STW0037 – MOL – Bosveld
design: masterplan and redevelopment of public space
type: urbanism and open space
client: municipality of Mol
designteam urbanism and landscape: Studio Thomas Willemse
experts for social-spatial-urbanism: Endeavour
expert ecology: Driekwart Groen
expert heritage: Kalk Architecten
time: competition 2022
What if the uniform park neighbourhood becomes a neighbourhood with parks connecting the city centre to the urban forest for residents as well as for nature? Today, the original carpet district has one uniform pattern, and a uniform path structure. Within this, residents have made more and more ad hoc and fragmented additions. Can we come up with a catalogue of new elements that gives unity to the additions?
We can use the neighbourhood's strong structure to introduce new patterns into the neighbourhood and create a hierarchy. As a circular process, the transformation of one pattern provides the materials to create the next pattern. The new patterns in the neighbourhood start from a change of use of the existing streets to shared green-blue streets. The central park axis gathers activities for the whole neighbourhood. The collective gardens are truly equipped as gardens. The natural edge forms the main carrier of a major ecological transformation that branches into each pattern. The new pattern integrates gradients from public - to collective - to together - to private.
This new neighbourhood hierarchy transforms the open space into an inviting landscape to move around in and as a meeting place. The central park axis collects residents' wishes, and in this way also brings residents together, within the neighbourhood and (from) outside. In addition, the green landscape becomes a landscape in motion through new management and transformation of the existing greenery. Within the district today, there is no need for revolution, but evolution.