Plants by Post

Sometimes one needs to present oneself with a present. The internet has made it so much easier to order things from all over the world that most things are now only a few mouse clicks away from delivery. Plants can also be ordered online, ranging from seldom-found tiny bulbs to 12 foot trees. But not only dormant plants can be ordered online!

In the past I have ordered plug plants online. So when I found a grower of ferns and ivies, I could immediately see the potential future for a shady patch in my garden. During the process of looking at pictures and ordering online I became quite greedy, probably selecting more plants than will fit the area. But allowances must be made for possible casualties - at least that what I'm telling myself.

When the box finally arrived it was somewhat of a surprise as the Royal Mail tracking website had been on "ready for dispatch" for three days and didn't switch status to "in delivery" until after I had signed off the package. Like a kid at Christmas I immediately started to unpack...

A large cardboard box was handed to me by the delivery man. Inside was a mass of shredded newspaper packed tightly around the plants, that were individually wrapped in paper. This meant each plant was like a little present. Once unpacked I had 11 plants varying in size from 15 to 60 cm, each with a small root ball and a label.

The city of Antwerp part 3: the inclusion of the suburbs

The development of Antwerp gained pace during the 13th century with many merchants flocking to the city with its easily accessible wharf and new harbour of St Pietersvliet. The growth of Antwerp coincided with the increasing territory, wealth and might of the Dukes of Brabant. At the end of the thirteenth century plans are drawn to expand the city of Antwerp even further. The aim of this plan was to include many of the suburbs and religious institutions extra muros within the confines of the city. Expanding the area within the city walls also meant that more people would count as residents, making the settlement a larger city, but also increased the potential revenue for the city council.

From 1291 onwards a waterside wall was erected along the wharfs of the Scheldt river. The direct result of this expansion was that the inner burg was no longer the stronghold for the residents of Antwerp. The area was also far too small to accommodate all the people so it was logical that it would be transformed into part of the city. In 1298 work starts directly south of the Abbey of St Michael where a new moat is dug and a wall is built. A large area of fields and gardens were incorporated into the city area. The moat was dug towards the Hospital of St Elisabeth, but passed directly north of the existing Courts Beguinages following a natural depression in the landscape. As digging the new outer moat proved costly, technically difficult as a result of it cutting through high ground, and time consuming to build. To keep the defences in order a wall was proposed linking the outer moat at Klapdorp and the moat at the Hospital. In 1314 the new city gates are completed, together with several defensive towers (Verlorenkosttoren, Huidevetterstoren, Visverkoperstoren,  Backerstoren and Jan Blauwbaardtoren to name a few). The completion of the outer moat and the further outward expansion of the city starts in 1317 and would take until 1415. Although these works are part of the same plan they are most commonly seen as two separate expansions of the city of Antwerp (numbers 3 and four to be precise).

With the erection of the new city walls the surface area of the city increased threefold from 46 ha to 156 ha. The area within the new outer moat was much bigger increasing the urban area to over 200 ha. The original city measured only 20 ha. Expansion 3 consisted of a new wall (shown in red) and parts of a new moat. Later the defensive structure was completed by excavating an entire moat and erecting a new section of wall (shown in orange) alongside it. The finished city defences comprised of 4 towers, 7 land gates and 7 water gates. The structure started with the Kostverlorentoren (T1) in the south near the Scheldt and continued to the Vingerling (T4) via Kronenburgpoort (P1), Begijenhol (P2), St Jorispoort (P3), Blauwtoren (T2), Huidevetterstoren (T3), Buiten Kipdorppoort (P4), Rodepoort (P5), Slijkpoort (P6) and Posternepoort (P7). Along the river gates were made in the wall to give access to the wharfs: Westpoort (p1), Bierpoort (p2), Maaigatpoort (p3), Sandersgat (p4), Houtwerfpoort (p5), Scheldekenspoort (p6) and Hooipoort (p7). At some distance to guard the dam in the Schijn river a sconce (S) was erected.

This time there was no clear structure in naming the sections of the new encircling moat. This is probably due to their separate excavation. Excavation started in the south up to the Blauwtoren (Blue Tower). This work was later repeated in the low lying area north of the city to form a new harbour Brouwersvliet (literally: Brewers Fleet) and a new moat up to the much older Falconrui that follows part of an old Schijn-river arm. The section of moat dug trhrough higher ground was known as vest and was, like the rest of the outer moat, subdivided in to several separately named sections.

The sections of the outer moat were named after their position near a pre-existing building or settlement, or after their use. Kronenburgvest (1) was named after the defensive structure of the Abbey called Kronenburg. The Begijnenvest (2) was named after the Courts Beguinages (Begijnhof) directly next to it. The Sint Jorisvest (3) named after the Church of St George. The Kipdorpvest (4) was named after the suburb of Kipdorp. The Ankerrui (5) alludes to the use as an anchoring place for flat boats. The origins of the name of the Oude Leeuwenrui (6) is unclear. The Brouwersvliet (7) was named for the brewing houses near it. After completion of the new defences the land behind it was used for fields, market gardens and orchards. The names are often a hint at the most common form of land use there: Blijdenhoek (B), Gasthuisbeemden (G), Hopland (H), Ramenveld (R), Hoogveld (Hv), Kauwenberg (K) and Falconbroek (F).

Much of the area within the new wall or later the new outer moat and outer new wall remains undeveloped for many years giving the area outside the city limits of 1290 a village-like atmosphere with working farms and market gardens. All the markets and official buildings were located within the vesten and ruien. Here the streets and markets had all been cobbled by 1320. Building work on the gothic Cathedral Church of Our Lady started in 1351 and would last until 1521. It is situated on an oval church freedom, as is usual. Much of the area around it remained undeveloped until around 1400. The filling in of the areas between the incorporated suburbs and institutions would start in earnest at the end of the 15th century. This marks the start of Antwerp's so-called Golden Age, that lasted from 1490 until 1565.

As a riverside city, the development of Antwerp was only possible by several technical interventions into the drainage system. By damming the Schijn river a controlled flow of water could be redirected towards the city moat. This Damme (D) sits next to Dambrugge (DB). A new dyke (d) was raised north of the existing polder Steenborgerweert (Sbw) linking two older polders and making the area in between suitable for agriculture. The floodplain across the city was also empoldered by raising a dyke around what was hence known as the Borgerweertpolder (B).On the former mud flats and along the moats quays were constructed: Berdenerwerf (Q1), Wharf (Q2), Haring Staple (Q3), Meekaai (Q4) Werf (Q5), Maaigatkaai (Q6) and Hout- en Hooikaai (Q7). To improve the water supply for the inhabitants and brewers a new canal was dug from the Schijn river in Deurne to the city edge. This canal was known as the Herentalse Vaart (HV) and was dug between 1486  and 1491. This canal connected to the Oude Vaart or Vuilrui (V) completed in 1490 and the Meirrui (M) completed in 1431.

The city of Antwerp part 2: the expansion of religious institutions and the city

The triangularly shaped first city of Antwerp initially had a clear functional separation between the inner burgh with the domanial church, ducal residence, clerical house of refuge and the market next to the wharf. The outer burgh functioned as a subsidiary settlement with houses, shops, public houses and workshops. As the stronghold increased in importance, so did the number of residents. Increased demand lead to increasing costs and as such to the erection of buildings along mayor roads outside of the city moats.

As the parish church of the city wasn't located within the city -the domanial church was for the use of the overlord only- but as some distance at Caloes a small Romanesque chapel was erected on a slight elevation directly adjacent to the city moat. This chapel dedicated to Our Dear Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekapel) was built in the second half of the 11th century. In 1124 monastery is founded next to the Church of St Michael at Caloes and also a subsidiary college of canons was created aimed at founding the new city parish of Our Dear Lady. A few years prior -in 1116- the Chapel of St George was built on the edge of the Hopland along the route to Broekzele (now Brussels). The expansion of the religious institutions and foundation of new ones coincided with large scale land reclamation in the Scheldt estuary by raising dykes and thus empoldering sections of the floodplain. The so-called sea dyke north of Antwerp was closed in 1119. This gave the city more potential with a much larger fertile hinterland suitable for food production.

This drawing of the city of Antwerp in its surroundings around 1200 shows the inner burgh (ib) with the domanial Walburgiskerk (W) surrounded by a moat and the outer burg (ob) surrounded by a wide moat comprised of the Suikerrui-Boterrui (1), Kaasrui (2), Achterrui (later Minderbroedersrui - 3) and Koolvliet (4).Directly south of the city stands the Chapel of Our Dear Lady (L), the Elizabeth Hospital (E) on the edge of 't Zand (z). The Groenendal (Green Vale - g) separates this higher ground from the higher ground beyond and has had a water course dug trough it to drain the Meir swamp an better regulate a log watering pond known as Houtmeer (H). On the edge of the higher ground of Caloes (c) stands the Abbey of St Michael (M) and on the edge of the Elst stands the Chapel of St George (G). North of the city a winding dyke (d) links the higher ground of Kattenberg (k) across the Blauwbroek (b) with the city and secures the former floodplain of the Schijn river (s) as a new polder.

As a result the riverside stronghold or inner burgh is strengthened around 1200. The wood-built ducal residence is rebuilt as a stone keep known as 't Steen (literally the Stone) and work starts on replacing the earth banks with paling by a high brick wall. The urban area is also expanded southwards by excavating a new moat (Vest in Dutch) between 1201 and 1216. In 1204 the Hospital of St Elizabeth (Sint Elisabethgasthuis) is founded on an oblong piece of land near the Chapel of Our Dear Lady. This is followed in 1220 by the designation of a large field within the moat of the outer burgh as the forum novum or market place.  In 1221 Antwerp receives city rights from Henry I duke of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp and a city freedom was established over which a council of 12 aldermen would rule. These city rights in part affirmed the position of the existing urban settlement, but also importantly freed the residents from feudal law, established urban law and gave the city the right to demarcate the city limits. 

Between 1243 and 1250 the domains of Kraaiwijk, Dries, Leguit and Lisgat to the north of the city are drained and surrounded by a moat. An existing tidal inlet is appropriated by dredging as the new harbour as St Pietervliet (St Peter's Fleet). This harbour basin forms part of the new city moat on the north side.

The city of Antwerp around 1250 still consists of an inner burgh, now fortified with a wall (shown in red) and a larger outer burg that has been secured by a moat and a wall between the several city gates: St Janspoort (P1), Kammerpoort (P2), Meirpoort (P3), Kathelijnepoort (P4), Wijngaardpoort (P5) and Koepoort (P6). The irregular outline on the north side arose as a result of the inclusion of Kraaiwijk (1), den Dries (2), Leguit (3) and 't Lisgat (4).

The city rights bestowed on the outer burgh lead to the foundation of many new institutions such as the Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle - 1226), Asylum for the Sick (Ter Siecken - 1231) outside the moat, Shipping House (Scheepshuis - 1240), Monastery of the Dominican Order of Preachers (Predikherenklooster - 1243), Court Beguinages Mount Sion (Begijnhof Berg Sion - 1245), Meat Hall (Vleeshuis - 1250), Church of St Willibrord (1264) in the Hoogveld outside the moat, Dominican Church (Predikherenkerk - 1276), Convent of St Margaret's Vale (Klooster St Margrietendal - 1280) outside the moat and the so-called Giants House the seat of the Teutonic Knights (Reuzenhuis der Duitse Orde - 1284) within the inner burgh. 

The city of Antwerp at the end of the thirteenth century has definitively broken the confines of the inner burgh. There the so-called Reuzenhuis (Giants House - R) is built not far from the ducal residence 't Steen (S). Next to the inner burgh the Vleeshuis (V) was built. At the end of the new market (m) the Lakenhalle (L) was erected. Further south around the parish church of Our Dear Lady (C) the Koornmarkt (Corn Market - m2) and Veemarkt (Cattle Market - m3) were located. The Monastery of the Dominican Preachers (P) was built across the former moat. Outside the gates lay two villages named Kipdorp (Kd) and Klapdorp (Kl) respectively. Towards the Abbey of ST Michael (A) a small suburb was forming. Beyond the waterlogged meadows a religious cluster with the Hospital of St Elisabeth (H), Chapel of St George (G) and Court Beguinages (B) stood along a main thoroughfare.

City Craft Event, powered by: Rezone

Last week I attended a seminar in Tilburg that focused on the possibilities of gamification for regional development. The presentations were aimed at exploring how playing games (or better: interaction through game-play) can redirect the planning process and the decision-making process of regional development and deliver alternatives for top-down planning.

The event was prompted by the arrival in Tilburg of the travelling exhibition MozaïekBrabant which incorporates Carpet Metropolis Brabant City (although Tapestry Metropolis would have been a better translation of Tapijtmetropool) a vision of the future of the urban landscape as a mosaic of functions and possibilities literally woven into a large carpet.

As was clear during earlier events by Rezone, game-play is useful as a tool in negotiating development processes and organising participation. All spatial development games revolved around organising stakeholder wishes and creating insight into the spatial and functional effects of certain choices (through simulation and role-playing devices). The games varied from very low-tech (Simlandscape) to high-tech (Rezone the Game) and from organising the decision making process (Play the City and The Making Of), channelling initiatives (SpoorLoos) to organising awareness and participation (Leve de Krimp and Enercities).

Most games were directed towards urban redevelopment and urban infill projects. So here regional planning was the framework that these project functioned within as the issues were of a lesser scale. Especially Leve de Krimp truly had a regional focus as it is aimed at translating and simulating the effects of population decrease combined with an ageing population and shifts in employment opportunities away from low-skilled industrial and agricultural work.

I was very impressed with the SpoorLoos board game (on the left) that coupled an attractive design with an interesting game play. The game is centred around an inner-city brown field site along the railway. Rezone the Game (shown in the middle) is played against a computer and is mainly concerned with buildings that stand empty. These can be former industrial sites, factories, schools, office blocks and blocks of flats. The game Play the City had a lovely design (as can be seen on the right) and seems to be a very useful and fun way of organising participation in an open-ended planning process.