Houthulst village center

Houthulst village centre becomes a village park!

The municipality of Houthulst commissioned a design for the complete redevelopment of the village centre. The roadside, green areas and cemetery will undergo a complete transformation. The already present potential of the large ‘Village Green’ was exploited and enhanced by adding a classic path structure. A tour of the ‘Village Green’ will offer the opportunity to experience this space to the full. Literally groundbreaking is the cutting of the roadway across the market. Through traffic with cars and buses will no longer be possible there. This roadway will be transformed into a comfortable walking and cycling path, giving the village centre a much quieter atmosphere. The green supporting structure will be formed by 100 new native standard trees and many hedge structures that demarcate the various zones of the village and thus provide the necessary security. The ‘gate effects’ are striking. Twelve gateways were designed. Each one will be built in the same style and with the same bricks. These ‘gate effects’ will give each part of the village centre its own identity and ensure that the different parts will form one large whole. Namely the village core, or in other words, the village park!

Implementation

Design