Chapman Taylor has unveiled a masterplan for an 80-hectare World Horticultural EXPO in Łódź, Poland’s third-largest city. Also known as Green EXPO, the international exhibition devoted to the use of greenery and landscaping in urban environments will be located in the heart of the city center, in proximity to the main railway station, and surrounded by the urban fabric.
Developed on a site that includes two existing parks, the project is also adjacent to the city’s Medical University. Part of the city’s longer-term development strategy, the masterplan will introduce substantially more green space within the city’s urban fabric. It will act as an engine of urban regeneration, creating pocket gardens, living streets, and a network of over 120km of green trails.
Focusing on regenerating, restoring, recycling, repurposing, and reusing, Chapman Taylor’s masterplan concept is arranged around four themed zones: Nature of Leisure, Nature of Living, Nature of Health, and Nature of Business. Moreover, an overall “Nature of Us” theme “combines elements of all the others to reflect a modern city that provides employment, facilitates rest and recharging in green surroundings, showcases cultural diversity, and provides daily close contact with the environment, delivering significant physical and mental health benefits”.
- Nature of Leisure: May the 3rd Park represents forest and lake environments, offering family recreation as well as sport and fitness options for people of all ages within the park’s restored and enhanced spaces, designed with respect for its history.
- Nature of Living: Baden Powell Park will host the main EXPO program, including the Polish Pavilion, the City of Łódź Pavilion surrounded by Gardens of Four Cultures, the international participants’ National Gardens, an amphitheater, a viewing tower, and exhibition halls.
- Nature of Health: the Zieleniec area includes environmentally friendly design solutions combined with EcoUMed Health Academy’s Horti-therapy program, Gardens of Healthy Food, Clean Air and Water, Gardens of Senses, and the Circular Village.
- Nature of Business: the Zatorze area will host conferences, seminars, scientific meetings, and business networking, with a focus on the exchange of ideas for improving quality of life.
Created in consultation with the city and more than 50 other organizations, the project was originally scheduled for 2024, but the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the Łódź event being rearranged for 2029. Anticipating 4.5 million visitors from 43 countries, the project will be open for six months for the Expo. After its completion, some facilities will remain, while others will be converted to new uses such as permanent exposition spaces as well as business and administration, cultural, educational, healthcare, sport and leisure, recreational and gastronomic facilities – all within a mostly retained and carefully maintained, landscaped green environment. In addition, some pavilions, structures, and installations will be moved to other locations within the city, mainly its public green areas, parks, and squares.
News Via Chapman Taylor.
