Cohousing Kampenhout
is a project for 46 regular housing units + 10 Abbeyfield housing units to be located in between the fields and a brook valley in the are of Kampenhout. Our proposal suggested a compact footprint referencing the vernacular form of what they call a ‘vierkantshoeve.’
Concept & plan layout
Landscape
Several existing natural elements characterise the site. In our proposal, we try to strengthen these characteristics. We propose to open up the existing brook located in the middle of the site, and all the program is realised on the southside of the site, so the wetland zone in the north remains untouched.
Intimate courtyard vs semipublic park
The new building block is an extensive scale interpretation of the model of a ‘vierkantshoeve’. Two complimentary outdoor spaces are created. All living units are grouped around an intimate courtyard. The northern part of the site is left free as a communal semipublic park.
A screen of trees
The site is surrounded by a screen of trees to clearly define the outline border and provide the adjacent parcels’ necessary privacy.
Frontdoor, back gate
All accommodations have their front door on the outside of the volume. On the back, they each have access to the collective courtyard. Throughout the residential block, a new connection is made between the station straat and the Haachste steenweg. The inhabitants can use this axis to access their homes for delivering groceries, moving, …
Private vs collective
All accommodations have a small private outdoor space of their own. The ground-bound houses have an east or west oriented garden. All others have a south-facing terrace. There is space for collective facilities such as a vegetable garden or a petanque field in the courtyard. The courtyard provides a direct connection for the inhabitants to the collective indoor spaces and facilities
