Masterplan for the town centre of Boortmeerbeek, BE

The town centre of Boortmeerbeek is confronted with a series of challenges. Justly, the municipality wants to use this masterplan to integrate these projects and issues with the hope of finding added value and synergies. The whole must be more than the sum of its parts. A long term vision and a spatial framework for the town centre are needed. This is translated into the concept of ‘the town tour’ which aims to give clear direction to all ongoing and new projects and ensures they all contribute to a collective purpose on the short and long term. The masterplan will allow the municipality to take an active lead and steering role in the future development of Boortmeerbeek, with projects for new housing developments, public buildings, public space, infrastructure and nature.

The town tour is a trajectory for pedestrians and cyclists, circling as a leitmotif through the centre. It connects the leftover open spaces on the inside of the towns’ building blocks to a structural network of open space, a counterweight to the streets and predominantly paved public spaces. The continuous network for soft mobility ties the most important public functions and places of the municipality together and works as an alternative route to the narrow and often busy streets. Existing functions, new developments, and centralities on the scale of the town are united by safe and comfortable routes. The town tour can become the face of the green character of Boortmeerbeek, which is so valued by its inhabitants.

Simultaneously design research was done on specific projects that are connected to this route. Together with developers and other stakeholders, different scenarios for residential development were tested. Different scenarios for new public projects, such as a primary school and an extension of the administrative centre, were tested and evaluated together with the municipal administration. Improvements to the public space of the town centre were drawn up in dialogue with the inhabitants.

The masterplan offers a framework for linking new housing projects to qualitative and sustainable open space development, so that both impact each other positively. A robust landscape creates more quality of living, while compact and smart building and densification allows for more open space. The network of open space can be actively used for recreational and productive purposes. At the same time it can play an important role in making the town more climate resilient, by creating space for water buffering and infiltration and planning for biodiversity.

Project Facts

Scope of work

Masterplan for the town centre of Boortmeerbeek

Location

Boortmeerbeek, BE

Scale

Town centre

Client

Municipality of Boortmeerbeek

Status

Finalisation of the masterplan