VLIETVOORDE – LEIDSCHENDAM-VOORBURG, THE NETHERLANDS

STOP THE PUMPS - transforming a greenhouse area to a sustainable community in balance with the landscape in Vlietvoorde.

The joint submission of Schouten Bouw and BPD for the most responsible and social form of living in the landscape, has been honored with the first prize by the municipality of Leidschendam Voorburg. In both the draft round and the elaboration round of the public tender, the spatial plan for the various sub-areas scored highest in terms of sustainability, ambition and spatial quality.

The winning plan is distinguished by two clear statements regarding future area development:
• stop the pumps: by stopping the under draining, the landscape is again influenced by the water level between dune landscape and peat meadow area. This forms the basis for the development of a varied landscape where various forms of nature, recreation and the identities of the various residential fields are in balance with one another in a leafy, and on the other hand, watery environment.
• create a durable, close-knit community: living is a guest in the landscape, in balance with nature and recreation. The different forms of living are focused on strong social cohesion, close community formation and a high degree of awareness, self-sufficiency and self-reliance, where within the freedom of living there is room for the collective and the care within society.

The design collective, consisting of Stijlgroep landscape and urban design, SeARCH and Architectuur Maken, will work in the coming years with the developing parties, the municipality and local healthcare institutions that take care of people with a mental handicap, on the realization of the hospitable landscape identities Forest, Creek and Lake as a sustainable living environment for the residents and visitors of Vlietvoorde. Centrally in the area, the once striking 17th-century estate was redesigned as a collective identity carrier and forum for sustainable facilities and social activities.

Vlietvoorde, where the landscape is leading and people are central to a collective freedom of living in its most pronounced and subdued form.