Floriade Almere 2022 moves a step closer

The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) has finalised agreements with the city of Almere and the 'Nederlandse Tuinbouwraad' (NTR) for Floriade Amsterdam Almere 2022.

The A1 horticultural world exhibition is to take place in Almere, Amsterdam in 2022. With the theme ‘Growing Green Cities’ the expo will cover over 60 hectares and focus on the future role of horticulture in city construction.

Three final agreements were signed on 1 September following the agreement by the City Council of Almere last July regarding the plans for organising the Floriade.

In order to organise a world horticultural exhibition approval is needed from AIPH which checks if the exhibition meets the requirements for A1 international horticultural exhibitions. In the agreement with the city of Almere AIPH gives its approval to the Floriade Amsterdam Almere 2022 as a A1 horticultural world exhibition. Bernard Oosterom, vice president of AIPH said:"This is a great way to show the world what green is and what the horticulture sector is able to do. The Netherlands has a great heritage of Floriade Expos and I am confident that Almere will do a great job in continuing this tradition."

On the evening of the signing Vice-Mayor of Almere, Henk Mulder, said: "A lot has to be done, we are fully aware of that. But with the agreement of the City Council last July and the three agreements tonight, we can go full speed ahead."

Two further agreements were signed with the NTR, relating to the use of the word mark and logo as well as detailing plans for the coming seven years before Floriade Amsterdam Almere 2022 takes place. Nico Koomen President of the NTR, added: "This agreement is the written embedding of the intention to make Floriade Amsterdam Almere 2022 a big success."

With the approval of AIPH the government can make the formal request at the BIE (Bureau International des Expositions) in Paris.

The current programme for AIPH approved Expos is:

 2016 - Antayla (A1) 23 Apr – 30 Oct, Turkey

 2016 - Tangshan (A2/B1) 29 Apr – 16 Oct, China

 2018-19 - Taichung International Flora (A2/B1) 3 Nov 2018 – 24 Apr, Chinese Taipei

 2019 - Beijing Expo (A1) China

 2022 - Floriade (A1) The Netherlands

Melbourne proposal for artificial surf park

Melbourne surfers could ride 1.5-metre-high waves within a heated salt-water pool in plans set out by local firm Damian Rogers Architecture for the city's docklands.


Damian Rogers Architecture has collaborated with engineering giant Arup to conceive and propose the idea for Surf Park Docklands – a contained pool with that would filter in and heat salt water from Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, Australia.

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"The whole idea came from being able to surf in a city location," said Damian Rogers. "We think it brings another activity, another space into Melbourne."

The floating open-air facility would project from an existing dock and include a pool with artificially generated "surfable waves", an adjacent beach and a park area.

Visualisations of the proposals show a grass-covered roof curving over a building that would house changing facilities and retail units beside the sand.

A boardwalk traces the outline of the rectangular plot that would create an extension of Central Pier, located close to Melbourne's Etihad Stadium.

"It's an area that lots of people go to, but there's not always the experience, so we wanted to create something in the heart of the docklands that's a genuine place that people can go to and enjoy," said Phil Carter, urban and transport planner at Arup.

The team is looking into the possibility of creating different-sized waves – breaking perpendicular to the beach for 160 metres – that would facilitate both competitions and lessons for beginners.

With the nearest surfing beach up to half an hour's drive out of the city, the local water sports community hopes the project will encourage more involvement with the sport.

"To bring the surf to the city is a great concept, especially to a site like Central Pier in the Docklands," said Max Wells, chief executive officer at Surfing Victoria. "I can imagine having surfers in suits heading for an after-work session and kids coming to the Docklands carrying surfboards on Melbourne's trains and trams."

Construction is expected to cost $8 million AUD (£4.5 million) and the project needs approval from the city council before moving forward.

Natural swimming facilities have also been proposed for London's River Thames and New York's East River as part of a growing trend for bathing in untreated water. Herzog & de Meuron recently completed a biologically filtered pool in Switzerland, while a harbour-side recreation area was built in Denmark to encourage taking a dip in the sea.