Thijs de Zeeuw

landscape architect

Landscape architect Thijs de Zeeuw graduated from the Academy of Architecture in 2011 with The (un)conditional garden, a design for a garden not based on exotic plants and animals but instead the flora and fauna of the city. At H+N+S Landscape Architects, he acquired an in-depth knowledge of the Dutch landscape, ecology and water. Over the past few years, Thijs has focused on the perspective of animals in designing their accommodation at the ARTIS zoological garden, including housing for the Asian elephant, black-tailed prairie dogs and Japanese cranes. Designing with nature and for animals inspired him to form the Natuuroptimist, a platform for ‘cheerful, opportunistic and untamed nature, in and around us’.

In his role as designer and storyteller in the A Voice for the Eel team, Thijs de Zeeuw invites the public to join him in his examination of the perceptions and living environment of the eel. “Amsterdam is a fabulous biotope, with a trillion of residents. They all do their own thing, and it can do us no harm to occasionally listen to what they have to say.”