SAWA in documentary Grey Green

Documentary filmmaker Rik van der Linden goes on an expedition with urban ecologists and green Rotterdam residents in the series Grijsgroen to bring green urban nature to life.

In episode 3 "Building for Life," he speaks with Robert Winkel and urban ecologist Niels de Zwarte about SAWA and how the developer and architect can help improve the city's livability for people and animals.

Some developers see nature-inclusive building as a necessary evil, but not Nice. Nice is working closely with Bureau Stadsnatuur, urban ecologist Niels de Zwarte, to make SAWA as nature-inclusive as possible. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

A building takes away a lot, so you have to give a lot in return, Robert Winkel believes:

Nature-inclusive building is not an aspect that you add to it. The optimum of nature-inclusive building is the complete picture. Giving one thing and taking a lot of things is really from the last century.
This is because the task is much broader and it is about the complete picture: we need to make affordable housing, CO₂ emissions by building in wood, integrate sharing to prevent loneliness AND we need to improve biodiversity.

Niels de Zwarte argues for more ecocentric building instead of egocentric.
How can you make a place for all living species where you want to live and where it is livable. How can we make as much nature as possible in the city and how do humans fit in? Rik van der Linden sees a future, where we go from nature-inclusive city to a human-inclusive nature area.
Robert Winkel thinks the construction industry needs to change radically. And we should all ask for that. It can be done, so why not?

Watch the full series of Grey Green on the Grey Green website: greygreen.org