UNS’s landscape and nature vision begins with a simple idea: nature starts at the doorstep. In 2024, this approach took shape in the EcoPod, a compact landscape intervention created with VIC Landscapes in the 75 m² courtyard of the UNS Amsterdam office.
Set between surrounding workspaces, the EcoPod transforms a residual inner-city space with limited access and no clear identity into a living garden that supports biodiversity, improves environmental performance and enhances daily wellbeing. Designed as a teardrop-shaped planter with 360-degree visibility, it brings greenery into view throughout the studio and strengthens the connection between workplace and landscape.
The planting scheme creates a layered, climate-responsive habitat suited to the courtyard’s shaded conditions. Species such as Persicaria amplexicaulis, Echinacea pallida and Selinum wallichianum provide seasonal colour and nectar for pollinators, while ferns, shrubs and climbers add shelter, texture and ecological value. Based on sunlight studies, Quercus ilex was selected as a suitable tree species for the site.
The EcoPod also improves water infiltration through permeable softscape, soil substrate and rock infiltration zones. As it matures, sensors and biodiversity monitoring will help assess its long-term ecological performance and inform future nature-led urban interventions.
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