City OasisCity Oasis is part 2 of the project Hortus Ludi, and opens up the garden of Marres (Maastricht) to the public. City Oasis re-arranges the spatial functions of Marres, closing what is opened and opening what seems closed. The central corridor leading through the Marres building is disconnected from the rest of the house, and two transparent iron gates replace the back- and front doors. The corridor becomes a tunnel to the enclosed city garden, wilderness and oasis, with 'sitting islands' and an herbal garden where seemingly everyday plants grow but a closer look reveils their unexpected hallucinogenic effects. As the
Situationists were practicing the useless and were introducing the notions of play and dream in culture - underlining the importance of adventure as a direct experience - today exactly the useless and the adventurous (wandering, leisure, drifting) has become a form of planned entertainment. Wandering and drifting is now seen in different environments such as shopping malls and rock festivals. Doing nothing is no longer subversive - because it is no longer useless; instead, its discovery is an economic factor of enormous importance. City Oasis is activates the notion of
