

HIGH-FIRED CLAY, ALSO KNOWN AS CLINKER, HAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY AND WEATHER RESISTANCE THAN CONCRETE OR ASPHALT. ITS PRODUCTION ALSO GENERATES LESS CO2.
FURTHERMORE, UNLIKE ASPHALT-PAVED SURFACES, PAVING STONES CAN BE REUSED WITHOUT THE NEED FOR FURTHER PROCESSING.
DUE TO THE HIGH CHAMOTTE CONTENT OF THE CLAY, THE REQUIRED SLIP RESISTANCE FOR PUBLIC SPACES IS MET.

HOCHGEBRANNTER TON AUCH BEKANNT ALS KLINKER IST BESITZT EINE DEUTLISCH HÖHERE BELASTBARKEIT UND WITTERUNGSFESTIGKEIT ALS BETON ODER ASPHALT. AUCH IN SEINER PRODUKTION IST ER CO2-ÄRMER. DES WEITEREN KÖNNEN PFLASTERSTEINE IM GEGENSATZ ZU ASPHALTIERTEM BODEN WIEDERVERWENDET WERDEN AUFGRUND DES HOHEN SCHAMOTTEANTEILS IM TON WIRD DIE VORGESCHRIEBENE RUTSCHFESTIGKEIT FÜR DEN ÖFFENTLICHEN RAUM ERFÜLLT.

THE RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS A MODULAR PAVING STONE SYSTEM IN WHICH THE PAVING JOINT PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE. THE JOINT ACTS BOTH AS AN ECOLOGICALLY VALUABLE STRUCTURE AND HABITAT FOR SPONTANEOUS VEGETATION AND AS A SPATIAL DESIGN ELEMENT THAT OPENS UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR GREENING AND DESIGNING OPEN SPACES, THEREBY BECOMING A DESIGN TOOL FOR URBAN SPACE.
UNCONTROLLED, WILD NATURE—OFTEN PERCEIVED AS NEGLECT—CAN THUS GROW WITHIN A PRE-PLANNED FRAMEWORK AND SHAPE PUBLIC SPACES, THEREBY REDEFINING THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF WILD VEGETATION AND INTEGRATING IT INTO URBAN PLANNING PROCESSES.

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