URBAN FOREST /
a multifunctional hub
context
In Europe, the borders between the city and the countryside are fading. The space between cities is vanishing, and a vast urban network is growing. The city is no longer a city, but a cityscape.
A strategy for the densification of the 20th-century belt could mean specific densification of strategic points in the already strongly extended network which Flanders is. Out-of-town densifications can each time be tailored and conceived with a particular program. High density is not a need, but a responsible attitude towards context and landscape is all the more.
The project Parkbos Gent offers an excellent, almost paradoxical opportunity: the extension of the Parkbos as a nature park, connected to the city, optimally accessible by public transport and bicycle network. Strategic locations that are close to the city center are easily accessible and can prove the ideal location for the development of alternative, read collective housing forms of work connected to and near a natural landscape.
concept
exact location for the implementation of the specific program in the park. At the east side of the castle, a vacant space with only low bushes is located, demarcated by a treeline. This naturally defined parcel allows for seamless integration of the project. For the organization of the different functions, a dense cluster is created rather than scattering the program over the park, as they complement each other. Two buildings are composed. The assisted living units, alternated with housing facilities for their supervisors and their families are clustered into one building. The second building, located near the avenue, contains a hangar for the maintenance of the park, information center, and a cafeteria. The central square can be used as a plantation to maintain the park. The clustering of the different functions allows for a dialogue between the public and the more private functions. The two buildings consist of a primary structure of column and beams. An infill system shapes the various specific functions.
year
2015
category
Academic Project / Architectural Design Studio II
mentors
Sven Verbruggen
Frédéric Rasier
jury
Hans Lust
Jan Mannaerts
Maarten Delbeke
Kris Cooremans
Frédéric Rasier
Sven Verbruggen
design
Jerom Dhaenens