R.U.R.B.A.N. explores nature in undesired spaces within the urban landscape of Lincoln, NE showcasing its resilience and adaptability to its surroundings while examining the context of the site to use surrounding local materials and urban objects. By identifying the different species, from understory trees to weeds that grow through the cracks of the concrete, we intend to educate the community about the existing nature in their everyday lives in these strange ecological systems.
Making use of this different perspective of the role of nature within the city by observing the life cycles of these plants we can show the variety of systems that are in action and its relationship in the context of the urban. R.U.R.B.A.N. also explores different cycles within the urban by upcycling scattered urban objects such as bus stops, barrels, and dumpsters for low-cost public seating and planters extending the lifespan of these otherwise abandoned and forgotten objects. The bus stops, elevated 3 ft above the last, act as thresholds as you move through the pathway to the green roof circling the center of the site much like branches coming from a tree. Using steel I-beams as the primary structure donated from nearby local steel industries, representing the decay of the urban by organizing the structure in ambiguous forms of traditional housing with pitched roofs. The resilient nature grows without any limitation in the site further showing this prominent relationship between these plants and urban structures over time as the plants grow and adapt around the structure. As users move through the space, they would be able to experience the variety of plants that grow around them daily and experience the progression to the green roof.
