TRECHTEREN (funneling)
Funnelling ‘landscaping Enschede-Zuid, art in the suburbs’. Commissioned by the town Enschede and in collaboration with the DLG-oost and the water board Regge and Dinkel.

The town of Enschede is working on a network of stroll-, walk-, and bicycle paths around the city. This ‘round of Enschede’ crosses an open landscape with ditches, plots of land and small roads, just south of Enschede. A meandering brook and a strip of raw nature are constructed throughout the area.
‘Drecht, dracht, tricht’ are all terms that refer to the Latin word ‘trajectum’ in the sense of a crossing, a fordable place in a stream. In this project proposal, a ‘Trechter’ (funnel) is a place where a path will cross over and through the bed of the brook. In various strategical places stainless steel barriers will be placed in the stream valley. From the shore, fluent arches are placed towards the middle of the gully where they are just out of each other’s reach. Because of the shape of the ‘Trechter’, a narrowing is created in the flow profile of the brook. The water is stopped and pushed into a sewage farm. Even during dry periods of time, the area will be able to store more water because of the ‘Trechters’. Normally, the water would barely stream in this area, but because of the ‘Trechters’ the stream will be accelerated which increases the amenities.

‘TRECHTEREN’ is a verb and a strategy. The ‘Trechters’ create a behaviour in both the water and the people walking by. This behaviour will conform to a spontaneous pattern of paths and a meandering bed.
However, this is not pre-designed, carefully drafted and precisely executed.

Sketch design: September 2009
Placement: June 2012
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