Water – The Connecting Element
Urban Oasis vs. Private Oasis
On the jointly designed Boulevard Nord, the shared interfaces of the two trade fairs are impressively showcased through the special exhibition area:
“Urban Oasis vs. Private Oasis – How We Will Live, Plan, and Design Tomorrow.”
The title is deliberately framed as a field of tension:
Public spaces – such as green areas, playgrounds, swimming pools, and sports facilities – are increasingly challenged to serve simultaneously as places of relaxation, movement, interaction, and cooling for growing urban populations.
At the same time, the desire for private retreats is rising – in the form of gardens, terraces, pools, home wellness areas, or nature-inspired water spaces.
Here’s where the key element comes into play: water.
Not just as a resource – but as a system component, an integral element of climate-resilient design.
In the sponge city, rainwater is no longer diverted, but welcomed. Streets, plazas, sports and play areas, basins, and garden beds become storage surfaces. Water is collected, retained, evaporated – becoming a natural air conditioner and resource reservoir.
The same principle applies to the private sphere:
A sponge garden is more than just a few permeable paving stones. It is a micro-ecosystem that fosters biodiversity, reduces temperatures, conserves resources, and offers recreation.
Bio-pools, retention areas, green roofs, cisterns, water features – none of this is a luxury, but a part of a sustainable everyday life.
