Inside Outside

For OASE Hochhaus Winterthur (image 1), we are designing a continuous, richly planted public Park that reaches up to the roof of the tower via the central core. This core splits the tower in two parts, offering 9 garden terraces and 9 wintergardens, alternating between open-air and glazed rooms. These double-height green rooms act as ‘stepping stones’ for urban biodiversity. Plant selection for each sky garden is based on specific sun and wind exposure and soil depth. From meadows with medicinal plants to grasslands, dwarf shrubs, and rocky habitats at higher altitudes, each terrace features a unique habitat of alpine vegetation.

Our inspiration and reference is the pioneering work of the 19th century explorer-naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (image 2), who revolutionized our understanding of nature’s interconnections. Humboldt introduced the concept of ‘Naturgemälde’, shown in his visualization of Mount Chimborazo, illustrating how vegetation distribution relates to altitude, temperature, and humidity, and comparing these globally.

Humboldt’s vision was that everything in nature was interconnected, realizing that humans are intricately entangled within this web too.

Find more information about this project on our website, which is a collaborative effort by , , and our team.

The revelation at this year’s (International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam) themed ‘Nature of Hope,’ includes the outcomes of our ongoing research project, “Living Soil”.

A big thanks to the directors, curators, and production team of IABR: , Noortje Weenink, Reineke Otten, Venla and Maria.

The biennale will be open until October 13, 2024. Visit our website for more information about the project or attend the biennale in person.

Last night, we presented our retrospective “Art Applied” at CIVA, a cultural institution in Brussels dedicated to architecture, urban planning, and landscape. To mark the occasion, we hosted an informative presentation, a panel talk, followed by a celebratory signing session.

During the panel discussion, “Art Applied” editors Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen, alongside architect Kersten Geers, engaged in a conversation with Petra Blaisse about Inside Outside’s innovative approach across all their specialties, as highlighted in the book. The discussion was moderated by CIVA’s artistic director, Nikolaus Hirsch.

A big thanks to all attendees as well for making it a memorable evening!

In the latest issue of A+ magazine, our project for the beloved Cafe Vooruit in Ghent is featured, highlighting our work on interior intervention and curtain design.

The inspiration for the festive curtain design derived from historical research into the café, revealing images from the 1950s showcasing black-and-white striped curtains. This clean geometry and graceful interior enhance the verticality of the space, which Inside Outside then recreated on a larger scale. This design serves both as a celebratory backdrop and improves acoustics during events such as musical performances.

For this project we closely collaborated with B-ILD (architects) and Chris Pype (lighting advisor).

For this year’s (International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam) themed ‘Nature of Hope’, we will exhibit the outcomes of our ongoing research project ‘Living Soil’.

Our presentation will showcase the culmination of our collaborative efforts, featuring a visually impactful display: an expensive double-sided drawing that explores the diversity and richness of the hidden soil life beneath us.

Visit our website for more information about the project, or visit the biennale in person.

The exhibition “After Nature” is still running at the in Berlin since it’s opening in ‘21, exploring the interconnectedness of climate change and biodiversity loss, alongside global challenges to democratic principles.

All exhibited objects revolve around this theme, with Inside Outside contributing to the exhibition design to present these objects from diverse perspectives. According to , the interactive exhibition serves as a wunderkammer of varied items that prompt reconsideration of the political ideologies deeply embedded in scientific research.

📍Humboldt Lab, 1st floor

Neue Architekturschule Siegen (NAS) - an innovative project for a new type of central building in the city of Siegen, developed as a lightweight construction.

Its organizational principle aims to seamlessly connect NAS with its immediate neighborhood, the city, and the region, enabling it to host a range of activities from daily student functions to public lectures and large cultural events.

Inside Outside has contributed to this project by developing an integrated curtain concept, and implementing it across various floors and spaces to accommodate a diverse array of usage scenarios.

1st prize for a competition in collaboration with and

Image credits: FAKT + Gustav Düsing

Living soil - In our co-creative design research we have generated a beautiful, intricate 1:1 drawing of 1 vertical squaremeter of vital, mature soil.
Come and see until 2nd July in Arcam Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam next to Central Station!

As part of our exhibition, we invited Annabel Howland to show a few of her beautiful pieces inspired by fungi and her film "This entangled land", featuring evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers.

This research was supported by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie

More impressions from // DesignMarch in Reykjavik Borgarbókasafnið for which Inside Outside made two site specific curtain installations.

Also on show: a model of 'The Future Library' made by JVST. Together with JVST , Jan David Hanrath and Kreatíva teiknistofa Inside Outside designed the renovation of the future library.

For HönnunarMars // DesignMarch , Iceland’s annual design festival, Inside Outside created two curtain installations for Borgarbókasafnið .. , Reykjavik’s main library.

This week we are in Iceland, and we will post more… Stay tuned!

Together with JVST and Jan David Hanrath we work on the renovation and extension of ‘The Future library’ starting later this year.

"In soils, earthworms are the most important ecosystem engineers and, as such, they are vital for the maintenance of soil functions and services, as nutrient and carbon cycling, water infiltration and retention, plant growth, habitat preservation and remediation potential".

Quote by Tullia Calogiuri, earthworm specialist at Wageningen University

Photo by Frank Ashwood Macrophotography

Did you know that Collembola, also known as springtails, are tiny insect-like creatures that play a significant role in soil health? Their unique jumping organ, the furcula, helps them escape predators and move many times their body length in a fraction of a second.

Despite their small size, Collembola can greatly influence soil quality. They promote decomposition processes through direct feeding of dead vegetation and fungal hyphae and stimulate soil microbes, making them an essential part of the ecosystem.

Knowledge shared by Eco toxicologist Saul Monteiro Fernandes. Thank you .simao !

Photo credits Andy Murray
Photo 1: Dicyrtomina minutus
Photo 2: Bilobella braunerae
Photo 3: Pygmarrhopolites pygmaeus

We are currently developing a visual language on Soil Life with our co creative design research ‘Living Soil’, this will be a tool to inform and inspire clients, governments and public on the importance of a healthy Soil Biodiversity.

During our co creative design research we host open ateliers and talk with experts to enrich our knowledge on Soil Biodiversity. This week we share some insights!

Mycorrhizal fungi.
Microbial ecologist Justin Stewart: ‘Nearly all plants on Earth form a symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi. Here we see an image of a mycorrhizal network underground. This ancient symbiosis is a key player in the global carbon cycle: mycorrhizal networks provide plants with nitrogen in exchange for carbon.

This symbiosis has shaped the biodiversity we see aboveground. However, mycorrhizal fungi live in a world we cannot see, and thus have largely been ignored in understanding biodiversity.

Justin Stewart travelled to the Galapagos Islands to identify what species of mycorrhizal fungi are found new volcanic soils. Together with they are mapping mycorrhizal biodiversity using remote sensing and DNA sequencing. This has generated spatial predictions of how many mycorrhizal species live on every kilometer of Planet Earth.”

Photo 1 Still from
Photo 2 © Tanja Pennanen ( plant roots and mychorrhizal fungi)
Photo 3 © Justin Stewart , mycorrhizal diversity in Villarica, Chile. Hotspots (red) and cold spots (blue) of fungal biodiversity.”

Preparing carpet for Salone del Mobile
Collaboration Inside Outside & van Besouw tapijt

Everchanging perspectives!

The movable curtains create both privacy and different playful and imaginative ways to experience the space,..

For a private home in the Netherlands, Inside Outside designed two site-specific curtains that complement the architecture and reflect the natural surroundings both outside and inside, ..

Stay tuned!

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The landscape project that Inside Outside presents at Masterly - The Dutch in Milano, during Salone del Mobile.Milano, the design for a public botanic park ‘Parco del Polcevera’ in Genoa, is presented in the form of a 7 x 5 meter high print that gives insight into the general landscape plan; in combination with a one-off carpet designed for the occasion.

The main installation shows how the park, of which several sections have already been realized, will contribute to the regeneration and embellishment of the Valley; present and future visualized in the many concept drawings, renderings and photographs.

The carpet, developed in partnership with Van Besouw, is an abstract interpretation of the landscape plan. Diagonal lines in different carpet qualities found in Van Besouw’ s large “carpet library”, represent the different areas of the park.

The design of the carpet confronted the technical team of the production company with serious challenges because of the many different materials, structures and pile heights that needed to be combined into one piece. However, with their expertise, experience and an eagerness for experiments, they found solutions that fit the design. The design combines ten qualities, a weaving technique and a tuft technique.

Print on rice paper: design © Inside Outside; printing: Mondilab
Carpet: design / drawing © Inside Outside; production: Van Besouw

This year at Salone del Mobile.Milano Inside Outside presents ‘Il Parco del Polcevera e il Cerchio Rosso’, a regenerative landscape design for a new botanic park in Genoa.

The landscape project will be exhibited at Masterly - The Dutch in Milano in Palazzo dei Giureconsulti, from 18 to 23 April in Milan.

The 23 ha revitalizing public park breathes new life into the afflicted valley, where the former Morandi bridge collapsed in August 2018, recently replaced by the new San Giorgio bridge by Renzo Piano. The project is developed in collaboration with Stefano Boeri Architetti, Metrogramma and Studio LAURA GATTI.

The design consists of a pattern of linear gardens and plaza’s, each field with differing soil topography and planting, so that the park is brimming in (bio) diversity.
The circular walkway ( Il Cerchio Rosso, by Stefano Boeri Architetti) will ensure that all parts of the valley are connected, allowing commuters to move with an unprecedented ease. All green areas are constructed so as to absorb, infiltrate, delay, and store rainwater for drier periods to ensure a favorable water balance for the underground root systems. Solar & wind energy will be collected by the Cerchio Rosso.

The first phase of the park, the ‘Radura della Memoria’ was installed in 2020, the memorial garden’s ex*****on will start summer 2023.

‘Parco del Polcevera’ symbolizes the complex challenge that affects us all: the demand for more "greening", more nature and biodiversity within the logistical, economic and political context of a -sometimes- heavily industrialized city.

Inside Outside is presenting the design for Parco del Polcevera as a ‘case study’ in the form of an installation to spark exchanges about how we, as creators, can best address the urgent environmental issues within the current climate.

If you are in Milan, during Salone del Mobile, come and visit us!

Installation:
Print:
Carpet: In partnership with

One last color to highlight of Taipei's Performing Arts Center, the rehearsal spaces in pink!

The basic concept of the interior design of Taipei’s Performing Arts Center is to let the ‘tough’ urban materials and graphics flow seamlessly into the public spaces of the building, and to differentiate the 3 theaters by using one monochrome colour for each, as if ‘dipped’ into one can of paint.

Grayish-blue theaters, the back-stage and tower are dark brown, the rehearsal spaces in pink and the ‘green rooms’ in green. Each section of the building is exposed to the outside world through the corrugated glass façade.

The large (13 x 20 m) stage curtain in the Grand Theatre forms the fourth wall in the theater space following the same Pantone 646C blue. Made of a heavy glass fiber weave, it falls and folds elegantly, while transmitting the subtle reflectiveness of its surface towards the public. A rhythm of thin transparent strips, generate un-expected light effects when in movement and when lit from behind.

Color & material Concept : Inside Outside in collaboration with OMA
Production c

In this post we are zooming in on the streetscape designed for Taipei’s Performing Arts Theatre, designed in close collaboration with OMA.

The Taipei’s Performing Arts Center is ‘lifted off the ground’ to create space for a continuous public plaza, offering a public square for events, markets and festivities on its sturdy surface.

The black & white concrete stripe pattern of the plaza – with its integrated water and electricity system - runs over the entire site, inviting everyone to enter the building at its dynamic circular heart.

From there, a ‘Public Loop’, in bright orange, invites the public into the building, connecting the plaza to the building’s interior world and providing visitors free access to the backstage areas and the various terraces with their amazing views over city and mountains.

A great view on Taipei Performing Arts center in the midst of the vibrant city seen from high up in the mountains.

After 13 years of collaboration, Inside Outside, .eu and all architects, designers and consultants involved in the design of the theatre came together in Taipei to enjoy a visit on site!

Inside Outside developed, in close collaboration with OMA, the black and white striped plaza and flanking gardens, the rooftop gardens, design of the curtains for the grand and global theatre, and advisory on the color and material concept for the interior of the entire building.

The original trees that stood on the theatre site were preserved, stored, and then replanted after the theatre was built. They now reside in the gardens flanking the square. Each tree has its own unique character and shape, like actors on stage, hence the garden are now called "stage gardens".

August 2022 the theatre officially opened its doors, but due to covid restrictions, public couldn't attend the opening and the moment of celebration was postponed.

Stay tuned to see more photo's of the interior and stage curtains!

Inside Outside is in Taipei to visit Taipei Performing Arts Center!

All 60 architects and designers who were involved in the design gather in Taipei this weekend to see theatre in all its glory!

Stay tuned to see images of the landscape and interior✨



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In between.. when Inside & Outside blends…

A site specific curtain design for a holiday house surrounded by a dreamy Dutch water landscape..:)

In progress! Stay tuned to see the final result!

In construction… a new curtain installation for a house in the midst of beautiful nature somewhere in the Netherlands…stay tuned to see more:)

We made a great start with our new co-creative design research: ‘Living Soil’! In a first ‘Open Atelier’ in our studio we had an exchange of valuable knowledge and first sketch sessions with soil experts, ecologists, humists, mychorriza experts, fellow ( landscape) architects, graphic designers and infrastructure designers.
Thank you all for the great input!

We are developing an accessible visual language of Soil Life with and for clients, municipalities, scientists, artists and public to inform, inspire and contribute to a positive approach and financial support for Soil Biodiversity.

In March we will organize our 2nd Open Atelier as part of our research.
The final result will be presented in June, stay tuned!

In March we will organize our 2nd Open Atelier as part of our research.
The final result will be presented in June, stay tuned!

Supported by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie