Rotterdam set to go green with a floating forest

Rotterdam has found a rather innovative way to bring back nature and green space to the city centre. The first ever floating forest is set to be planted in March as part of a new project that attempts to make the Dutch city’s industrial waterfront greener.

The bobbing forest of Rotterdam Image by Dobberend Bos

The futuristic project comes as part of a series of floating art installations that serve to revitalise the docklands around Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven harbour. The floating forest is the brainchild of sculptor Jorge Bakker, who often uses floating objects in his works, but is brought together by a team of Dutch designers.

Rotterdam will be planting 20 trees in brightly coloured buoys to make up the Dodderend Bos – or Bobbing Forest. The Netherlands is known for innovative projects that make use and encorporate water, given its omnipresence across much of the country. It is hoped the Rijnhaven project may act as a prototype for other similar projects in city’s with large and disused docklands.

Jorge Bakker’s work Image by Jorge Bakker/Facebook

The project’s website provides a description of the forest’s mission.  “These miniature trees bob lightly upon and across the water’s surface, [evoke] questions about the relationship between city dwellers and nature, and their relationship with the world around them.”

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