BIN

federal initiative for re-greening

The (fictitious) BIN initiative makes re-greening the new priority of urban planning, with the aim of integrating plants into urban spaces in a minimally invasive way and giving city citizens the opportunity to become active gardeners in their neighbourhoods. With a simple but effective design solution, BIN encourages citizens to make their urban spaces more lively and environmentally friendly: discarded garbage bins are converted into planters that are fixed without interfering with the pavement. The intervention expands urban green spaces and sustainably improves the quality of life in cities.

student:Vincent Kaup
project:

The Plant Project
– Resilience Part II
year:2024

The Federal Initiative for Re-greening is a comprehensive approach to providing habitat for plants in the dense urban environments of Central European cities, involving citizens in the process of greening. This approach is intended not only to promote the ecological resilience of cities, but also to improve the sense of community and the quality of life of residents. The BIN supports urban redensification by simultaneously focusing on “re-greening”. As with redensification, which aims to integrate additional living space into existing areas in a sustainable way, the aim of regreening is to integrate living plants into existing urban structures. In the symbiosis of these two strategies, cities become both denser and greener, and at the same time more liveable and ecologically sustainable. A central element in the implementation of a greener city is the involvement of citizens: By providing free planters and other infrastructure enhancements that can be easily attached to existing urban structures, residents are encouraged to actively shape their immediate surroundings. This participatory method solves an economic problem associated with the maintenance of urban green spaces by transferring some of the responsibility for these to citizens. This is achieved, for example, by providing disused waste garbage cans that have been converted into planters. These are “decapitated” to open the top and the resulting sharp fringe is folded over to create a secure edge. 

After thorough cleaning, the bins are given a new paint job, logos and slogans to create interest and educate people about the initiative. This method of upcycling not only gives the garbage cans a second life and new function, but also contributes to the beautification of the urban space. The BIN project’s planters are designed to be integrated into the urban infrastructure in a minimally invasive way. This ease of installation and removal promotes a gradual transformation of cities that gains public acceptance and enables larger, more ambitious greening projects in the long term. The design follows the basic principles of affordability, user-friendliness and sustainability: materials are durable and resistant and manufacturing costs are as low as possible to ensure wide availability – installation and maintenance of the planters require no special skills or tools. The active involvement of citizens in re-greening increases the city’s ecological resilience by creating more green spaces that improve the microclimate and promote biodiversity. Working together on greening projects strengthens the sense of community and the residents’ identification with their living space – the design of the planters and the greenery that sprouts from them enhance the appearance of the city.