Pioneering Paver Design Produces Pedestrian Havens

In the capitals of Europe, the humble paver is being deployed as a powerful tool to refresh and enliven public spaces, writes Jared Green.

1 minute read

July 18, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"Landscape architects in Europe are doing really innovative things with pavers, perhaps more so than in the United States. Some recent contemporary urban plaza projects from Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Barcelona show the amazing visual effects that can be achieved with bold paving patterns."

Funenpark in Amsterdam. Image courtesy flickr user Franklin Heijnen.

Green spotlights projects in each of these cities where pavers have been used to great effect, including Funenpark, a new courtyard for a residential complex in Amsterdam. Here, "[t]he standard Dutch courtyard, which usually has separate streets, pavement, parking and front and back-gardens, instead gets a contemporary take, created as one 'continuous, luxurious' place." Designers LANDLAB, "purposefully kept things simple in order to create a distinct space residents and passers-by can easily wander through."

Thursday, July 11, 2013 in THE DIRT

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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