In cities, it is often degrees warmer than outside the city. It also stays hot there much longer. Parking lots like the one at HKU Oudenoord contribute to this. This is because there is no shade and thus all sunlight enters and the surfaces are stone and thus absorb sunlight. This sunlight is stored in the stones. Actually, it is a furnace.
What we are working on is a parking lot that is actually more of a garden. A garden that besides contributing to a better living environment is also just cozy for HKU students to be in during breaks, for example. In addition, we want to work on a living lab with simple technological interventions that can contribute to, or at least give insight into, how things can be done differently in terms of energy use and operations around HKU buildings. It should also become an HKU community garden where students can create work, exhibit and host all kinds of small-scale activities in the areas of art and ecology.
For now, we have started with first less stones and more greenery. This in the form of flipping tiles, making and placing planters and putting plants in them and sowing them.
This is because vegetation converts sunlight into evaporative energy. This means that sunlight does not find its way to the tiles and therefore does not heat up the air. With vegetation, the place stays cooler and pleasantly livable. In addition, we place only native species and species that contribute to biodiversity, bee populations and