Cool Green
Together, we’re creating the climate-adaptive landscapes of tomorrow
Koel Groen is das Kunst’s development and implementation practice for climate-adaptive landscapes.
Koel Groen brings together expertise in architecture, graphic design, materials research, and artistic creation processes. Drawing on these disciplines, we collaborate with young emerging artists, OKAN schools, cities, professional implementation partners, and owners and managers of schools, businesses, residential care centers, healthcare facilities, and public spaces.
Together, we design, create, and implement climate-adaptive landscapes that combine cooling, biodiversity, social interaction, and spatial quality.
We believe that the challenges of climate change require not only technical solutions but also new ways of learning, designing, and collaborating. That is why we integrate artistic craftsmanship, education, and implementation within a single annual development cycle.
Climate-Adaptive Landscapes
Every location requires a unique solution.
Koel Groen develops and implements climate-adaptive landscapes in which various interventions reinforce one another. Depending on the context, we work with, among other things:
- shade structures;
- structures;
- textiles;
- surface treatment;
- planting;
- water;
- biodiversity;
- quality of life.
This creates sustainable landscapes that contribute to a cooler, healthier, and more pleasant living environment.
An annual development cycle
Koel Groen operates according to a fixed annual development cycle.
June–September
Recruitment and onboarding of participants.
September–December
Designing climate-adaptive landscapes.
January–March
Researching materials, creating prototypes, and further developing designs.
Mid-April – End of May
Implementation at schools, businesses, residential care centers, healthcare facilities, and public locations.
June
Evaluation and further development of the methodology.
Two permanent workshops
The workshop is the heart of Koel Groen.
Here , ideas are explored, materials are tested, prototypes are built, and projects are prepared.
Here, participants learn to collaborate, we continue to refine our methodology, and our accumulated knowledge grows year after year.
Koel Groen has two permanent workshops:
- De Punt in Gentbrugge for its operations in Ghent.
- Het Oude Badhuis in Antwerp-North for our operations in Antwerp.
From these workshops, we oversee the entire annual development cycle.
Continuous Development
Koel Groen is a design and implementation practice that is constantly evolving.
Each annual development cycle yields new insights into design, fabrication, materials research, collaboration, and project implementation. These insights are incorporated into the next development cycle, gradually enhancing the quality of the practice.
In this way, not only do climate-adaptive landscapes evolve, but so does the expertise of young newcomers, the das Kunst team, the workshops, and our partners.
In this way, we are building a practice that grows stronger every year and contributes more and more to a climate-resilient, livable, and future-oriented city.