The project seeks to reclaim the historical reservoirs located north of Hackney Marshes by integrating them back to nature. In its current form, part of the reservoir network has been concreted over to facilitate a construction site. The project intends to give power back to nature through careful phasing. Through this process of transformation, some stages are accelerated to demonstrate the process of naturalisation to the public. Making use of the divisions of the reservoir structure, each ‘slice’ has a different strategy applied to it as a showcase of various landscape approaches. Breaking the concrete surface, using a range of methods showcases ecological succession that can be triggered at different stages.

Through these varying levels of human intervention, the site becomes a canvas to experiment with nature’s ability to take over. The project also promotes the transfer between urban land and nature as a symbiotic relationship. Due to the process of rapid urban renewal and expansion, many abandoned spaces exist in surrounding urban areas. They often have their own unique nature and irreplaceable ecological, economic, cultural and social values. This project showcases these different levels of intervention to be applied to different sites with similar intentions.