Designing for a More-Than-Human City Farm

Recently, we joined a co-creation session at De Beestenbende in Almere, organized by Giulia Gualtieri.Together with the community of practice (including Edith Winkler, Sander C. Bauer, and Boudewijn Boon) and the management team of Stad & Natuur, we explored the future of this urban children’s farm — as a shared habitat for humans, animals, and plants.

During the site visit, the manager explained that the animals sometimes experience stress because they are constantly subjected to the needs of visitors.Goats and rabbits also crave attention — but not all the time. Still, it’s usually the human who decides: when someone wants to pet them, they get petted. A one-sided interaction that reveals how care and control can easily blur.

One of the design ideas was to create a private zone for the animals along the quiet, forested edge of the site.The area facing the neighborhood would host human-oriented activities such as education, offices, and community gardens.Between these, an intermediate zone with trees and small structures would serve as a natural buffer — a space where humans and animals can meet, yet where the animals can choose the moment of encounter themselves.

This way of seeing — designing with rather than for other species — gives rise to a completely different design logic.One that no longer starts from the human perspective, but from the entire web of life that inhabits a place. 🐐🐇🌳